Manchester City back in PL title lead as Haaland breaks goals record

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.

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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.

20 minutes later, history was made. Jack Grealish dribbled through the heart of West Ham’s midfield and slotted a perfectly timed and weighted through ball to Haaland, who dinked the ball over the flailing Fabianski and wheeled away to his corner-flag coronation.

Phil Foden added goal no. 3 (his 10th of the PL season and 14th in all competitions) with a deflected strike in the 85th minute.

Manchester City’s quest for a third straight Premier League title will continue on Saturday (10 am ET), when relegation-threaten Leeds (30 points – 17th place) visit the Etihad. West Ham will host the other side of Manchester