Rampant City thumps Swansea
MANCHESTER City maintained its irresistible Premier League charge with a record 15th successive league win as it outclassed Swansea City 4-0 yesterday.
David Silva scored twice as City eclipsed the mark set for most consecutive wins by Arsenal during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
“Considering we have a lot of games in our legs, a demanding game at Old Trafford three days ago, we were solid, we were serious and we made a good performance,” manager Pep Guardiola told the BBC.
Manchester United remains 11 points behind in second after beating Bournemouth 1-0 and Tottenham moved up to fourth with a 2-0 win over Brighton among the six other games.
Silva set City on the way with a 27th-minute opener and Kevin de Bruyne made it 2-0 before half-time.
Silva’s second came just after the restart and Sergio Aguero added a late fourth.
“At times it was horrible to be on the sideline, seeing my side trying but suffering for long periods,” said Swansea boss Paul Clement, whose side remains bottom of the table.
Manchester United bounced back from a weekend loss to City, beating Bournemouth with Romelu Lukaku’s goal.
“I am pleased with the three points, it was difficult match,” manager Jose Mourinho said.
Tottenham is back into the top four after a home win over Brighton. Serge Aurier and Son Heung Min scored as Spurs jumped over Liverpool, Burnley and Arsenal into the final Champions League place.
Liverpool and Arsenal both were held to 0-0 draws.
Liverpool’s Dominic Solanke had a goal disallowed for a handball and had a shot cleared off the line on a frustrating night against West Brom.
The point let West Brom climb out of the relegation places on goal difference over Crystal Palace. Arsenal’s away woes continued with a draw at West Ham that left it with just two wins from nine on the road. Despite being outplayed, the Hammers could have won it late but Javier Hernandez hit the crossbar in the final minute.
“We had so much of the ball, but it was very frustrating because we could even have lost it at the end,” Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said.
Shinji Okazaki’s brace helped Leicester beat Southampton 4-1 for a fourth straight win, while Wayne Rooney scored the only goal as Everton won at Newcastle.