De Bruyne class act as City hammer Arsenal

A first-half masterclass from Kevin De Bruyne inspired Manchester City to a 3-0 Premier League win over Arsenal yesterday.

Pep Guardiola’s side moved to within four points of secondplaced Leicester as the reigning Premier League champions bounced back from a loss to Manchester United last weekend.

De Bruyne struck after only 89 seconds before teeing up Raheem Sterling and adding the third himself as he moved on to four goals across his last five City appearances.

Arsenal, whose best chance came before De Bruyne’s first effort, were second best for the majority of the contest and have now won just one of their last 12 matches in all competitions.

Interim head coach Freddie Ljungberg has taken four points from his first four league games at the helm. The Gunners, who have not won at home since October 24, now sit seven points off the top four.

Jan Vertonghen’s stoppagetime winner gave Tottenham a 2-1 victory at Wolverhampton to continue the London club’s revival under Jose Mourinho.

The defender’s header ensured Tottenham moved above Wolves into fifth place thanks to Mourinho winning four of his opening five league games since replacing Mauricio Pochettino.

Wolves drop to eighth and their longest unbeaten streak in the top flight since 1962 ends after 11 games, although they have still lost just twice in their last 19 outings in all competitions.

Tottenham took the lead after eight minutes. Son Heung-min’s drive was beaten away by goalkeeper Rui Patricio but the ball was worked to Lucas Moura on the right and he slipped past flimsy challenges from Jonny and Romain Saiss. The forward glided into the area before rifling in high from an angle for his third goal in seven games under Mourinho.

Wolves struck back in the 67th minute when Adama Traore collected Raul Jimenez’s pass and unleashed a shot that flew into the net from 20 yards.

Tottenham then never looked like restoring their lead before the late drama when Vertonghen nodded in Christian Eriksen’s corner.

Elsewhere, academy graduate Mason Greenwood came to the rescue on a landmark day for Manchester United’s youth system, earning a 1-1 draw against Everton.

The Old Trafford encounter was the 4000th consecutive match in which the hosts had included a youth graduate in the matchday squad.

Victor Lindelof’s own goal had Everton caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson bouncing on the touchline in celebration before homegrown teenager Greenwood came off the bench to deny Everton a first Old Trafford win since 2013.

United are sixth in the standings, while Everton are three points above the relegation zone.