Man City turns corner with successive wins in Premier League as Arsenal and Chelsea drop points

Erling Haaland and Manchester City might just be turning the corner after the team's worst run of results under Pep Guardiola.

Haaland scored twice in a 4-1 win over West Ham on Saturday as City secured back-to-back victories in the Premier League for the first time since late October, when a shocking and unthinkable six-week meltdown began.

In that time, the defending champions played nine league games and won just once, dropping them out of the Champions League qualification spots and raising questions about Guardiola's stomach for a rebuild.

Now, City can hope for better times ahead — especially after making up ground on second-placed Arsenal and fourth-placed Chelsea after they both dropped points in draws at Brighton and Crystal Palace, respectively, on Saturday.

Still, Guardiola wasn't getting carried away.

“I’m very pleased for the result," he said, “but you cannot ask me if the old City is back. If you saw the game, we are not.”

However, while the 2-0 win at Leicester last weekend was unconvincing, there were better signs against West Ham — at least in attack with Haaland looking sharp. The Norway striker headed in Savinho's cross to make it 2-0 in the 42nd minute and chipped the goalkeeper for 3-0 in the 55th after running onto another pass from Savinho.

Either side, there was an own-goal and a strike from Phil Foden before Niclas Fullkrug pulled one back for West Ham.

“We are still not like we were, for different reasons,” Guardiola said. "The result will help. We struggle but it is a release.”

City stayed in sixth.

It was a good day for Liverpool — and the league leader didn't even play.

Arsenal was held to 1-1 at Brighton, which equalized from the penalty spot through Joao Pedro, and missed the chance to trim the gap to Liverpool to three points. Ethan Nwaneri put Arsenal ahead and, at age 17, became only the sixth player under 18 to score multiple Premier League goals.

Brighton's penalty was awarded after Arsenal defender William Saliba was adjudged to have clashed heads with Pedro as they challenged for a bouncing ball. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was disappointed with the call, saying: “I have never seen a decision like this in my career. I asked the boys if they have and nobody has seen it before.”

Chelsea's winless run in the league extended to four matches after drawing at Palace 1-1.

Jean-Philippe Mateta equalized in the 82nd for Palace, cancelling out Cole Palmer's opener.

Chelsea has drawn twice and lost twice since Dec. 22, damaging a title bid that had been picking up some steam — even if manager Enzo Maresca never accepted his team was a realistic challenger.

"We still created so many chances in front of goal but it's about getting the end product," Chelsea winger Jadon Sancho said. “We're still playing the same football, we are still giving 100%. This is what happens in football.”

Liverpool leads Arsenal by five points and Chelsea by nine, and has two games in hand over both rivals. The first comes at home to Manchester United on Sunday.

Alexander Isak scored in a seventh straight Premier League game to earn Newcastle a 2-1 win at injury-hit Tottenham.

The Sweden striker grabbed the 38th-minute winner and there was a hint of fortune about it, with Tottenham defender Radu Drăgușin getting the slightest of touches on a cross and deflecting the ball onto the foot of Isak. The ball dribbled into the net for Isak's 13th goal of the season, and ninth in his past seven games.

Thomas Tuchel was in the stands in his first scouting mission in his role as the recently hired England coach. Two players likely to be in his first squad, to be announced in March for World Cup qualifiers, got on the score sheet in the opening six minutes.

Dominic Solanke headed Tottenham ahead in the fourth minute, and Anthony Gordon equalized.

It was a fifth straight win for fifth-placed Newcastle, while Tottenham stayed in the bottom half of the standings with just one point from its last four games.

A change in manager hasn't helped Southampton.

The league's last-placed team was beaten by Brentford 5-0 at home for a third straight defeat under Ivan Juric, who was hired on Dec. 21 to replace the fired Russell Martin. Southampton has one point from four games under Juric and just six points overall.

Bryan Mbeumo scored two of Brentford's goals and has 13 for the season in the league. It was Brentford's biggest ever win in the Premier League.

