<p>Manchester City produced a scintillating display as they eased to a 4-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday, slashing the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal back down to two points.</p>.<p>City, who scored through Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and a Chris Mepham own goal, now have 55 points to Arsenal's 57, although the London club have a game in hand.</p>.<p>Arsenal had earlier earned a 1-0 win at Leicester City and briefly moved five points clear at the top, putting pressure on City to secure victory on the south coast.</p>.<p>The visitors began strongly, dominating possession and putting together a series of slick moves, before taking the lead in the 15th minute as Alvarez fired in a rebound after Haaland's deflected shot cannoned off the crossbar.</p>.<p>Haaland then netted his 27th league goal of the campaign just before the half-hour with a relatively simple finish to overtake Sergio Aguero's tally from the 2014-15 campaign and become City's record scorer in a Premier League season.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/premier-league-arsenal-beat-leicester-to-keep-top-spot-1195135.html" target="_blank">Premier League: Arsenal beat Leicester to keep top spot</a></strong></p>.<p>The Norwegian has now scored more goals than any other City player in a top-flight season since Francis Lee's 33 in 1971-72.</p>.<p>With 13 league games to play, Haaland also has Tommy Johnson's all-time City record of 38 goals in a league season, set in 1928-29, firmly in his sights.</p>.<p>Foden effectively sealed the points for City on the cusp of halftime, pouncing on an errant pass by Philip Billing and gliding past Jack Stephens to let loose a thumping finish.</p>.<p>Mepham turned in an unfortunate own goal early in the second half before Jefferson Lerma hammered home a volley in the 83rd to earn a consolation goal for second-bottom Bournemouth, who had slipped into the relegation zone earlier on Saturday.</p>.<p>Bournemouth, who have now lost all 12 of their Premier League meetings with City, were the perfect opponents to give the champions a boost after back-to-back draws with Nottingham Forest in the league and RB Leipzig in the Champions League.</p>.<p>The home side had no answer to the movement of City midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Foden, who was back in the side after being benched for the Leipzig match.</p>.<p>Foden, in particular, tormented Bournemouth's back line at will and was involved in City's first two goals before getting on the scoresheet himself.</p>.<p>City took their foot of the gas in the second half as manager Pep Guardiola opted to rest a few players with the game effectively over as a contest, and Bournemouth switched to a back five in an attempt to limit the damage.</p>
<p>Manchester City produced a scintillating display as they eased to a 4-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday, slashing the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal back down to two points.</p>.<p>City, who scored through Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and a Chris Mepham own goal, now have 55 points to Arsenal's 57, although the London club have a game in hand.</p>.<p>Arsenal had earlier earned a 1-0 win at Leicester City and briefly moved five points clear at the top, putting pressure on City to secure victory on the south coast.</p>.<p>The visitors began strongly, dominating possession and putting together a series of slick moves, before taking the lead in the 15th minute as Alvarez fired in a rebound after Haaland's deflected shot cannoned off the crossbar.</p>.<p>Haaland then netted his 27th league goal of the campaign just before the half-hour with a relatively simple finish to overtake Sergio Aguero's tally from the 2014-15 campaign and become City's record scorer in a Premier League season.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/premier-league-arsenal-beat-leicester-to-keep-top-spot-1195135.html" target="_blank">Premier League: Arsenal beat Leicester to keep top spot</a></strong></p>.<p>The Norwegian has now scored more goals than any other City player in a top-flight season since Francis Lee's 33 in 1971-72.</p>.<p>With 13 league games to play, Haaland also has Tommy Johnson's all-time City record of 38 goals in a league season, set in 1928-29, firmly in his sights.</p>.<p>Foden effectively sealed the points for City on the cusp of halftime, pouncing on an errant pass by Philip Billing and gliding past Jack Stephens to let loose a thumping finish.</p>.<p>Mepham turned in an unfortunate own goal early in the second half before Jefferson Lerma hammered home a volley in the 83rd to earn a consolation goal for second-bottom Bournemouth, who had slipped into the relegation zone earlier on Saturday.</p>.<p>Bournemouth, who have now lost all 12 of their Premier League meetings with City, were the perfect opponents to give the champions a boost after back-to-back draws with Nottingham Forest in the league and RB Leipzig in the Champions League.</p>.<p>The home side had no answer to the movement of City midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Foden, who was back in the side after being benched for the Leipzig match.</p>.<p>Foden, in particular, tormented Bournemouth's back line at will and was involved in City's first two goals before getting on the scoresheet himself.</p>.<p>City took their foot of the gas in the second half as manager Pep Guardiola opted to rest a few players with the game effectively over as a contest, and Bournemouth switched to a back five in an attempt to limit the damage.</p>