Manchester City kept up the pressure on their title rivals and Kevin de Bruyne hit his 100th goal for the club in their 4-2 victory at Crystal Palace.
There had been doubts about whether or not the Belgian or Erling Haaland would be in the starting line-up for the lunchtime kick-off at Selhurst Park, where the in-form Jean-Philippe Mateta fired the hosts in front three minutes after kick-off.
De Bruyne drew the sides level moments later, and City took the lead for the first time less than two minutes after the restart via Rico Lewis’ second Premier League goal before De Bruyne set up Haaland for City’s third.
De Bruyne then added another with a solo effort to make it a century of goals for City in the 70th minute.
Palace substitute Odsonne Edouard clawed one back late on, and while Pep Guardiola’s men looked to pad what could be vital scoring statistics at the end of the season, they could not find a fifth in seven minutes of second-half stoppage time.
With safety all but secured, perhaps the more interesting proposition for Palace is now how they might affect the title chase.
Arsenal and City will be keeping their eye on the south Londoners, who travel to Liverpool next weekend.
Mateta gave the home support – as well as the Gunners and Liverpool – something to smile about with a low strike that clipped the inside of the far post before crossing over for the opener.
January signing Adam Wharton, who earned the assist, next tried setting up Eberechi Eze but overpowered the pass before City broke back and tested Dean Henderson with efforts from Julian Alvarez and Rodri, the latter calling the Palace shot-stopper into a particularly fine punch.
There was little Henderson could do to stop De Bruyne, who curled into the top right corner for a brilliant finish to draw the sides level in the 13th minute.
Palace replied with determination, enjoying another spell inside City’s final third, and the frenetic pace finally ebbed as the visitors took control and piled on the pressure.
Haaland, through on goal, forced Henderson into a save and Alvarez sent an effort wide, though it was Jordan Ayew who came closest to altering the scoreline before the break after he picked the pocket of Rodri, holding his head in his hands after watching his powerful effort clip the crossbar.
The Eagles wanted a penalty when Josko Gvardiol barged into Eze on the stroke of half-time, and while referee Paul Tierney brushed off their protests, the home support had plenty to cheer about their side’s performance in the first period.
Lewis took the wind out of their sails less than two minutes after the restart, bringing down Jack Grealish’s cross, his shot from near the penalty spot taking a slight deflection off Jefferson Lerma before going in.
More chances came City’s way, first through Alvarez then Grealish from a corner and De Bruyne before the hour mark before De Bruyne and Haaland combined for the visitors’ third.
It took just four minutes more for De Bruyne to bag his brace, drilling past Henderson to pad City’s lead in the 70th minute, after which Palace boss Oliver Glasner introduced a host of substitutes including Michael Olise, who had not played since Palace’s 4-1 loss to Brighton on February 3.
He set up fellow substitute Edouard for a golden chance, and after squandering the initial opportunity he made up for the miss when he poked past Ortega in the 86th minute.
Grealish wanted more with a late chance in second-half stoppage time but sent his effort over.
Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season
Roy Keane does not believe Manchester United will get back into the Premier League's top four under Ruben Amorim this season due to a "real lack of quality".
The Red Devils legend was speaking after United started life under the Portuguese with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, as Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener.
Keane acknowledged Amorim has to be given time to turn things around at Old Trafford, but does not see United cracking the top four this season.
"You have to give the man a chance," Keane told Sky Sports. "But the threat going forward, it's a huge problem for Man Utd. It's not good enough.
"Do I believe they have the quality to get them back to top four? Absolutely not. The evidence is not there. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality."
United created 0.9 xG compared to Ipswich's 1.75 and had fewer shots on target (four) compared to Ipswich (six) at Portman Road.
They did have more touches in the opposition box (16 to 11) but had fewer final-third entries (48 to 61) and big chances created (two to three).
Ipswich were extremely resilient opponents after their early setback, and Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna praised his side, particularly Hutchinson after he grabbed his first Premier League goal.
"I thought he (Hutchinson) was a big threat first half, naturally more a winger, but most teams are going to press us high and in the spaces in the middle of the pitch having a dribbler in the middle of the pitch who's elusive and hard to pick up can be a big threat," he told Sky Sports.
"I think it's his first goal in the Premier League he'll be happy to have that of his back and he's improving."
"The first half, it's a blow to concede the early goal but I thought as the half went on we grew in the ascendancy, and the intensity of pressing and work on the ball.
"I thought we were the dominant team in the first half and deserved to be going in at least level. Second half in fairness, Man Utd had more control. It was difficult, we had to defend with real discipline on shape."
Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
Napoli 1-0 Roma: Lukaku downs former club on Ranieri's return
Claudio Ranieri's Roma return was spoilt by Romelu Lukaku, whose goal against his old club sealed a 1-0 win for Napoli.
Ranieri was appointed Roma boss over the international break, with the 73-year-old coming out of retirement to take charge of the club for a third time.
Yet it was ex-Roma striker Lukaku who decided Sunday's contest at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with his 54th-minute effort sending Antonio Conte's team back to the top of Serie A.
Lukaku was well-placed to convert from Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cutback, bringing up his fifth Serie A goal of the campaign.
Roma, who had just two attempts and managed only 0.07 expected goals (xG) in the first half, woke up after Lukaku's goal, with Artem Dovbyk powering a header off the woodwork from a free-kick minutes later, but the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless.
Ranieri's next task is to rally his troops for a Europa League clash with Tottenham on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Ranieri's underwhelming return
There was no sign of an immediate upturn for 12th-place Roma, if they were hoping for a new-coach bounce.
Roma ended the first half with fewer than 70 successful passes (68). It is the first time they have had so few successful passes in the opening half of a league game since 2004-05.
With only three wins to their name in the league, they have won fewer than four matches in their opening 13 Serie A games for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign (also three).
And of course, it had to be Lukaku, who was leading their line last season, that delivered the hammer blow. The Belgium international has been involved in nine goals in Serie A this term (five goals, four assists). Only his former Everton club-mate Ademola Lookman, now a star at Atalanta, has contributed to more goals in the competition (seven goals, four assists).
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