Erling Haaland on Sunday scored his 50th goal of the season as Manchester City beat Fulham to return to the English Premier League summit, with Newcastle United and Manchester United winning to close in on a top-four finish.
Unlike Haaland, Harry Kane’s 208th goal in the Premier League could not prevent Tottenham Hotspur’s third loss in four games, albeit in a thrilling 4-3 defeat to Liverpool, who maintained their unlikely pursuit of a UEFA Champions League place.
Kane is now tied with Wayne Rooney as the Premier League’s second-highest scorer of all time, behind only Alan Shearer on 260.
Photo: AFP
City’s 2-1 win at Craven Cottage left manager Pep Guardiola’s men a point clear of long-time leaders Arsenal, with a game in hand.
The defending champions, chasing their fifth Premier League title in six seasons, were ahead in the third minute when Haaland scored from the penalty spot after Julian Alvarez was fouled.
Haaland’s 34th Premier League goal of the season equals the competition record held by Andy Cole and Shearer — set in the days of 42-game campaigns, as opposed to the current 38.
The Norwegian is the first player to reach a half-century of goals across all competitions in a single English top-flight season since 1931.
“Before Winston Churchill was prime minister? Wow. Sounds a long time ago. Congratulations to Erling,” Guardiola said.
Fulham equalized in the 15th minute through Carlos Vinicius, but Alvarez restored City’s lead 9 minutes before half-time.
Treble-chasing City, on top for the first time in 10 weeks, have won their past eight league games and are unbeaten in their past 18 matches in all competitions.
They are red-hot favorites to retain their title, taking full advantage of Arsenal’s stumbles — the Gunners are winless in their past four matches.
Callum Wilson came off the bench to score twice as third-placed Newcastle fought back to beat Southampton 3-1 and edge their opponents toward relegation.
The England forward was left out of Eddie Howe’s starting lineup despite scoring twice at Everton in midweek, but produced the perfect response.
He canceled out Stuart Armstrong’s first-half opener and then helped himself to a second after Theo Walcott’s own-goal had given the Magpies the lead.
The win keeps Newcastle two points ahead of Manchester United, but Southampton are anchored at the foot of the table, six points from safety with just four games to play.
Manager Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United edged in-form Aston Villa 1-0, courtesy of a first-half goal from Bruno Fernandes.
“We look from game to game, and next we have Brighton so we need to work hard again,” Ten Hag told the BBC. “We need to show passion again and not worry about the table. We are totally in control [in the race for the top four]. It’s all about us and it’s in our hands.”
In the later kick-off, Liverpool hit managerless Tottenham with a three-goal blitz in the first 15 minutes, but the visitors stormed back and Richarlison scored an improbable equalizer in the 93rd minute.
Just when it seemed as if Spurs had grabbed a dramatic point, Diogo Jota won the game, leaving the Reds in fifth spot, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United having played a game more.
“We got away with it thanks to Diogo Jota — it makes it spectacular and everybody goes home buzzing,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp told Sky.
Colombia midfielder Jefferson Lerma scored twice in four first-half minutes as AFC Bournemouth moved 10 points clear of the relegation zone with a 4-1 home win over Leeds United, who remain in deep trouble.
Additional reporting by AP
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