IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland struck four times as they remained on course to win a fourth successive Premier League title with a 5-1 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Hours after Arsenal's 3-0 win over Bournemouth, Pep Guardiola's men responded with a resounding victory that pulled them to within a point of the North Londoners at the top of the standings, but with a game in hand.
Arsenal have 83 points with two fixtures remaining in one of the tightest title races in years, while City have 82, but three games to play.
"Nine (more) points, we will be champions. Seven points, six points, three points, Arsenal will win the Premier League," Guardiola said. "If we win the games, we'll be champs, the players know it and we have to do it again and again and again."
Haaland -- who boosted his league scoring lead to 25 with the first four-goal haul of his career -- converted from the penalty spot in the 12th minute after Rayan Ait-Nouri's late tackle took Josko Gvardiol down in the box.
The 23-year-old Norwegian doubled City's lead in the 35th when he soared high to head home at the far post from Rodri's cross.
Haaland converted again from the spot just before halftime after he was clipped from behind by Nelson Semedo in the area. Hwang Hee-chan pulled one back for Wolves in the 53rd with the visitors' only shot on target.
But a minute later, Haaland smothered any hopes of a comeback with his fourth. The goal-scoring machine controlled a diagonal pass in the air from Phil Foden before slicing inside and curling a shot into the far corner.
"Happy for him, exceptional goals, really pleased for him," Guardiola said.
Substitute Julian Alvarez completed City's scoring in the 85th minute.
Wolves, whose manager Gary O'Neill was serving a touchline ban, looked nothing like the team that edged City 2-1 earlier in the season. They are 11th in the standings.
Arsenal cleared another hurdle in their Premier League title quest with a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth in their penultimate home game on Saturday to pile the pressure on Manchester City.
A penalty shortly before halftime converted by Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the lead, Leandro Trossard eased the nerves inside the Emirates Stadium with a second goal on 70 minutes and Declan Rice added the third deep into stoppage-time.
Victory put Arsenal on 83 points from 36 games with champions City on 79 from 34 ahead of their home clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers later on Saturday.
Bournemouth had cause to feel aggrieved with the Arsenal penalty confirmed after a long VAR check and they also had a goal ruled out in the second half after another VAR check.
Gabriel also had a goal ruled out for Arsenal but Rice put the icing on the cake as Mikel Arteta's team stayed firmly in the hunt to win a first Premier League title for 20 years.
With City playing later, Arsenal had the chance to crank up the pressure and they did so in relatively routine fashion even if it did take them a long time to get in front.
As expected, they dominated possession but 10th-placed Bournemouth frustrated the hosts with 10 men behind the ball for much of the opening half.
Trossard twice had shots blocked as Bournemouth threw players in front of the ball and captain Martin Odegaard was also denied early on in the Arsenal siege.
The inevitable nerves surfaced as a mistake by Gabriel let in Bournemouth danger man Dominic Solanke but William Saliba rescued his side with a last-ditch tackle.
Arsenal made the breakthrough just before halftime thanks to a rather fortuitous penalty.
Kai Havertz was played in behind Bournemouth's defence and the German's first touch took him past keeper Mark Travers before he fell to the ground and referee David Coote pointed to the spot.
A lengthy VAR check followed and the decision was allowed to stand despite Havertz appearing to have dragged his foot to initiate contact with the leg of Travers when it would have been simpler for him to convert the chance.
Saka then calmly rolled the penalty into the net past a static Travers, his 16th league goal of the season met with relief around the stadium.
Bournemouth were more adventurous after the break, aided by Arsenal mistakes, and Solanke had a chance but his angled shot was easily saved by David Raya.
Arsenal then doubled their lead with Rice setting up Trossard for a clinical finish.
There was still anxiety, though, and a crazy goalmouth scramble ended up with the ball in Arsenal's net but Solanke was adjudged to have impeded Raya with minimal contact.
In the end, Arsenal won with a flourish and will now focus on beating Manchester United and Everton in their final two games and hope that City falter.
Newcastle rout sends Burnley close to the drop
Alexander Isak scored his 20th Premier League goal of the season as Newcastle United moved into sixth place in the standings with a comprehensive 4-1 victory at Burnley on Saturday which left the hosts on the brink of relegation.
Newcastle, on 56 points from 35 games, kept alive their hopes of playing European football next season as Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff and Bruno Guimaraes also got on the scoresheet, the day soured only slightly by Isak's missed penalty.
Burnley scored a late consolation through Dara O'Shea but are five points from safety with two games left and could have their relegation confirmed when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur next Saturday.
