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• 'The best winger on the planet' – Guardiola lauds defender Gvardiol after Fulham rout

  Pep Guardiola joked Manchester City have signed "the best winger on the planet" after defender Josko Gvardiol scored twice in Saturday's 4-0 thrashing of Fulham.

  Centre-back Gvardiol once again operated at full-back on the left of City's four-man defence, finding the net in either half at Craven Cottage as Guardiola's side moved back to the Premier League summit.

  His first came from a dancing run inside from Kevin De Bruyne's dinked pass before curling a well-taken right-footed finish into the bottom-left corner.

  That passage of play may have been expected from City's attacking riches of Phil Foden, Erling Haaland or Bernardo Silva, though Gvardiol is becoming accustomed to starring at the other end of the pitch.

  The Croatia international has netted five goals in his last seven games for City after not scoring in his first 32 matches across all competitions – but Guardiola is not surprised.

  "The first goal, we signed the best winger on the planet," Guardiola jested with BBC Radio Manchester. "He's an incredible guy, can play in different positions.

  "After Wolves I gave [the players] three days off, he was the only one who went to the training centre for his recovery.

  "He lives for his profession. We have made an incredible signing for many, many years to come."

  Foden also scored his 25th goal of the season for City, becoming just the second English player to score 25+ in a season for the club in the Premier League era (across all competitions), after Raheem Sterling in 2018-19 (25) and 2019-20 (31).

  Julian Alvarez then wrapped up proceedings with a last-gasp penalty, taking the spot-kick from Gvardiol, who passed up the chance to score a hat-trick out of respect for his team-mate.

  That domination ensured City will end the day in first place for just the eighth time in 2024 – overall, this will be the 72nd day they have ended in top spot this season, behind Liverpool (87) and Arsenal (74).

  Guardiola's side are two points clear of Arsenal, who play Manchester United on Sunday, and still have a game in hand to come when visiting Tottenham on Tuesday.

  The City manager told his post-match press conference: "Our dream is as we said a few weeks ago when [Arsenal] lost against Aston Villa was to arrive in the last games with it in our hands.

  "We wanted to play West Ham at home with the destiny belonging to us."

  Destiny remains in City's hands as they search for a sixth Premier League title in the last seven seasons.

• Rodgers hits back at criticism as Rangers triumph puts Celtic on brink of title

  Brendan Rodgers hit back at his critics after Celtic overcame Rangers to put one hand on the Scottish Premiership title, with the Bhoys manager suggesting he had been treated "like a novice".

  Rodgers' side moved six points clear of Rangers after Saturday's 2-1 victory at Parkhead, needing only a point ahead of Wednesday's trip to Kilmarnock to secure the top-flight trophy.

  Soon-to-be champions Celtic have struggled at times after Rodgers' return to the club, though the former Liverpool boss has been hampered by injuries to numerous key players.

  Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda have all suffered from fitness struggles this term, though Celtic have still responded to move within touching distance of the title.

  Earlier in the season, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton suggested Rodgers was "going through the motions" after defeats against Hearts and Kilmarnock – and Rodgers clearly took note of those comments.

  "From a professional perspective there will be doubt," Rodgers told his post-match press conference after downing Rangers.

  "From a personal perspective, I am surprised in a way where I heard somebody saying 'Brendan Rodgers was going through the motions' earlier in the season.

  "Now, I get to work between half seven and eight o'clock every day of my life. I leave the training ground between half six and seven o'clock at night. And then when I get home, I have my dinner and probably flip on the computer and watch more football.

  "Now, if that's going through the motions, I want to know what every other manager is doing. So, from a personal level, I have been treated like a novice since I've come back here. Like it's my first job.

  "However, my first objective is to make sure Celtic win. Part of that is a part of the criticism and I understand that.

  "But it's the mentality of the team that is most important to me, and that mentality you can see from where we were, with injuries, how we progressed, how we stayed unified and together, and how we then get to this point where we are nearly crossing the finishing line.

  "And we don't just want to cross it, we want to sprint over it. We have two games to go, plus a final, and that is our mentality."

  Rodgers and Celtic's celebrations could start sooner than Wednesday, if Rangers fail to beat Dundee the day before.

  Another title would mark Celtic's 54th Scottish Premiership trophy and their 12th in the last 13 seasons.

• Al Hilal crowned Saudi Pro League champions after Al Hazm hammering

  Al Hilal secured their fourth straight Saudi Pro League title after Aleksandar Mitrovic starred in Saturday's 4-1 thrashing of bottom side Al Hazm.

  Faiz Selemani restored parity after Mitrovic's 15th-minute opener at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, only for Jorge Jesus' hosts to roar back and be crowned champions with three games remaining.

  Ahmed Al Juwaid's own goal handed the initiative back to the dominant Al Hilal, who led 4-1 at the break after Mitrovic added another to his tally and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was on target.

  The second of Mitrovic's strikes took him to a team-leading 26 league goals this term as Al Hilal breezed to another title, moving an unassailable 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr.

  Jesus' side are unbeaten through all 31 games this season after securing their record-extending 19th top-flight crown in history, while Al Hazm need to win their last three matches to have any chance of staying up.

  Al Hazm's relegation rivals Al Tai boosted their chances of survival in Saturday's earlier clash after a 1-1 draw away against Al Raed.

  Al Tai are just a point away from 15th-placed Abha Club in their bid for top-flight safety after Ibrahim Al Nakhli's strike was cancelled out by Al Raed's Mohammed Fouzair in the second half.