Manchester City beat Liverpool black and blue

MANCHESTER, April 1

Manchester City showed they can win without goal machine Erling Haaland as they put four past Liverpool at the Etihad today to keep their chase of Premier League leaders Arsenal very much alive.

Julian Alvarez, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish were all on target for Pep Guardiola’s side in a goal-packed return to Premier League action after the international break.

“Brilliant – we knew it would be a tough game playing Liverpool and the first after the international break is always difficult,” Grealish said after the match. “We wanted to start this last period right, Liverpool are so dangerous with players they have up front and then you, not fear the worst, but think it’s going to be a tough game to get back into it. We were excellent especially in the second half.”

Mohamed Salah opened the scoring early for Juergen Klopp’s side, who are clinging on to the sixth place in the top flight as they fight for a Champions League berth, before City took complete control of the match.

Jesus at the double

London: Gabriel Jesus scored his first goals for six months as Arsenal maintained control of the title race with a 4-1 defeat of relegation-threatened Leeds United today.

Jesus, starting a league game for the first time since returning from a knee injury last month, converted a 35th-minute penalty after being clipped in the box by Luke Ayling. — Reuters