EPL: Man City thrash local rivals Man United to move six points clear at the top
The 187th Manchester derby ended 4-1 in favor of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with Pep Guardiola’s dominating play with a brace from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.
The win means the Cityzens extended their lead at the top of the table to six points after thrashing thier local rivals.
An ealry start to the game saw City score after just six minutes through Kevin De Bruyne, who slotted home after good work from Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish out wide.
United responded well just 15 minutes later, as Jadon Sancho curled the ball beautifully past Ederson to equalise for the Red Devils.
De Bruyne was keen to ensure his side weren’t level for long, as he fired home from close range after some neat work from Phil Foden and some poor defending from United.
Ralf Rangnick’s side pressed well in the first half and caused City some problems, but the hosts were comfortable after half-time and dominated the second 45 minutes.
And the game was put to bed when Riyah Mahrez scored the best goal of the bunch to make it 3-1, as he met De Bruyne’s corner from the edge of the box and half-volleyed it past David De Gea.
Mahrez bagged his second of the game in added time, as he just about stayed onside and fired the ball into the back of the United net.
The Premier League champions toyed with the visitors towards the end of the game and will be wondering how they didn’t score more after missing a plethora of chances.
Kevin De Bruyne’s brace means he has now 51 goals ever since making his Premier league debut for Chelsea and now joins the list of players who have surpassed the 50 goal mark in the EPL.
Manchester City will now turn their attention to their Champions league game against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday as they are set to progress to the quarterfinals of this season’s competition.