Manchester City bounced back from their painful Champions League exit to Real Madrid in spectacular fashion, defeating Newcastle 5-0 and improving their goal difference with Liverpool.
If there was any doubt about how Pep Guardiola’s men would respond to the midweek heartbreak in Madrid, it was dispelled when Raheem Sterling scored in the 19th minute in a late Sunday match.
After 38 minutes, Aymeric Laporte doubled City’s lead by scoring from a loose ball in the penalty area, and the result was sealed just after the hour when Rodri headed home a free-kick.
Phil Foden and Sterling scored in injury time, and Guardiola’s only concern will be an injury that forced Ruben Dias off at halftime, according to Xinhua.
Liverpool lost ground after being held 1-1 by Tottenham in a result that benefited neither team.
Tottenham took the lead in the 56th minute through Son Heung-Min, but Luis Diaz equalised with a deflected effort with 15 minutes remaining, and while Liverpool had chances to win, they were not at their best.
With a 2-1 win over Leeds United at home, Arsenal took advantage of Tottenham dropping points to open up a four-point lead over their rivals ahead of Thursday’s North London derby.
Arsenal’s task was made much easier by Luke Ayling’s red card in the 27th minute, but they had already taken the lead thanks to goals from Eddie Nketiah after five and ten minutes.
With 25 minutes remaining, Diego Llorente gave Leeds hope, but it was not enough to lift them out of the bottom three.
West Ham kept their hopes of a quick return to Europe alive by taking advantage of Norwich City, who had already been relegated.
In an easy win for David Moyes’ team, Said Benrahma scored twice, while Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini also scored.
Manchester United’s Champions League hopes were dashed with a 4-0 defeat in Brighton, thanks to another poor performance.
Moises Caicedo opened the scoring for the home team in the 15th minute, and after Marc Cucurella doubled the lead in the 49th minute, United crumbled, with Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard adding goals in the 57th and 60th minutes.
Watford were relegated to the Championship after a 1-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace, with Wilfred Zaha’s 31st-minute penalty sending former Palace coach Roy Hodgson’s current side down.
Burnley’s survival hopes were dashed by a 3-1 home defeat to Aston Villa, who led 3-0 thanks to goals from former Burnley striker Danny Ings, Emiliano Buendia, and Olly Watkins before Maxwell Cornet scored in injury time.
Everton, meanwhile, took an important step towards safety by beating Leicester City 2-1 and climbing out of the relegation zone.
After just six minutes, Vitaliy Mykolenko put Everton ahead, and although Patson Daka quickly equalised for the home side, Mason Holgate won the game with a header on the half-hour mark, and Jordan Pickford stopped all of Leicester’s attempts to get back on level terms.
Pontus Jansson and Yoane Wissa scored in the 13th and 14th minutes to put Brentford on course for a 3-0 win over Southampton at home, with Kristoffer Ajer adding a third goal with 11 minutes remaining.
Chelsea appeared to be having a peaceful afternoon at home against Wolves to celebrate the announcement of the club’s takeover, as they led 2-0 thanks to two goals from Romelu Lukaku.
Wolves rallied after that, with Francisco Trincao equalising in the 79th minute and Conor Coady nodding in an equaliser in the seventh minute of injury time.
(Inputs from IANS)