MANCHESTER
\nManche\u00adster City moved to the top of the Premier League as lowly Luton were eased aside 5-1 at the Etihad, while Newcastle thras\u00adhed Tottenham 4-0 on Saturday.
\nAmid a gruelling schedule, Pep Guardiola could hardly have wished for a kinder fixture in between the two legs of his side\u2019s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
\nGuardiola 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.
\nErling Haaland\u2019s shot deflected in off the unfortunate Daiki Hashioka into his own net.
\nYet 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\u2019s cross at the edge of the box.
\nHaaland scored five then the sides met in the FA Cup in February.
\nThe 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.
\nRoss Barkley netted a late consolation for Luton but they have just five games left to save their top-flight status.
\nJeremy 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.
\nVictory takes City two points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool, who both have a game in hand, and are in action on Sunday.
\nLiverpool host Crystal Palace at Anfield looking to bounce back from their shock Europa League defeat to Atalanta.
\nArsenal entertain Aston Villa, who moved back into the top four without kicking a ball on Saturday thanks to Tottenham\u2019s trouncing at St. James\u2019 Park.
\nISAK DOUBLE
\nAlexander 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.
\nNewcastle are 10 points adrift of Tottenham and Villa with six games remaining but have the far easier run-in.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to keep doing our bit which is trying to win every game,\u201d said Newcastle boss Eddie Howe.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re hopefully returning to somewhere near our best and we\u2019ve got to keep heading in that direction.\u201d
\nAt the bottom of the table, Nottingham Forest edged one point clear of the bottom three after a thrilling 2-2 draw against Wolves.
\nMatheus Cunha struck twice for the visitors at the City Ground to deny Forest a vital three points after goals from Morgan Gibbs White and Danilo had put them 2-1 in front.
\nBrentford\u2019s first win in 10 games pulled the Bees seven points clear of the drop zone as Ollie Arblaster\u2019s own goal and Frank Onyeka earned a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United.
\nBurnley\u2019s chances of survival are fading fast after a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton left them still second bottom, six points adrift of safety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANCHESTER Manche\u00adster City moved to the top of the Premier League as lowly Luton were eased aside 5-1 at the Etihad, while Newcastle thras\u00adhed Tottenham 4-0 on Saturday. Amid a gruelling schedule, Pep Guardiola could hardly have wished for a kinder fixture in between the two legs of his side\u2019s Champions League quarter-final against Real […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-400134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n