Champions Manchester City defeated Wolves 5-1 to maintain control of the Premier League championship race.
Erling Haaland scored four goals, including a hat-trick in the first half.
Pep Guardiola’s team had to reply to leaders Arsenal’s resounding victory over Bournemouth earlier in the day, and they did it at the Etihad Stadium with a masterful defeat of their unfortunate guests.
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In the first half, Haaland scored twice from the penalty spot, one after a spectacular header, and then added a remarkable fourth goal.
Hwang Hee-chan provided solace for Wolves, while Julian Alvarez, a substitute, also registered a point.
With a game remaining, the win moved City, who are aiming for a record fourth straight league title, to within one point of the Gunners.
Haaland’s brilliant performance increased his season total to 36 goals across all competitions and put him five goals ahead of his closest rivals in the Premier League Golden Boot race. a tenth goal while wearing City colours was a hat-trick.
There wasn’t much of a way out for the Wolves players, though manager Gary O’Neil might have been happy that his touchline ban kept him out of sight.
It was evident from the start that City was determined, and it was not surprising when they quickly took the lead, even though after 12 minutes there was some disagreement on their first penalty.
Rayan Ait-Nouri tried to clear as Josko Gvardiol was preparing to shoot, and the two clashed.
Although referee Craig Pawson’s judgement might have gone any way, Haaland easily tucked away after receiving the spot-kick.
With the help of some appalling Wolves defence, City soon had additional opportunities when Kevin De Bruyne missed a shot and Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa turned away a header from Haaland.
Phil Foden dribbled through the area, but at the crucial time, he lost control.
In the 35th minute, Rodri recovered possession, carried on with his run, and passed to De Bruyne before lofting a cross to the back post, where Haaland soared wonderfully to head past Sa.
This was the inevitable second goal.
After being hauled down by Nelson Semedo, the Norwegian completed his trifecta in first-half stoppage time with a second penalty.
Despite evaluating the challenge on the pitchside monitor, Pawson was not persuaded this time and pointed to the location.
Against the run of play, Wolves, who had not provided much before the interval, equalised after 53 minutes.
After overcoming a shoulder injury to begin, City keeper Ederson palmed a cross from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde into Hwang’s path, and the Korean turned the ball into the net.
However, Haaland quickly and decisively crushed any dreams of a comeback that Wolves, or even Arsenal, may have had.
From just inside the area, the attacker latched onto a long pass from Foden and cut inside to unleash a fierce shot into the far corner.
After also stopping Mateo Kovavic, Haaland nearly had a fifth moments later when he forced a nice save from Sa, but five minutes from time, Alvarez beat the keeper once more.