Manchester City beat Brighton 2-1 on Saturday to return to the Premier League summit and end Liverpool’s brief stay at the top after their victory in the Merseyside derby.
City, who had lost their previous two league games, dominated the first half of their match at the Etihad against Brighton, taking the lead through Alvarez in the seventh minute.
Jeremy Doku was the creator as he reached the byline and pulled back for Alvarez to tuck home his seventh of the season from 12 yards.
Haaland ended his brief goal drought by doubling City’s lead 12 minutes later, driving home a fierce left-footed shot from just outside the area.
But it was a different story after the break and Brighton pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute.
Moments after Alvarez failed with an attempt to catch Jason Steele off his line, the ball was quickly sent upfield and, after Kaoru Mitoma’s attempted pass was blocked, Ansu Fati tucked home.
Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji was sent off in the closing minutes but they held on to win despite late pressure.
Newcastle, whose early-season struggles are now a distant memory, romped to a 4-0 win against sorry Crystal Palace, with goals from Jacob Murphy, Anthony Gordon, Sean Longstaff and Callum Wilson.
The win, their fourth in five Premier League matches, lifts Eddie Howe’s men to fifth in the Premier League.
Elsewhere, Brentford beat Burnley 3-0 while Wolves came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 thanks to a late winner from Sasa Kalajdzic.
Luton recovered from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Nottingham Forest.
Manchester United play bottom club Sheffield United in the late kick-off, with Old Trafford in mourning over the death of club great Bobby Charlton.
Tottenham, who started the day at the top, are not in action until Monday, when they host Fulham.
AFP
