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Manchester City have been on some extraordinary runs during their last four seasons of Premier League domination but the one that continued with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday has been scarcely believable.
Pep Guardiola's free-falling side have looked invincible at times in recent years, but slipped to a ninth defeat in 12 matches in all competitions as the crisis that has suddenly engulfed City deepened.
Goals either side of halftime by Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers put Villa in control at Villa Park and Phil Foden's stoppage-time reply was the smallest of consolations for City.
One victory in their last 12 games has seen City exit the League Cup, flirt with elimination from the Champions League and has all but ended any hopes of a fifth successive English title.
A sixth league defeat of the season left City in sixth position on 27 points from 17 games, with Villa jumping above them into fifth spot with 28 points.
Arsenal have also dropped too many points of late but responded with a clinical 5-1 victory at Crystal Palace with Gabriel Jesus following up his midweek League Cup hat-trick against the same opponents with two more goals.
Mikel Arteta's side are third with 33 points from 17 games -- three behind leaders Liverpool who have two games in hand and visit mid-table Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Second-placed Chelsea can top the standings, briefly at least, on Sunday if they win at Everton.
Nottingham Forest fans will be pinching themselves as Christmas approaches after a 2-0 victory at Brentford, who were unbeaten at home, put them fourth with 31 points.
A hat-trick by Alexander Isak helped Newcastle United to a 4-0 victory at struggling Ipswich Town to lift Eddie Howe's side into seventh in the standings with 26 points.
Brighton & Hove Albion are ninth with 25 points after a 1-1 draw in a lacklustre game at West Ham United.
CITY NIGHTMARE
City's nightmare before Christmas continued on the shortest day of the year and Guardiola can only hope they have now reached rock bottom and the gloom will relent soon.
Villa took the lead in the 16th minute as Youri Tielemans threaded a pass to Rogers who cleverly fed Colombia striker Duran to score his 12th goal of the season.
Former City graduate Rogers made it 2-0 in the 65th minute and City never looked like getting anything although Foden's first league goal of the season at least offered a little cheer.
"If there is a moment that I cannot overthink it is right now," Guardiola said. "I try to be simple, stick to my principles and give certainty to the team.
"We don't have a defence, the results are not good."
Remarkably, if bottom club Southampton avoid defeat at Fulham on Sunday, City will be the worst team in the Premier League since Nov. 1 in terms of points collected.
Jesus scored twice inside the opening 15 minutes at Selhurst Park in the late kick off, either side of Ismaila Sarr's equaliser for the hosts.
Kai Havertz made it 3-1 after a Jesus header came back off the post and Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice rubbed salt into Palace's wounds in the second period.
The one setback for Arsenal was a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka who went off midway through the first half. It was the sixth time in 2024 that the Gunners had scored five or more goals away, a record for an English top-flight club.
"We are not halfway but we are going to try. For us it is on," Arteta said of Arsenal's title prospects.
Goals by Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga secured a third successive win for Forest against a Brentford side who had been rock-solid at home.
"It's a bit of a dream (to be in the top four)," defender Aina said. "It's good to get the three points and good for the fans. They deserve it as well. The manager (Nuno Espirito Santo) has his philosophy and he's brought that into the club."
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