Erling Haaland broke the Premier League record for goals in a single season and Manchester City went back atop the table with a 3-0 victory over West Ham at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. [ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ] The victory puts Manchester City (79 points) back above Arsenal (78) while still holding a crucial game-in-hand advantage on the Gunners.
The title is officially City’s to lose. Though expected, the defeat leaves West Ham (34 points – 15th place) still on the edge of relegation danger and safety, four points above the bottom-three with four games left to play.
Manchester City’s possession and pressure were relentless from opening to closing whistles, but the West Ham defense — Angelo Ogbonna, in particular — defended desperately for the entirety of the first half.
Until they no longer could. WATCH MANCHESTER CITY vs WEST HAM FULL MATCH REPLAY Riyad Mahrez delivered a stellar free kick to the back post just five minutes into the second half, and Nathan Ake applied the thunderous header to beat Lukasz Fabianski and make it 1-0 to the two-time defending Premier League champions.