Man City Beats United to Go 11 Points Clear

Manchester City yesterday stretched its lead at the top of the table to 11 points and created English Premier League history with a 14th successive victory this season as the Citizens overcame Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Pep Guardiola’s side also ended United’s 40-match unbeaten run at home - which stretched back to the win in September 2016 - to strike a potentially decisive blow against its closest rivals in the title race.

City took the deserved lead when man-of-the-match David Silva hooked home from close range after confusion at a corner on 42 minutes, only for United to be handed a lifeline in first-half stoppage time when poor defending from Nicolas Otamendi and Fabian Delph allowed Marcus Rashford to steal in for a composed finish.

Otamendi made amends nine minutes after the break when Romelu Lukaku - who had a nightmare game - lashed at a clearance in the area and the City defender pounced on the rebound to score.

Citizens, who have dropped only two points in their first 16 games, had opportunities to extend their lead but it was keeper Ederson who made the decisive late intervention with a miraculous double late save from the luckless Lukaku and substitute Juan Mata.

Guardiola’s side become the first team to win 14 successive Premier League games in a single season, also levelling Arsenal’s outright top-flight record, set between between February and August 2002.

It is a brave call to declare the Premier League title race over in early December - but the statistics and evidence is piling up to suggest the chase is on for second place behind Manchester City.