Arsenal broke through with a deluge of goals, scoring four in 15 minutes in the first half in a 5-1 lopsided victory Saturday at Manchester City.
In another key game, Newcastle moved into third place with an impressive 3-0 win over Leeds. But league-leading Arsenal was the team of the day, assembling a dominating display at Manchester City to extend its lead at the top of the Premier League to five points.
PHOTO: REUTERS
With 60 points, Arsenal is followed by Manchester United (55), Newcastle (52), Chelsea (48), Everton (48), Charlton (45) and Liverpool (43). Newcastle has a game in hand on the leaders.
Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Then the floodgates opened with rapid-fire goals by Robert Pires (12th), Thierry Henry (15th) and Sol Campbell (19th). Patrick Vieira added another in the 53rd.
Nicolas Anelka scored a consolation goal in the 87th for Manchester City.
Arsenal should be fired up for its return match next week against Ajax in Amsterdam in the Champions League.
"We wanted to put a good performance in today to keep the confidence high before Ajax, and to extend our lead in the league," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.
"My team is capable of creating chances against every team, but Man City doesn't concede five goals every weekend."
In all matches on Saturday: Bolton 1, Manchester United 1; Charlton 3, Aston Villa 0; Chelsea 1, Blackburn 2; Everton 2, Southampton 1; Leeds 0, Newcastle 3; Manchester City 1, Arsenal 5; Sunderland 1, Middlesbrough 3.
Yesterday: Birmingham vs. Liverpool, West Brom vs. West Ham. Today: Tottenham vs. Fulham.
Newcastle took a solid hold on third place with its 3-0 victory at slumping Leeds. Kieron Dyer scored in the 17th and 48th and Alan Shearer added another in the 54th.
Chelsea was upset at home against Blackburn with Dwight Yorke scoring in the 86th and David Dunn adding a second in injury time. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink also scored in injury time for Chelsea.
Charlton picked up its fifth straight Premier League win to take sixth place with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa. Jonatan Johansson scored in the 87th and 90th and Jason Euell giving Charlton the lead in the 51st.
Last-place Sunderland stayed there with a 3-1 loss at the Stadium of Light against Middlesbrough.
Italian Serie A
Defending league champion Juventus, flu-stricken but spirited by its second line players, downed last-place Como 3-1 Saturday to earn an undisputed lead in the Serie A standings.
The night match between struggling Torino and AC Milan was stopped during the second half, with AC Milan leading 3-0.
The game was suspended by the referee in the 63rd minute as the two teams were unable to continue play amid fumes of tear gas canisters fired by riot policemen to stop fans attempting to force their way onto the field.
On TV: ESP, 4pm today, English Premier Football League: Birmingham City vs Liverpool. 3.55am on Tuesday, Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham.
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