Newcastle's first goal was their 75th of the season, a club record in a 38-game Premier League campaign, and they are now two points above seventh-placed Manchester United having played a game more.
"When we're really aggressive and running forward we are a really good team. It's been there in fits and starts this season, but a really good day and something to build on," Longstaff told the BBC.
"We've got the luxury, when everyone is fit, of some elite forward players."
Newcastle took the lead in the 19th minute when Isak’s shot from six yards was parried by home goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, and Wilson had a tap-in.
The visitors doubled their advantage when Jacob Murphy provided a pull-back from the by-line and Longstaff swept the ball into the far corner of the net with a first time shot.
Two goals became three on 40 minutes as Burnley gave away possession cheaply in their half and the lively Anthony Gordon, in front of watching England manager Gareth Southgate, teed-up Guimaraes for another composed side-footed finish.
Newcastle were awarded a penalty five minutes into the second period when Gordon was hauled down in the box by Josh Brownhill.
Isak saw his effort saved by Muric low to his left and Newcastle, having scored their last 18 Premier League penalties in a row, failed from 12-yards for the first time since 2021.
But three minutes later Isak did find the back of the net with the Burnley defence in disarray, rifling the ball into the top corner.
The home side got a late goal when O'Shea headed a corner back across goal and the ball looped into the net.
"We came up against a better side. I don't think we lacked opportunities to be dangerous ourselves, we just couldn't match Newcastle in most areas of the pitch," Burnley manager Vincent Kompany said.
"The fact of the matter is we play the last game against (Nottingham) Forest. We can't control what they do, we can't control what Luton does.
"We have one game to play in between and that one game we need something special."
Brentford and Fulham play out derby stalemate
Fulham substitute Raul Jimenez missed a golden chance to settle Saturday’s West London derby in his side’s favour but they drew 0-0 at Brentford in a Premier League game of missed chances.
Jimenez had been on the field for nine minutes when set up by Adama Traore’s cross but, despite having time and space, he sent his 73rd-minute effort sailing over the crossbar.
It was the clearest opportunity of the game for Fulham, who started the match three places and eight points ahead of their London rivals in the standings.
The first chance also fell to Fulham, with Alex Iwobi clipping the post inside the opening 10 minutes but it was the hosts who had the better of the first-half exchanges.
Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, set free on the counter-attack by Ivan Toney in the 13th minute, struck the crossbar with a deflected effort, the rebound falling to Keane Lewis-Potter, who struck a feeble effort straight at Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Lewis-Potter had a more difficult opportunity two minutes before halftime after Nathan Collins picked him out with a long-range diagonal pass, cutting in from the wing and trying to lob the goalkeeper but Fulham’s Issa Diop cleared away for a corner.
Brentford, 16th in the table but whose Premier League status for a fourth successive season was confirmed last weekend, thought they had won a penalty when Yoane Wissa was bundled down in the Fulham box but referee Graham Scott waved play on.
Both teams have two league matches left this season.
Forest move three points clear of relegation with win at Sheffield Utd
A brace by Callum Hudson-Odoi helped Nottingham Forest move three points clear of the Premier League's bottom three as they came back from a goal down to secure a 3-1 win at Sheffield United on Saturday.
Forest, with 29 points from 36 matches, gained a crucial lead over 18th-placed Luton Town with two games to go. Sheffield, already relegated, remained bottom with 16 points.
Sheffield took the lead in the 16th minute after Gonzalo Montiel's sliding tackle missed the ball completely and brought down Ben Brereton Diaz inside the box. Brereton Diaz put away the resulting penalty sending keeper Matz Sels the wrong way.
But the visitors equalised just 11 minutes later when Danilo found Callum Hudson-Odoi who came into the box from the left and curled in a right footed shot near the far post.
Forest almost took the lead late in the half when Morgan Gibbs-White's cross from the right was headed by Wood from close range but it hit the crossbar.
They finally led six minutes into the second half with Willy Boly heading down Anthony Elanga's pass for an unmarked Ryan Yates to fire into the net with his right foot, scoring his first ever Premier League goal.
Hudson-Odoi hit the post near the hour mark but completed his brace just two minutes later, evading Anel Ahmedhodzic to make space near the edge of the box to find the target in the near bottom corner.
The goal marked an unsavoury milestone for Sheffield as they became the first club to concede 100 goals in a 38-match Premier League season.
Ahmedhodzic was sent off in stoppage time after bringing down Nicolas Dominguez while going for a header, shortly before the match ended.
Sheffield visit Everton next Saturday, while Forest will host Chelsea.
