Manchester City recovered top position in the Premier League on Sunday with a 5-0 thrashing of Newcastle United, giving the defending champions a three-point advantage over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring when a fantastic cross from Ilkay Gundogan to Joao Cancelo, and Aymeric Laporte added a second after Martin Dubravka spilt the ball into his path.
With three games remaining, City has 86 points to Liverpool’s 83, and City currently has a better goal difference.
In the second half, Rodri headed home Kevin de Bruyne’s corner for three, then Raheem Sterling nodded in after a fantastic cross from Ilkay Gundogan found Joao Cancelo, and Aymeric Laporte scrambled home a second after Martin Dubravka spilt the ball into his path.
City now leads Liverpool by three points and has a four-goal differential edge. Sterling for five more.
Raheem Sterling’s 18th-minute header put Pep Guardiola’s team back on track as they returned to their championship campaign after their stunning exit from the Champions League on Wednesday.
Aymeric Laporte promptly added a second after Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka mishandled the ball in the box, before Rodri scored City’s third from another corner in the second half.
Newcastle had an excellent chance to open the score after Chris Wood was given a free header from six yards out, but it wasn’t until the game was over that they showed some energy again.
However, Phil Foden added a fourth and Sterling scored his second as City sealed a stunning victory in injury time. Liverpool can cut the deficit when they visit Aston Villa on Tuesday, followed by City’s visit to Molineux on Wednesday.