BOURNEMOUTH, England (Reuters) – Manchester City produced a scintillating display as they eased to a 4-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday, slashing the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal back down to two points.
Arsenal earned a 1-0 win at Leicester City earlier on Saturday and briefly moved five points clear at the top, putting pressure on City to secure victory on the south coast.
The visitors began strongly, dominating possession and putting together a series of slick moves, before taking the lead in the 15th minute as Julian Alvarez fired in a rebound after Erling Haaland’s deflected shot cannoned off the crossbar.
Haaland then netted his 27th league goal of the campaign just before the half-hour with a relatively simple finish to overtake Sergio Aguero’s tally from the 2014-15 campaign and become City’s record scorer in a Premier League season.
Phil Foden effectively sealed the three points on the cusp of halftime, pouncing on an errant pass by Philip Billing and gliding past Jack Stephens to let loose a thumping finish.
Chris Mepham turned in an unfortunate own goal early in the second half before Jefferson Lerma hammered home a volley in the 83rd to earn a consolation goal for second-bottom Bournemouth, who had slipped into the relegation zone earlier on Saturday.
Reigning champions City now have 55 points to Arsenal’s 57, although the London club have a game in hand.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
