Five-star City go top
... of Premier League, Spurs smashed by Newcastle
LONDON – Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League as lowly Luton were eased aside 5-1 at the Etihad, while Newcastle thrashed Tottenham 4-0 yesterday.
Amid a gruelling schedule, Pep Guardiola could hardly have wished for a kinder fixture in between the two legs of his side’s Champions League quarterfinal 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.
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.
The Norwegian had to settle for just one time this time when 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.
GAME IN HAND
Victory takes City two points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool, who both have a game in hand, and are in action today.
Liverpool host Crystal Palace at Anfield looking to bounce back from their shock Europa League defeat to Atalanta.
Arsenal entertain Aston Villa, who moved back into the top four without kicking a ball yesterday thanks to Tottenham’s trouncing at St James’ Park.
“The only way is to win our games and put the pressure,” said Guardiola. “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 football next season alive.
Newcastle are 10 points adrift of Tottenham and 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,” said Newcastle boss Eddie Howe.
“We’re hopefully returning to somewhere near our best and we’ve got to keep heading in that direction.”