Manchester City took advantage of Liverpool's stumble in the Premier League title race as the champions moved a step closer to retaining their crown with a 5-0 demolition of Newcastle on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Sandro Tonali fired AC Milan closer to the Serie A title with a brace in a 3-1 win at Verona which maintained their two-point lead over Inter Milan at the top of the league.

Pep Guardiola's side took control before half-time at the Etihad Stadium thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and Aymeric Laporte.

Rodri got City's third after the break before Phil Foden and Sterling struck in stoppage time as they stormed back to the top of the table. 

Liverpool had knocked the champions out of pole position despite dropping two points in a 1-1 draw against Tottenham on Saturday.

But City are now three points clear of Liverpool, with three games left for both teams. Guardiola's men hold a goal difference four better than the Reds.

Quadruple-chasing Liverpool are next in action at Aston Villa on Tuesday, while City head to Wolves 24 hours later.

City's stroll against Newcastle was the ideal way to recover from their painful Champions League semi-final exit against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Real had scored twice in the final seconds of normal time before winning in extra-time, leaving Guardiola to lament there were "no words to help" his players get over the loss.

But City can exorcise those demons by winning a fourth English title in five seasons and this was a step in the right direction.

The only concern for City was Guardiola's post-match revelation that key defenders John Stones, Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker will miss the rest of the season with injuries.

In Italy, Milan midfielder Tonali struck with almost identical goals created by Rafael Leao either side of half-time before Alessandro Florenzi completed the scoring near the end to leave Milan needing four points from their final two games to claim a first Scudetto since 2011.

Their superior record in this season's Milan derbies gives the seven-time European champions an advantage which would keep them ahead of champions Inter should the two local rivals end the season level on points.

"I'm in love with my players," said coach Stefano Pioli to DAZN. "I see the effort they put in every day and I know the journey we've been on... we've got to keep this concentration, determination and belief in the final two games."

Milan overcame the toughest test of their run-in against ninth-placed Verona and now host Europe-chasing Atalanta next weekend before traveling to Sassuolo on the closing weekend of what has been an enthralling campaign.

Inter meanwhile are in Sardinia on Sunday against a Cagliari team fighting for its Serie A life, with their final opponents Sampdoria and the small matter of the Italian Cup final against Juventus on Wednesday further complicating matters.