Southampton 1-4 Manchester City: Erling Haaland returns with two goals, Jack Grealish on target in easy win

Erling Haaland hit a brace to chalk up his 30th Premier League goal of the season as Manchester City cut the gap to Arsenal at the summit to five points with a 4-1 victory that deepens rock-bottom Southampton’s relegation fears. Saints frustrated Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions for long spells in a tight first half, but were undone on the stroke of the interval when Haaland nodded home Kevin De Bruyne’s cross for the Belgian to become the fastest man to notch up 100 Premier League assists.

Ad The visitors moved up a gear following the break and Jack Grealish continued his fine form of late by firing in a rebound on 58 minutes after Gavin Bazunu had saved his initial effort. Premier LeagueKlopp bristles at journalist's 'waste of time' question over Liverpool rotation10 HOURS AGO Haaland then grabbed his second of the evening with an acrobatic overhead kick before Saints substitute Sekou Mara reduced the arrears.

Julian Alvarez then came off the bench to put the seal on victory with a composed penalty 15 minutes from time. The result means Man City cut Arsenal’s lead at the top to five points having played the same number of games, with The Gunners facing a tough trip to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

Southampton remain rooted to the foot of the table, four points adrift of 17th-placed Everton with eight matches to play. City will now turn their attention to the heavyweight Champions League quarter-final first leg showdown with Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.

Southampton must try to bounce back at home to Crystal Palace next Saturday. Premier League table Premier League fixtures / results Premier League top scorers Talking point — All eyes on Anfield City would have been desperate to avoid a monumental slip-up given