London: Erling Haaland and Manchester City were frustrated in a 0-0 draw at Sunderland, leaving Arsenal with a four-point lead at the halfway stage of the Premier League season.
Liverpool couldn’t manage a goal against a promoted team, either, labouring to a 0-0 draw against Leeds at Anfield.
The stalemates highlighted the strength in depth in England’s lucrative top flight.
They also maybe showed why Arsenal have been able to forge clear after 19 of 38 games in their bid for a first league title since 2004, with City and Liverpool — the dominant forces in English soccer over the last decade — having lost their old fluency going forward.
There were draws all round on a low-scoring night, with Tottenham held 0-0 at Brentford and Fulham scoring in the 80th minute to finish 1-1 at Crystal Palace.
City’s run overCity was on an eight-match winning run in all competitions but stumbled against an opponent that has drawn against Arsenal and beaten Newcastle at its Stadium of Light home over the last two months.
Haaland had opportunities either side of halftime against stubborn Sunderland but couldn’t add to his league-high 19 goals for the campaign.
Indeed, it was substitute defender Josko Gvardiol who came closest for City, flicking a shot against the post and having a header saved from point-blank range.
“You can’t be perfect every time, every half, every minute,” City captain Bernardo Silva said. “The team is showing a lot of resilience at the minute — in the moments when we don’t play that well, we are still very consistent, very stable.”
Spain star Rodri, the former Ballon d’Or winner, made his return for City after two months out with a hamstring injury when he came on as a halftime substitute.
Liverpool extended their unbeaten run to eight games but underwhelmed again amid key absences up front.