Arsenal's title hopes hit with 2-0 loss to Villa as Man City get boost, Leverkusen secure maiden Bundesliga title with 5-0 win over Bremen

Arsenal's Premier League title push was dented after a shock 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday, as they handed the initiative to leaders and defending champions Manchester City. 

Villa substitute Leon Bailey tapped home from close range in the 84th minute before Ollie Watkins' sublime finish three minutes later sent Gunners fans streaming for the exits. 

Arsenal's loss, their first in 12 league games, leaves them in second place, two points behind City and level on points with third-placed Liverpool with six games remaining.

"We knew that this moment could come and now it's about reacting and keep believing and doing what we can," said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Following Liverpool's 1-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace earlier on Sunday, the weekend belonged to City who bolstered their chances of an unprecedented fourth straight league title with a 5-1 demolition of visiting Luton Town on Saturday.

Villa retain their Champions League hopes as they remain in the top four with 63 points, 3 clear of 5th-placed Tottenham Hotspur who have a game in hand. 

Elsewhere in Europe, undefeated Bayer Leverkusen secured their first German Bundesliga title with a 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen, breaking an 11-year stranglehold on the league by Bayern Munich.

Xabi Alonso's team, who have now gone a league-record 29 matches without defeat this season to secure their first trophy since 1993, have a 16-point lead over Bayern with five matches remaining.

Leverkusen left nothing to chance and sealed their title win at the first opportunity with Florian Wirtz bagging a hat-trick in a win that stretched their unbeaten run across all competitions to a remarkable 43 games this season.

They earned a 24th minute penalty and Victor Boniface, who only recently came back after a three-month injury break, stepped up to score his first league goal since December and his 11th of the campaign.

There were more chances to double their lead in a one-sided first half, with Amine Adli also hitting the woodwork for the hosts.

Werder came out fighting after the break, trying to spoil the party, but Granit Xhaka's missile on the hour, from 25 metres out sparked wild celebrations in the stands.

They were not yet done, with substitute Wirtz adding another eight minutes later.

The Germany international, gearing up for Euro 2024 on home soil in June, bagged another in the 83rd with impatient fans then briefly running onto the pitch. He completed his hat-trick in the 90th to cap his team's five-star performance and secure the title in style.

(With input from Reuters)