Manchester City vs Newcastle player ratings: Sterling 9, Grealish 8; Dubravka 5, Krafth 4

Pep Guardiola's team move three points ahead of Liverpool at top of the table after 5-0 win

MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson 7 – Saved well from Callum Wilson, who was clean through on goal in the closing stages. Held on comfortably to all of Newcastle’s other efforts on target. Reuters

Joao Cancelo 8 – Set up Sterling’s opener, heading the ball across the face of the Newcastle goal, and right into the forward’s path. Superb. Getty

Ruben Dias 6 – The captain was replaced by Fernandinho at halftime after picking up an injury. Pep Guardiola will hope this isn’t the end of his season. PA

Aymeric Laporte 7 – Scorer of City’s second goal, the Spaniard was solid for the first hour. Only his distribution let him down slightly in the closing stages. EPA

Oleksandr Zinchenko 7 – Spent most of the game in the opposition’s half, adding good width and creativity to City’s play. Assisted Foden’s late goal. AP

Rodri 8 – Controlled the midfield expertly. Broke down counterattacks well and managed to score a headed goal from a set-piece for the second successive weekend. EPA

Ilkay Gundogan 8 – Marked his return to the side in style, having a hand in both of City’s two opening goals. The German was a constant threat in possession. AFP

Kevin De Bruyne 9 – Enjoyed another sensational outing, cutting Newcastle apart with several defence-splitting passes. Grabbed an assist in the second half, whipping in a teasing corner for Rodri to nod home. PA

Jack Grealish 8 – Hardly put a foot wrong today on the left-hand side for the hosts. Got a late assist for City’s fifth goal, unselfishly laying the ball on a plate for Sterling. EPA

Raheem Sterling 9 – Scored a brace for the home side, taking his Premier League tally to 10 for the season. His movement and finishing was top notch. Getty

Gabriel Jesus 7 – Less impressive than he has been in recent weeks, but the Brazilian did combine well with Sterling and Grealish. Was replaced by Phil Foden on the hour mark. AP

SUBS: Fernandinho (Dias 45') 7 – Put his body on the line, in what could be his final game at the Etihad. The veteran midfielder filled in admirably at Centre-back for the injured Dias. Reuters

Phil Foden (Jesus 63') 7 – Took his goal well, coolly slotting home from close range in added time. Could have had another but he took too long to pull the trigger. Reuters

CJ Egan-Riley (Laporte 87') N/A – Applauded by the home fans for his composed interception and pass out from the back in stoppage time. Getty

NEWCASTLE RATINGS: Martin Dubravka 5 – Could have done a bit better to deny Laporte for City’s second, having palmed Gundogan’s shot right into the path of the Spaniard. Made a smart stop from Zinchenko late on. PA

Emile Krafth 4 – Switched off far too often for Eddie Howe’s likening. Allowed Rodri to run across him at the near post for his goal. EPA

Jamaal Lascelles 4 – Not the best day for the Magpies captain, who came in for Fabian Schar in the heart of the defence. Saw his late header at the other end saved by Ederson. AFP

Dan Burn 5 – Struggled up against the nimble Sterling and Jesus, whose movement was excellent. Picked up a needless yellow card for manhandling Rodri before a City corner. EPA

Matt Targett 5 – Had the unenviable task of trying to keep Sterling and Cancelo quiet. The Englishman generally came off second best, picking up a late yellow card for his troubles.
 Getty

Bruno Guimaraes 6 – Progressive in possession, combative out of it. Even if his efforts were in vain, the 24-year-old’s attitude cannot be called into question. AP

Sean Longstaff 5 – Looked rusty, in what was just his second start in Newcastle’s last seven games. A tad too wasteful in possession when they had chances on the break. AFP

Joelinton 6 – Looked energetic going forward in the opening half-hour. However, his influence began to wave massively in the second period as City established control of the game. AFP

Miguel Almiron 5 – A bit of a peripheral figure for the away side, who generally built-up attacks through Saint-Maximin. A frustrating afternoon overall. 
AP

Chris Wood 5 – Missed a header from six yards out with the game at 0-0. The New Zealander never seemed to recover from that miss - and was hooked off after 70 minutes. 
Reuters

Allan Saint-Maximin 7 – Newcastle’s main threat throughout the game. The Frenchman’s end product was a tad wasteful, but his driving runs forward caused panic in the City defence at times. AFP

SUBS: Kieran Trippier (Krafth, 68') 5 – The England international came on for his first Newcastle appearance since February. Unsurprisingly, he looked well off the pace. PA

Callum Wilson (Wood 68') 5 – Missed a late one v one chance, firing the ball straight at Ederson. Toon fans will just be glad to see him out on the pitch again. Jacob Murphy (Almiron 80') N/A. EPA

Manchester City took control of the Premier League title race as they thrashed Newcastle 5-0 to consolidate their position at the top on Sunday.

Raheem Sterling's double and goals from Aymeric Laporte, Rodri and Phil Foden helped Pep Guardiola's team move three points clear of Liverpool with three games left to play.

City also edged four goals ahead of the Reds on goal difference, which could still decide the title if the defending champions lose one of their remaining games against Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa.

"If some people doubted us they don't know this team," Guardiola said after the match. "It's one of the best groups I ever trained in my life."

"It was a perfect afternoon. Before the start of the game I felt our crowd were disappointed but not upset and angry about who we are as a team and what we have done the last five years."

It was a heartening result for City after their late collapse in the Champions League semi-final at Real Madrid on Wednesday ended their bid for a first European Cup. City also took advantage of second-place Liverpool drawing 1-1 against Tottenham on Saturday.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.