Arsenal thrashed north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 on Saturday to boost their slim Women's Super League title hopes, in a game where Chloe Kelly made her return and Alessia Russo shone.

The hosts were quick to find cracks in Spurs' defense at the Emirates Stadium and went 1-0 up in the 14th minute after a Kyra Cooney-Cross cross found Russo, who got a slight touch before Clare Hunt turned into her own net.

Mariona Caldentey then found the bottom corner in the 35th minute from 14 yards out despite Spurs goalkeeper Lize Kop's best efforts.

Tottenham's defensive woes were clear to see and they persisted into the second half, and six minutes after the restart Frida Maanum's deflected effort from the edge of the area ended in the back of the net.

The visitors then left themselves open chasing the game, with Caitlin Foord having plenty of space to run into on a counter in the 58th minute before assisting Russo, who made no mistake from the right-side of the box and capped her player of the match performance.

Just as Spurs thought it couldn't get any worse, Arsenal defender Emily Fox netted her first WSL goal with a stellar shot from 25 yards out.

On-loan Kelly, making her first appearance for Arsenal in 2,815 days, nearly topped off a perfect day for Arsenal but hit the crossbar.

The win means Arsenal are eight points off WSL leaders Chelsea in third, while Spurs sit sixth with 17 points.

Pep Guardiola said he is hopeful Erling Haaland will be fit for Manchester City's Champions League second-leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday after admitting to being "scared" by the forward's second-half injury against Newcastle.

Haaland, who captained City for the first time in a Premier League game against the Carabao Cup finalists, went down clutching his knee in the final stages of the 4-0 win at the Etihad.

The 25-year-old appeared to jar his right knee unchallenged before falling to the ground in clear discomfort, but after a period of treatment, Haaland was able to walk off the pitch before watching the rest of the game from the substitutes' bench.

"When he went down, everyone was scared," Guardiola said. "But he walked off smiling and the doctor didn't tell me bad news so hopefully he is fine.

"I have not spoken to the doctor. Maybe it's not bad as it could be." City must overturn a 3-2 first-leg deficit against Real in the Santiago Bernabéu to reach the round of 16.

Haaland scored City's two goals during last Tuesday's loss against the reigning Champions League champions at the Etihad.

With vice-captain Kevin De Bruyne named as a substitute against Newcastle and former captain Kyle Walker offloaded to AC Milan during the January transfer window, Guardiola said he decided to hand Haaland the armband against Newcastle following his recent decision to sign a ten-year contract at City.

"When Kyle left, Kevin became the first [captain], then I nominated Erling," Guardiola said. "He will be here 10 years, so sooner or later, you have to take that responsibility.

"It's nice for the first time in the Premier League, it's just a beginning, but it's a gesture."

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has warned his players against showing "weakness" by arguing with referees after Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham was sent off for talking back to a match official on Saturday.

Referee José Luis Munuera Montero dismissed Bellingham in Madrid's 1-1 draw with Osasuna for saying "f--- you." The England international insists there was a miscommunication and he had actually said "f--- off" in frustration.

Flick has said either comment is disrespectful and that he has told Barça's players to not even waste energy contesting decisions with match officials.

"When you say this to me, I think it's not nice," he said in a news conference when asked for his thoughts on the difference between "f--- you" and "f--- off."

"It's disrespect. For me, it's like that. But I don't have to decide [the punishments]. It's not my thing to decide about this situation.

"I think, and this is always what I say to my players, why you waste time or energy to speak or discuss with the referee about these decisions?

"We have one person on the pitch who is allowed to discuss with the ref and this is the captain. We have to accept that.

"I don't like this behaviour and I said this today to my players because it's very important and it's not good for the team when you do it and get the red card. It's a weakness and we don't like that."

Madrid's dropped points, coupled with second placed Atlético Madrid's draw against Celta Vigo, means Barça could jump from third place to top of LaLiga if they beat Rayo Vallecano on Monday.

Barça are unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions since the turn of the year, but they welcome a Rayo side who have avoided defeat in their last nine LaLiga games, last losing in the league on Dec. 1.

"We don't look to the table," Flick added after watching both of Barça's title rivals slip up this weekend.

"For us, it's very important at the end [of the season] we see what happens. It's a long way to the end. We want to show the performances we did since the New Year started.

"Rayo are doing a really good job. The coach [Iñigo Pérez] is doing unbelievable. They're a brave team and they press and they do it with a real intensity, at home and also away."

Flick has no new injury concerns for the game at the Olympic Stadium, with Ronald Araújo fit despite hurting his ankle last week, leaving Marc-André ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen and Marc Bernal as the only absentees.

Ruben Amorim has said he and the first team "cannot ignore" job cuts at Manchester United and that it is their "responsibility" to improve results to help staff and prevent ticket price hikes.

