Erling Haaland leveled the Premier League record for goals in a 38-game season on Saturday as Manchester City closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to just three points after a day of drama in the top-four race.

The Norway forward netted twice in the first half of City’s 3-1 win over relegation-threatened Leicester to reach 32 goals, placing his name beside Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s tally in 2017-18.

John Stones opened the scoring at the Etihad Stadium before a goal from the penalty spot and a clever dinked finish from Haaland.

Pep Guardiola substituted the 22-year-old at half-time, denying him the chance to hunt down the overall single-season record of 34 goals in the Premier League era, set in the days of 42 games per side.

Leicester, with Dean Smith in charge for the first time, pulled a goal back in the second half through Kelechi Iheanacho but they slumped to a fourth straight defeat and remain second from bottom of the table.