Manchester City on Saturday moved to the top of the Premier League as lowly Luton Town were eased aside 5-1 at the Etihad, while Newcastle United thrashed Tottenham Hotpsur 4-0.
Amid a grueling schedule, Pep Guardiola could hardly have wished for a kinder fixture in between the two legs of his side’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
Guardiola made six changes from a thrilling 3-3 draw in the Spanish capital on Tuesday and City seemed set for a stress-free afternoon from the moment they opened the scoring after just two minutes.
Photo: AFP
Erling Haaland’s shot deflected off the unfortunate Daiki Hashioka into his own net.
Yet the floodgates refused to open as the English champions had to wait until after the hour mark before making the points safe when Mateo Kovacic smashed in Julian Alvarez’s cross at the edge of the box.
Haaland scored five goals when the sides met in the FA Cup in February.
Photo: AP
The Norwegian had to settle for just one this time when they scored from the penalty spot for his 20th Premier League goal of the season.
Ross Barkley netted a late consolation for Luton, but they have just five games left to save their top-flight status.
Jeremy Doku fired into the far corner after jinking through the Luton defence before Josko Gvardiol scored his second goal in a week after opening his City account in Madrid.
Victory takes City two points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool.
“The only way is to win our games and put the pressure,” Guardiola said. “We have done our job and that is what we have to do.”
Alexander Isak scored twice, while Anthony Gordon and Fabian Schar were also on target as the Magpies moved up to sixth and kept their slim chances of Champions League soccer next season alive.
Newcastle are 10 points adrift of Tottenham and Aston Villa with six games remaining, but have the far easier run-in.
“We’ve just got to keep doing our bit, which is trying to win every game,” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said. “We’re hopefully returning to somewhere near our best and we’ve got to keep heading in that direction.”
Manchester United missed the chance to move back above Newcastle after a 2-2 draw at AFC Bournemouth.
At the bottom of the table, Nottingham Forest edged one point clear of the bottom three after a thrilling 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Brentford’s first win in 10 games pulled the Bees seven points clear of the drop zone as Ollie Arblaster’s own goal and Frank Onyeka earned a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United.
Burnley’s chances of survival are fading fast after a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton & Hove Albion left them still second bottom, six points adrift of safety.
Meanwhile, down in League Two, Wrexham’s Hollywood star co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney said they were having the “ride of our lives” after the club sealed a place in the third tier of the English Football League with a 6-0 thrashing of Forest Green Rovers.
Victory secured Wrexham’s second straight promotion after the Welsh club ended a 15-year absence from the English Football League in April last year by winning the fifth-tier National League.
“A few years ago, if you told me I would be crying tears of joy over a football match taking place in north Wales, you would be Rob McElhenney,” Deadpool star Reynolds wrote on X. “Congrats to Wrexham and to my co-chairman in crime. Double up the town! This is the ride of our lives.”
McElhenney added: “No words.”
Since surprisingly buying unheralded Wrexham in 2021, McElhenney and Reynolds’ investment has helped lift the team back into the English Football League, while bringing global recognition to the club through a Disney television documentary series.
Unlike the rest of their League Two rivals, Wrexham’s growing fame in the US allowed Phil Parkinson’s side to go on a pre-season tour of North America, which included games against Chelsea and United.
According to accounts published last month, Wrexham owe McElhenney and Reynolds ￡9 million (US$11.21 million) after losing ￡5 million last year.
Elliot Lee opened the scoring before Paul Mullin scored twice, either side of Ryan Inniss’s own-goal, as Wrexham hit four before half-ime, with Ryan Barnett and Jack Marriott on target in the second half.
Results elsewhere meant the victory secured Wrexham’s place in League One next season, while defeat leaves bottom side Forest Green at risk of dropping out of the league.
Saturday’s full-time whistle was the cue for joyous fans to surge onto the pitch at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground.
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