Manchester City took full advantage of leaders Arsenal's slip-up with a statement victory at Chelsea to ignite an enthralling Premier League title race.

Second-placed City scored three times in the second half at Stamford Bridge to cut Arsenal's lead to six points - with a game in hand - after the Gunners' shock home defeat by Bournemouth on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola's City had been sloppy during the first half, with the brilliant Rayan Cherki striking a first-time effort from the edge of the box straight at Robert Sanchez and Antoine Semenyo's shot from a similar position deflecting wide.

But the visitors started the second period with more purpose and broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Cherki stood up a teasing cross which Nico O'Reilly powerfully headed in.

Frenchman Cherki was the provider again just six minutes later, feeding a pass through to former Chelsea player Marc Guehi, who caressed a low finish into the far corner to spark wild celebrations in front of the away end.

Chelsea were falling apart as Moises Caicedo was caught on the ball deep in his own half, allowing Jeremy Doku to break forward and finish with aplomb to seal the three points.

Earlier in the game, Marc Cucurella saw a cool finish ruled out for offside and Pedro Neto's low shot was batted out by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but Liam Rosenior's side fell to a third straight league loss.

City host Arsenal at Etihad Stadium next Sunday (16:30 BST kick-off) in a huge game at the top of the table.

Guardiola loves April and this showing demonstrated exactly why - his side have now won 29 of their past 32 matches in this particular month and last lost five years ago.

While City were not at their best in the opening 45 minutes, the second-half display will turn up the heat on a faltering Arsenal side who are under increasing pressure and know their rivals come on strong during the latter part of the campaign.

"Are you watching Arsenal?" was the chant from City's travelling supporters, who have seen their side claw back deficits in the past to lift the trophy in May - and now look ominously poised to do so this time around.

They possess the magical Cherki in their ranks, who can fashion a chance out of nothing, and the 22-year-old created the first two goals to take his tally to 10 assists for the season, the second-most behind Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes.

City had drawn their previous two league matches after taking the lead but there was no repeat on this occasion, punishing hapless Chelsea for a fifth win at Stamford Bridge in their past six league visits.

While City now have a week off, Arsenal play the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Sporting on Wednesday, before turning attentions to next Sunday's massive match at Etihad Stadium.

The result in that contest could have a significant bearing on the destiny of this season's title.

Much of the focus has been on Chelsea's ambitions to qualify for the Champions League, but they may need to start looking over their shoulders at the teams behind them.

Four defeats in five Premier League matches, and just one win in seven, have left Chelsea in sixth place and drifting, even behind an inconsistent Liverpool side, who are four points clear in the final Champions League spot.

In fact, Chelsea are closer to 11th-placed Bournemouth (with the gap just three points) than they are Liverpool.

And the two teams directly beneath the Blues - seventh-placed Brentford and Everton in eighth - are just a point behind them and both in superior form.

Some of the scrutiny for Chelsea's late-season struggles will fall on Rosenior. He set his side up well for the first 45 minutes, surprising Guardiola's team with a counter-attacking approach. However, once Guardiola had time to adjust at the interval, Chelsea were blown away.

Forwards such as Cole Palmer, Neto and Estevao Willian have failed to provide decisive moments - leaving them goalless and defeated for three games for the first time in over 18 years, while defensively they have not kept a clean sheet in five home matches.

Rosenior has not had the benefit of a pre-season and it remains early in his tenure. However, Enzo Maresca's departure in January, following a falling out with club hierarchy, was unplanned and has proven disruptive.

In recent weeks, Enzo Fernandez and Cucurella have spoken about how destabilising the managerial change has been.

Fernandez also talked publicly about wanting to move to Madrid one day, comments which were poorly received inside the club. He was handed an internal two-match ban and missed Sunday's game.

Away from the pitch, a fringe protest group, Not A Project FC, are planning to demonstrate before the upcoming home match against Manchester United. They are expected to march jointly with supporters from French club Strasbourg, who are also under BlueCo ownership.

It will not be lost on Chelsea that they are without a win in 10 games against the era's standard-setters City. Not since beating City in the 2021 Champions League final have Chelsea tasted success against Guardiola, with only Reece James left in the squad from those days.

That record underlines why Chelsea can no longer be considered title contenders, and reflects a lingering inferiority complex after being overtaken by a richer and more successful rival.

With players and fans increasingly frustrated, and momentum firmly negative, there is a real question over whether Chelsea will qualify for European football at all, not just the Champions League.