KING KEVIN
Pep hails brilliant De Bruyne as City go 14 points clear
PEP GUARDIOLA hailed Kevin de Bruyne and his Manchester City recordbreakers as the runaway Premier League leaders thrashed Spurs 4-1 to surge even further clear of the pack.
De Bruyne scored the goal of the game, won a penalty — which was missed — and tormented a sorry Spurs who had no answers as record-breaking City made it 16 Premier League wins in a row.
‘He helps us be a better club, a better institution for the future,’ said Guardiola.
Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring for City, De Bruyne thrashed in the second — minutes after being on the receiving end of an X-rated tackle from Dele Alli which Guardiola branded ‘dangerous’ — and Raheem Sterling scored twice.
Guardiola has now equalled his longest winning run when boss of Barcelona and is now only three short of the European record 19 consecutive victories he chalked up while at Bayern Munich. ‘I don’t want to be humble, I am proud,’ said the Spaniard. ‘All my clubs have supported my decisions and provided me with outstanding players. Without them, it is impossible to achieve these things.’
Manchester United will cut City’s lead back to 11 points if they win at West Brom today, but Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino conceded that there’s only one team in the title race.
‘We tried to play, but they were better, we have to congratulate them,’ he said. ‘ So far, they are the best team in England. We must learn, because one day we want to be in a position like them to win the Premier League.
‘Today was a big lesson for us.’