United made 250 employees redundant over the summer as part of cost-cutting measures from part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and sources have told ESPN that they are considering making further cuts.

The Premier League giants have reported losses of 300m over the last three years and their financial situation has not been helped by on-pitch performance, with United failing to make the Champions League places last season. This year, under Erik ten Hag and now Amorim, has been even worse and the club are languishing in 14th in the league ahead of Sunday's game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Amorim has acknowledged that he, and his players, must shoulder the blame.

"I think it's really important for us in the first team, coaches and players, to not ignore that," Amorim said of the job losses.

"People are losing their jobs so we have to acknowledge that the biggest problem is the football team. We spend the money. We are not winning. We are not in the Champions League so the revenues are not the same. We spent a lot of money in the past and now we have to be careful with the finances so cannot rebuild the team the way we would like.

"People are losing their jobs and, of course, have that feeling of not being safe in their job. It's hard to have that feeling so it affects the environment. We cannot ignore it, we acknowledge that problem.

"I want to say the responsibility is the first team and we have to change that."

Other cost-cutting measures introduced under Ratcliffe include raising ticket prices in an effort to increase revenues, and Amorim added: "To change that, the first thing we should do is win at Tottenham. That is a small step to try to help these people, to try to not push prices of tickets higher. We are responsible for that."

In January, the club wrote to fan groups to explain what they called "difficult choices."

"If we do not act now, we are in danger of failing to comply with PSR/FFP requirements," United said in the letter.

"We are currently making a significant loss each year totalling over 300m in the past three years. This is not sustainable.

"We will have to make some difficult choices. That has included a significant reduction to our workforce as well as cuts across many areas of spend across our club."

Auburn and Alabama had never played as top-10 teams. On Saturday, the Tigers and Crimson Tide squared off as the top teams in the country and didn't disappoint.

No. 1 Auburn went on the road and beat No. 2 Alabama 94-85 in the historic matchup of in-state rivals. A rematch of the top-rated teams might be coming shortly because they meet again in Auburn on March 8. And they could face off again in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

"All eyes in college basketball were on the state of Alabama and the SEC," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after his team improved to 23-2 and 11-1 in the conference. "What this conference has done in men's basketball is historic."

Pearl pointed to Auburn's hot start, scoring the first nine points, as a key to winning on the road in big games.

"You've got to play well early if you're going to win on the road," Pearl said. "We played well early, and as you would expect, Alabama came storming back, and I've never heard Coleman [Coliseum] this loud. That's how the No. 1 teams in the country should act, that's how they should compete, that's how they should play. And I was really pleased with that."

Alabama coach Nate Oats noted that run as well as Auburn scoring the final seven points of the first half and six of the first eight points of the second half as pivotal moments.

The Crimson Tide rallied to tie the score after trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half but failed to complete the comeback. They never led Saturday, the first time that had happened in 87 home games under Oats.

"I thought we played pretty hard and didn't turn the ball over a whole lot," Oats said, noting seven turnovers. "Too many guys were getting 3s off that weren't supposed to be getting 3s, and they go 12-for-30 from 3."

Auburn forward Johni Broome used the stage to restate his case in the player of the year race -- one that took a hit after he missed two games due to injuries and played just two minutes in a third. Broome controlled the game Saturday, finishing with 19 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.

"I came in trying to be aggressive, and I was kind of feeling it a little bit, so went and made some plays," Broome said.

Broome briefly left the game late in the second half due to a lower-body injury after an awkward spin move. He returned and made Auburn's final two shots from the field.

He was a dominating force from the beginning. He grabbed his 10th rebound early in the second half, securing the double-double with just under 17 minutes left in the game.

Broome and five teammates scored in double figures. Denver Jones scored 16 points, Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly added 15 points apiece, Chaney Johnson had 14, and Tahaad Pettiford chipped in 13.

Auburn starter Dylan Cardwell fouled out after playing just 12 minutes, and Baker-Mazara, who came off the bench, fouled out with just over two minutes remaining. Johnson, who averages 23 minutes, picked up much of the slack, playing 33 minutes as Auburn shot 46.2% from the field.

Auburn has nine wins over AP-ranked teams this season. Saturday's win was the Tigers' first over an AP top-two team since 1988; they had lost 20 straight such games before taking down Alabama, according to ESPN Research.

Mark Sears scored 18 points and Grant Nelson added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Alabama, which entered the day shooting 34.4% from 3-point range but made just five of its 26 3-point attempts (19.2%) on Saturday.

Oats used the loss to refocus his players for the three weeks until their next game against the Tigers.

"We're not in full control of our destiny to win the league outright, but we are in control of our destiny to at least get a tie going forward," Oats said. "We'll see the maturity and leadership we have coming in on Monday."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.