West Ham climbed to fourth place in the Premier League as the revitalised Jesse Lingard inspired a 3-2 victory against Leicester on Sunday.
At the London Stadium, Lingard struck twice in the first half to maintain his remarkable form since joining West Ham on loan from Manchester United in January.
The 28-year-old has been reborn with West Ham, scoring eight times in nine appearances and earning a recall to the England team.
Jarrod Bowen scored West Ham’s third after half-time as David Moyes’ side moved one point ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea and two in front of sixth-placed Liverpool with seven games left for all three teams.
Kelechi Iheanacho struck twice in the final 20 minutes for Leicester, but having looked certain to earn a top four place, the Foxes are now only one point above West Ham.
Newcastle took a big step towards securing their survival with a vital 2-1 win against Burnley.
Steve Bruce’s side came from behind at Turf Moor to end their seven-game winless run thanks to goals from Jacob Murphy and Allan Saint-Maximin after Matej Vydra put Burnley ahead.
The Magpies are six points clear of the relegation zone and hold a game in hand on third-bottom Fulham.
Sheffield United could be relegated as early as next weekend after the Blades were battered 3-0 at home by Arsenal.
Alexandre Lacazette scored twice either side of Gabriel Martinelli’s first goal in an injury-ravaged 15 months.
Victory is too little, too late for the ninth-placed Gunners chances of a top-four finish as they are still 10 points behind West Ham.
Arsenal’s season now hinges on success in the Europa League and they suffered an injury blow ahead of Thursday’s quarter-final, second leg against Slavia Prague as Bukayo Saka limped off with a thigh injury.
