Manchester City moved back to five points behind leaders Arsenal as Erling Haaland's double helped them to a 4-1 Premier League victory against rock-bottom Southampton at St Mary's.

Pep Guardiola's team were shocked 2-0 by Saints when they met in the EFL Cup quarter-finals in January, but there was never a sign of a repeat on Saturday as the visitors dominated.

Haaland gave them the lead with a powerful header as Kevin De Bruyne reached 100 Premier League assists for his career, before Grealish doubled the lead with an alert finish not long into the second half.

Haaland scored his 30th Premier League goal of the season before Julian Alvarez converted a penalty as City cruised to a fifth successive league win. Sekou Mara scored a Saints consolation with a fine finish.

100 Premier League assists for Kevin De Bruyne.
99 for Man City, 1 for Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/kErudgP7sN

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) April 8, 2023

City carved open the hosts within five minutes, a sweeping move ending with Gavin Bazunu making a good stop to deny Grealish.

Haaland went close to putting the visitors in front when he headed just wide, but he would not miss the target a second time.

De Bruyne's delightful cross picked out the former Borussia Dortmund striker, who crashed a header past Bazunu and into the back of the net to give City the lead in the 45th minute.

Grealish made it 2-0 shortly after the interval, Bazunu making a good stop from his initial effort before the winger coolly buried his rebound.

Haaland added his second and City's third with a spectacular bicycle kick, lashing home from Grealish's teasing delivery.

Mara pulled a goal back when he rifled into the bottom-left corner, but Alvarez rounded off the scoring from the spot in the 75th minute when he slotted home after Kyle Walker-Peters felled De Bruyne.

What does it mean? City ramp up pressure on Gunners

Arsenal head to Anfield on Sunday having not won there in the Premier League since 2012, and this City result and performance will have done nothing to calm their nerves heading into that huge clash.

Guardiola's men were entirely dominant, holding 73.4 per cent of the possession while accumulating 2.64 xG (expected goals). Saints scored with their only shot on target as City kept the hosts' forwards quiet.

Haaland moves onto 30

The prolific Norway international netted twice to become just the third Premier League player to score at least 30 goals in their first season in the competition, after Andy Cole and Kevin Phillips.

Haaland is just four goals away from the single-season record achieved by Cole and Alan Shearer, and with City still having nine games left to play, he will surely have visions of not only surpassing that record but going well beyond it.

Ineffective Alcaraz

With City's striker performing so brilliantly, Saints' own centre-forward Carlos Alcaraz struggled to make anywhere near the same impact in drawing a blank.

The 20-year-old failed to record a shot or even a touch in the visitors' box while also not managing to create a chance, with Ruben Selles seeing enough when he hauled him off for Moussa Djenepo in the 69th minute.

Key Opta facts

– De Bruyne has 99 assists for City and one for Chelsea in his 100 haul. He is the fifth player to reach the milestone, doing so in fewer appearances (237) than any of the previous four. De Bruyne has assisted seven Premer League goals for Erling Haaland this season, the most that one Manchester City player has assisted another in a single campaign.
– Haaland has scored 44 goals in all competitions for City this season – this is the joint-most ever by a Premier League player in a single campaign, level with Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002-03) and Mohamed Salah (2017-18).
– Southampton conceded four or more goals in a Premier League game for the fourth time this season, their joint most in a single campaign in the competition.
– City have won their last five Premier League games, with three of these coming by a 4-1 scoreline.
– Grealish has been involved in 10 goals in 15 Premier League games since the World Cup (4 goals, 6 assists). Only Haaland (14) has been involved in more for City in that time. The total is three more than Grealish managed in his first 34 appearances for City (4 goals, 3 assists).

What's next?

Next up for City is the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at home to Bayern Munich on Tuesday, while Southampton host Crystal Palace in the Premier League next Saturday.