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 sensational strike in the 85th minute.

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What’s next?

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 (United) at London Stadium on Sunday (2 pm ET).

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Manchester City vs West Ham, final score: 3-0 50th minute – Nathan Ake heads home to send City back to the top 71st minute – Erling Haaland scores goal no. 35, breaks Premier League single-season record How to watch Manchester City vs West Ham live, stream link and start time Kick off: 3pm ET, WednesdayTV Channel: USA NetworkOnline: Stream via NBCSports.com Key storylines & star players

Erling Haaland is one goal from sitting alone atop the Premier League single-season goal list, and that’s not a bad way to spend your first season in a new league. Rodri, John Stones, and Jack Grealish have also been in borderline career form over the past few weeks.

West Ham has some busy, electric attackers in Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen, but be sure to watch how Lukasz Fabianski looks early in this one. The veteran keeper has a bit of feast or famine to his game, and he’ll need to be in feast mode to get something off of City.

Manchester City team news, injuries, lineup options

OUT: Benjamin Mendy (suspension – MORE)

West Ham team news, injuries, lineup options

OUT: Gianluca Scamacca (knee)

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Manchester City back in PL title lead as Haaland breaks goals record originally appeared on NBCSports.com