Aston Villa beat Leicester 2-1, while Bournemouth won at home to Everton 1-0 and was eight games unbeaten — a club record in its time in the Premier League.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion FC and Arsenal at the Amex stadium in Brighton, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Brighton's Joao Pedro celebrates after scoring a penalty kick during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion FC and Arsenal at the Amex stadium in Brighton, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland, left, scores his side's second goal against West Ham during a English Premier League soccer match at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Chelsea's Cole Palmer reatcs during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Chelsea in London, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Chelsea's Pedro Neto reacts after the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Chelsea in London, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland, left, scores his side's 2nd goal against West Ham during a English Premier League soccer match at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland, left, is congratulated by Savinho after scoring his side's 2nd goal against West Ham during a English Premier League soccer match at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against West Ham during a English Premier League soccer match at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe gestures during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Saturday Jan. 4, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Saturday Jan. 4, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke, front, and Newcastle United's Sven Botman battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Saturday Jan. 4, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Newcastle United's Alexander Isak score past Tottenham's Brandon Austin during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Saturday Jan. 4, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is moving to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters, a last-minute effort to block possible action by the incoming Trump administration to expand offshore drilling.

Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect offshore areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska's Northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas leasing.

“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs," Biden said in a statement Monday.

“As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren," he said.

Biden's orders would not affect large swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, where most U.S. offshore drilling occurs, but it would protect coastlines along California, Florida and other states from future drilling.

Biden's actions, which protect more than 625 million acres of federal waters, could be difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to unwind, since they would likely require an act of Congress to repeal. The 72-year-old law that Biden cited allows the president to withdraw portions of the outer continental shelf from mineral leasing, including leasing to drill for oil and gas, if the areas are deemed too sensitive to drill.

Trump himself has a complicated history on offshore drilling. He signed a memorandum in 2020 directing the Interior secretary to prohibit drilling in the waters off both Florida coasts, and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032.

Earlier in his term, Trump had initially moved to vastly expand offshore drilling, before retreating amid widespread opposition in Florida and other coastal states.

Trump on Monday declared that, after he's inaugurated on Jan. 20, Biden's drilling ban will “be changed on day one."

“I will unban it immediately” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I have the right to unban it."

He said the U.S. has “oil and gas at a level that nobody else has and we're gonna take advantage of it. It's really our greatest economic asset."

Trump has vowed to establish what he calls American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from Biden’s focus on climate change.

Environmental advocates hailed Biden's action, saying new oil and gas drilling must be sharply curtailed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 2024 was the hottest in recorded history.

“This is an epic ocean victory!" said Joseph Gordon, campaign director for the environmental group Oceana.

Gordon thanked Biden “for listening to the voices from coastal communities" that oppose drilling and “contributing to the bipartisan tradition of protecting our coasts.”

Biden's actions build on the legacy of Democratic and Republican presidents to protect coastal water from offshore drilling, Gordon said, adding that U.S. coastlines are home to tens of millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a clean environment, abundant wildlife and thriving fisheries.

In balancing multiple uses of America’s oceans, Biden said it was clear that the areas he is withdrawing from fossil fuel use show “relatively minimal potential" that does not justify possible environmental, public health and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.

The National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore drillers, called Biden's decision "a strategic error, driven not by science or voter mandate, but by political motives.''

“This move directly undermines American energy consumers and jeopardizes the vast benefits tied to a thriving domestic energy sector,” said Erik Milito, the group's president.

Even if there’s no immediate interest in drilling in some offshore areas, “it’s crucial for the federal government to maintain the flexibility to adapt" to unexpected global events such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he said. “Blanket bans only serve to transfer energy production and economic opportunities abroad, inadvertently bolstering countries like Russia at the expense of U.S. interests."

Biden has proposed up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as he tries to navigate between energy companies seeking greater oil and gas production and environmental activists who want him to shut down new offshore drilling in the fight against climate change.

A five-year drilling plan approved in 2023 includes proposed offshore sales in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The three lease sales are the minimum number the Democratic administration could legally offer if it wants to continue expanding offshore wind development.

Under the terms of a 2022 climate law, the government must offer at least 60 million acres (24.2 million hectares) of offshore oil and gas leases in any one-year period before it can offer offshore wind leases.

Biden, whose decision to approve the huge Willow oil project in Alaska drew strong condemnation from environmental groups, has previously limited offshore drilling in other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.

Sandra Bundy, president of the Florida-based Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast, said she was “thrilled and thankful” for Biden's actions, which she said will protect the Eastern seaboard for generations to come.

“Opening all federal waters to offshore exploration and drilling posed serious threats to coastal economies and ecosystems that are critical to millions along the coast," Bundy said. “Cities and towns large and small oppose the industrialization of the Atlantic and are increasingly seeing stronger storms and flooding and face serious threats from rising sea levels. Those threats would increase in magnitude if offshore drilling was added to the mix."

FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa., as moderator South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

President Joe Biden speaks at a reception for new Democratic members of Congress in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)