Norwich became the first team to be relegated from the English Premier League on Saturday after Michail Antonio scored four goals for West Ham, which moved much closer to safety with Watford.
Antonio grabbed all the goals in West Ham's 4-0 win over Norwich. West Ham is 16th and six points clear of 18th-place Bournemouth in the relegation zone. Watford is level on points with West Ham after coming from 1-0 down to beat Newcastle 2-1.
Players wore black armbands as Premier League games this weekend started with a moment of silence as a tribute to World Cup winner Jack Charlton, who died on Friday aged 85.
Players observe a minute of silence in memory of Jack Charlton prior to the start of the English Premier League soccer match between Watford and Newcastle at the Vicarage Road Stadium in Watford, England, Saturday, July 11, 2020. (Justin SetterfieldPool via AP)
Norwich is in last place with a 13-point gap to Watford in 17th and a maximum nine points on offer in the three remaining games.
Set pieces have been a regular source of hurt for Norwich and that was the case again on Saturday. Antonio's first goal was a close-range finish at a corner and his second a header from Mark Noble's free kick. Antonio headed the third on the rebound when his shot was saved by Tim Krul on the break.
Watford captain Troy Deeney scored two second-half penalties to give his team a valuable 2-1 win over Newcastle. Dwight Gayle put Newcastle ahead in the 23rd minute but defensive errors proved costly for Newcastle after the break. Matt Ritchie gave away one penalty for Deeney to score in the 52nd and Javier Manquillo gave up another with a foul on Ismaila Sarr.
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Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus scored more goals in 53 minutes on Saturday than he had in the previous eight months in the English Premier League.
Becoming the first player in the league to score four goals in one game this season, Jesus led City to a 5-1 thrashing of Watford to open a four-point lead over second-placed Liverpool in the title race.
Liverpool can trim that back to one point with five matches left by beating Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday.
Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus celebrates after scoring his fourth goal, his side's fifth, during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Watford at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, April 23, 2022. (AP PhotoJon Super)
Jesus scored three goals in the league before the arrival of next-to-last Watford for a match that ended up resembling a training exercise.
The Brazil international netted twice in the first half and twice more in the opening eight minutes of the second half — one of which was a penalty to complete his hat trick.
Rodri scored the other goal for City, which used the match to give key players a rest ahead of Real Madrid's visit in the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes reacts after failing to score from a penalty kick during an English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates stadium in London, Saturday April 23, 2022. (AP PhotoAlastair J. Grant)
While City stayed on course for the title, fierce rival Manchester United likely dropped out of the race for Champions League qualification.
By losing at Arsenal 3-1, United fell six points behind its top-four rival and manager Ralf Rangnick all but called time on his team's season.
“I don’t think it’s very realistic to dream and think of the top four," Rangnick said at the end of a week when United also lost at Liverpool 4-0 and hired a new manager, Ajax's Erik ten Hag, for the start of next season.
Arsenal moved into fourth, three points above north London rival Tottenham, which visited Brentford late.
In other games, last-placed Norwich plunged closer to relegation with a 3-0 loss at home to Newcastle, while mid-table teams Leicester and Aston Villa drew 0-0.
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