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Erling Haaland has scored a record 27th goal in the Premier League to help Manchester City see off Bournemouth 4-1 and stay on the shoulder of Arsenal in the title race.
The Gunners had earlier on Saturday won deservedly 1-0 at Leicester to extend their lead, but City brought the advantage back to down to two points – albeit having played a game more – with their emphatic away win.
No City player has scored 27 goals in a single Premier League season. Sergio Aguero’s 26 in 2014-15 was the previous best for the club before the prolific Haaland.
Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden added more for City, and an own goal by Chris Mepham wrapped up the visitors’ scoring on an easy night on the south coast.
It is six matches without a clean sheet for Pep Guardiola’s team, however, after Jefferson Lerma’s 83rd-minute consolation.
Erling Haaland. (Photo by Manchester City FC/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Remarkably, Haaland has broken City’s single-season scoring record in the league even though they still have 13 more matches to play.
Earlier, Gabriel Martinelli struck the only goal as Arsenal secured their big win at Leicester’s King Power Stadium.
The Gunners were the better side and won courtesy of Brazilian Martinelli’s effort early in the second half.
The game lacked much of the drama witnessed in Arsenal’s last-gasp victory at Aston Villa a week ago but it does ensure Mikel Arteta’s side remain top of the table heading into their home clash with struggling Everton on Wednesday night.
Socceroo Harry Souttar suffered a second straight defeat for Leicester and was lucky not to give away a penalty when he appeared to foul Bukayo Saka blatantly in the first half.
The second half was not a minute old when Leandro Trossard’s pass through the legs of Souttar picked out Martinelli, who finished well from an acute angle.
The visitors stemmed some late Leicester pressure to claim an 18th league win of the campaign and remain on course for a first title in 19 years.
Elsewhere, Junior Firpo scored the only goal for Leeds as their new manager Javi Gracia launched his reign in style with a win over fellow strugglers Southampton.
The Elland Road club’s first win since December 26 enabled them to climb out of the bottom three and left Southampton rooted to last place.
In-form Ollie Watkins scored for the fifth successive match in Aston Villa’s 2-0 victory at Everton which ended new manager Sean Dyche’s 100 per cent home record and dropped the club back into the Premier League relegation zone.
Watkins’ 63rd-minute penalty saw him become the club’s first player to achieve the feat in the top flight since Paul Rideout in January 1985.
Substitute Emi Buendia made the game safe eight minutes from time to halt Villa’s three-match losing run.
At the London Stadium, Danny Ings scored twice on his first start for West Ham as they climbed out of the relegation zone with a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Declan Rice added a curling third and substitute Michail Antonio rounded off a much-needed win for Hammers’ manager David Moyes.
Winning the League Cup final would be the first step in putting Manchester United back where they belong, their Brazilian winger Antony believes.
Erik ten Hag’s in-form side will start as favourites against Newcastle in Sunday’s Wembley showpiece with both sides also on the rise after trophy droughts.
Newcastle’s is a long-standing famine. You have to go back to 1955 for their last domestic silverware while United’s last home trophy arrived in 2017, when they won the League Cup under Jose Mourinho.
But for a club of United’s pedigree, that is still a long gap and Antony is determined to deliver on Sunday.
“When I came here, I said that Manchester United is a huge club and we’re going to put this club back where it belongs — fighting for and winning trophies,” he told the club’s website.
“We know that it’ll be a tough task, but we’re aware of how big we are as a club and how good we are.
“It’ll be a dream come true, in my first season, if we can win a trophy. I hope that I can keep at this so more glory follows.”
United are third in the Premier League and with talk of a title tilt growing, while on Thursday they saw off Barcelona to reach the last 16 of the Europa League.
Antony scored in that match and has become a pivotal figure in United’s attack.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “I was talking to my mates at home about this, it’s going to be my first time (at Wembley). It’ll be a huge day for me and I can’t wait for this day.
“Your first final in your first season is always going to be special.”
Teammate Lisandro Martinez is also eyeing a trophy in his first season at United having followed ten Hag, his former manager at Ajax, to Old Trafford in the summer.
“The mood is amazing here, everybody is positive, we have a lot of motivation as well. We are hungry, we want to win and that’s the mentality of the team,” the Argentina World Cup winner, who tasted the Wembley atmosphere for his country against Italy last year, said.
“I’ve been there and I know the stadium very well. It’s an amazing stadium with good energy and it’s up to us. We have to be ready for that and in every detail.”
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