City win, steer clear at top ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
London, Dec. 5: Pep Guardiola called on Manchester City to learn from a nervy finish to a seventh straight Premier League victory as a 2-1 win at Watford moved the champions five points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table.
City’s goals came either side of half-time as Leroy Sane chested home before Riyad Mahrez doubled the visitors’ lead early in the second period.
However, Guardiola’s men had to withstand a nervy finish after Abdoulaye Doucoure bundled in five minutes from time.
City broke through five minutes before the break when Mahrez’s cross picked out Sane unmarked at the back post and he cleverly used his chest to power the ball below Foster. Six minutes into the second half, the visitors struck again when Gabriel Jesus made a contribution as a provider by pulling the ball back for Mahrez to fire home.
Perez sparks Ham
Elsewhere, Bournemouth moved above Manchester United, up to sixth courtesy of a 2-1 win over Huddersfield thanks to early goals from Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser.
Brighton edged into the top half despite playing for over an hour with 10 men after Shane Duffy’s red card. They beat Crystal Palace 3-1 thanks to first-half goals from Glenn Murray, Leon Balogun and Florin Andone.
West Ham’s upward trajectory also continued as three goals in 12 second-half minutes beat Cardiff 3-1. —