3 takeaways after eventful weekend of Premier League action
Manchester City and Chelsea stepped up their bids to qualify for the Champions League, while top five rivals Newcastle faltered.
Manchester United's dismal domestic season hit a new low and Southampton still share an unwanted record.
AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from the weekend's Premier League action:
Man City set for Haaland boost
Erling Haaland is set to boost Manchester City's hopes of reaching the Champions League after the Norway striker returned from injury ahead of schedule.
Haaland had been sidelined since suffering an ankle problem in an FA Cup win at Bournemouth on March 30 before returning to training this week.
City boss Pep Guardiola had claimed Haaland would not feature for a few more games, but he was an unused substitute in Friday's 1-0 Premier League victory over Wolves.
The 24-year-old was sent out to warm up in the second half and Guardiola could be ready to unleash him shortly.
"Yeah, I thought about bringing Haaland on," Guardiola said. "But it was just two training sessions with us and in that moment was a little bit difficult so I decided for the other type of players."
Third-placed City, hoping to salvage a turbulent campaign by avoiding a first season without Champions League action since 2010-11, visit Southampton next weekend before facing Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on May 17.
A home match against Bournemouth follows before a trip to Fulham on the final day of the tense top five battle.
City are just one point ahead of fourth-placed Newcastle, who drew 1-1 at Brighton, and fifth-placed Chelsea, who beat champions Liverpool 3-1.
Saints miss chance to avoid record
Southampton interim boss Simon Rusk admitted his relegated team's confidence is at rock bottom after a 2-0 defeat against Leicester on Saturday.
Sitting bottom of the table and already condemned to relegation, Southampton are trying to avoid a share of the lowest points total in Premier League history.
Currently on 11 points with three games left, Saints are tied with the 2007-08 Derby team's record low.
A trip to second bottom Leicester, also already relegated, looked a good chance to get the elusive 12th point, but goals from Jamie Vardy and Jordan Ayew left them empty-handed again.
"The first goal just seemed to knock the confidence out of the team. Maybe that's a result of the season as a whole in that it seemed to be a step too far psychologically perhaps," Rusk said.
"We can try and affect confidence levels as much as we can, but the reality is we're working together as a group that's won two games all season."
Amorim wants Man Utd overhaul
Ruben Amorim surveyed the wreckage of Manchester United's domestic season after a 4-3 loss at Brentford and conceded change is coming to Old Trafford.
Amorim has won just six times in 24 league games since arriving from Sporting Lisbon to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag in November.
Hailed as one of Europe's brightest young coaches at Sporting, Amorim is quickly losing his lustre in Manchester, with 12 league defeats plunging his team down to 15th place.
They are in danger of their lowest finish since being relegated in 1973-74 and only Europa League glory can salvage the season.
Regardless of their European run, which featured a 3-0 semi-final first leg victory at Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, Amorim knows United cannot continue in their current Premier League malaise.
United haven't been crowned champions since 2013, with Liverpool equalling their record of 20 English titles last weekend.
"It was a reflection of our season," Amorim said of the lacklustre display at Brentford.
"The players have to understand we cannot do this anymore. We know the context of the season and we need to change that."