Manchester City's march to the Premier League title is taking shape, and they may just have one hand on the trophy. Capitalizing on Liverpool dropping points at home to Tottenham on Saturday, City took care of surging Newcastle on Sunday with a 5-0 win. The victory, off the back of their shocking Champions League elimination to Real Madrid, sees Pep Guardiola's men open up a three-point lead on the Reds with three games to go.
Following an early barrage by the Citizens, Raheem Sterling opened the scoring in the 19th minute and they wouldn't look back as Aymeric Laporte, Rodri and Phil Foden also got on the scoresheet. Sterling even scored again in stoppage time to pad City's goal differential.
It's an important victory in more ways than one as not only did City pull ahead in the title race, but their +68 goal difference is also better than Liverpool's +64, which now gives them the advantage if the two finish level on points.
Newcastle, finishing with an xG of 0.83, had one chance early via a Chris Wood header following a cross from Allan Saint-Maximin, but he was unable to put the free header on target. With their strength, the Citizens would put their foot down on the pedal, scoring two goals in the first half to all but decide the game.
Once Phil Foden entered for Gabriel Jesus in the second half, City kicked it up a notch as it was clear that Guardiola knew that they need to score as many goals as possible to try and boost their chances at winning the league after another European failure.
Here are a few takeaways from the match
When one team draws in a tough match, there's no quicker way to shift momentum than going out and scoring five goals in a match the next day. City did get some help from Martin Dubravka on the day but following their midweek loss to Real Madrid, the team could've come out flat considering how important the Champions League title is to them. But credit to Guardiola for ensuring that didn't happen. With three games remaining both City and Liverpool will play Aston Villa and Wolves so this was important as West Ham should be a tougher match for City than Southampton are for Liverpool. Both will be favorites the rest of the way, but the Reds are going to need City to pull a shocker to have any real shot.
Guardiola announced after the match that Ruben Dias, John Stones and Kyle Walker are all out injured for the remainder of the season. Dias was taken off at halftime due to injury and was replaced by Fernandinho. Stones and Walker both were taken off during recent matches, with Walker's occurring in the loss at Real Madrid.
It's quite a significant bit of news, losing potentially two starters in Dias and Walker, and Stones has also played significant minutes as of late. As a result, this likely leaves Laporte and Nathan Ake as the main center-back duo for the rest of the way, but this could make things tricky as they look to see out the season and win the title.
Jack Grealish has had a tough start to life at Manchester City, failing to consistent starts in a team with so much depth. While at Aston Villa he was a ball dominant player and has struggled at times to make an impact without the ball for City leading to him only making 20 Premier League starts this season. But while he had an assist on the day, it was his interplay with Foden that was most impressive as Grealish trusted his teammates and kept moving without the ball.
Grealish started his run with excellent dribbling before continuing to the center of the pitch and unselfishly setting up Sterling. It's just what Guardiola wants from his wingers and if Grealish can keep it up, it will see him be much more involved next season, especially after producing some quality minutes off the bench midweek.
City will enter their next game knowing what Liverpool have done as the Reds place at Villa on Tuesday. City go to Wolves on Wednesday, and at worse they'll have a chance to remain three points clear with two matches remaining. City's kickoff at Wolves is set for 3:15 p.m. ET.
Date: Sunday, May 8 | Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
Location: Etihad Stadium -- Manchester, United Kingdom
TV: USA | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Odds: Man City -580; Draw +625; Newcastle +1600 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
They led the match from wire to wire and didn't give Newcastle a chance as the final ten minutes of the match belonged to Foden and Grealish.
Grealish and Foden play a beautiful 1-2 before Grealish sees an open Sterling to score City's fifth.
A quick foray forward and Zinchenko played in a quick pass for Foden but Jack Grealish's run made that goal happen.
19-year-old CJ Egan-Riley enters to help hold on to the clean sheet and has an immediate test dealing with Bruno.
Trippier and Wilson have improved things for Newcastle but City's defense has been just too strong as they can't find an opener.
It looked like Wilson would open the scoring for Newcastle but Fernandinho was there to deputize at center back keeping Ederson protected.
Grealish gave him some trouble as he almost punched a ball into one of his defenders for an own goal but Newcastle recovered before things came back to hurt them.
Phil Foden will enter and it's feels unfair considering that City already have a three goal advantage. The depth they possess is out of this world.
City have been dominant as Rodri scores their third goal of the match. He floated across the defense as no one tracked him to knick the cross into the net.
City are living in the final third but haven't gotten their third goal yet but they're punching. Newcastle cant' even get out of their own half.
He has come in for Dias at half so the center back must be nursing an injury to be withdrawn at half.
City are just kicking it around following goals from Sterling and Lapoert but Newcastle hasn't been able to make anything happen after Wood missed an open header in front of goal within the first ten minutes. What will Eddie Howe do to try and switch things up after the half?
Their goal difference is now +65 compared to Liverpool's +64 which could be critical in the title race.
Dubravka was strong on De Bruyne's corner kick but he spilled Ruben Dias' follow up from close range right to the feet of Laporte.
The fullback could already have two goals to add to his assist as Newcastle are leaving him too much space on each attack. City hasn't taken advantage of it enough but he will make a difference.
Wood heads the ball in following a corner but Bruno was in an offside position. Still lots to worry about for City.
Cancelo plays a header across the goal and it's an easy one for Sterling to knock into the net
City are again in acres of space but Cancelo gets under his shot. Feels like only a matter of time until City gets one.
Newcastle needs to be calmer on the ball as they've had chances during the game but are also allowing City to get into transition too easily.
A free header in the box from close range is the kind of chance that Newcastle have to capitalize on if they want to win this game.
De Bruyne is already leading the charge but Zinchenko's cross couldn't beat Dubravka to find Sterling. It's a major warning shot for Newcastle as they're seeing what happens when you give City an inch.
It's a good start to this one as the Magpies have been up to the test posed by City early. They're having trouble breaking down City's defense, but the press is holding up when they turn the ball over.
Get ready as this will be quite a match as Newcastle looks to prove that they can hang with the top sides in the league.
They get an early goal and their stars show up in front of their home fans. The recipe for victory is simple for Pep Guardiola's side but taking advantage of chances can be easier said than done against teams that fall into a low block. The easiest way to combat that is by scoring early so that Newcastle will have to come out of their shell giving Sterling space to operate in behind the defense.
Bruno is able to dominate midfield while Dan Burn propels crosses from City to push them to the center of the pitch. City have struggled at times if the game drags on but they can't get good shots off in the box and will push more and more players upfield leaving space on the counter for Howe's side to exploit.
City's defense has been their hallmark on the season but when Kyle Walker has been off the pitch, the team has struggled to keep clean sheets. Zinchenko loves getting forward but will need to be stout in his defensive responsibilities as well keeping a watchful eye on Saint-Maximin and Almiron during the day.
Eddie Howe gets some long term absentees back to the bench as Callum Wilson and Keiran Trippier return to fitness. While they're only fit enough for a spot on the bench, Trippier's dead ball delivery and Wilson's eye for goal could prove to be invaluable weapons later in the game.
Starters: Dubravka, Krafth, Lascelles, Burn, Targett, Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Almiron, Saint-Maximin, Wood
Reserves: Darlow, Dummett, Schar, Wilson, Ritchie. Trippier, Manquillo, Murphy, Gayle
