City win at Chelsea to stay ahead of Man United
LONDON: Manchester City underlined their title credentials as Kevin De Bruyne’s thunderbolt sealed an impressive 1-0 win at Chelsea. Having lost the Premier League leadership to United earlier in the day, City moved back above their bitter rivals on goal difference thanks to De Bruyne’s second half blast.
Pep Guardiola’s side celebrated a fifth successive league win, and eighth in a row in all competitions, strengthening their belief they can dethrone champions Chelsea.
Chelsea’s first defeat since an opening weekend loss to Burnley leaves them six points behind City in fourth place.
Despite the absence of Sergio Aguero after the Argentine striker broke a rib in a car crash on Thursday, City dominated and almost took a first half lead when Thibaut Courtois pushed out Fernandinho’s header.
Chelsea suffered a blow when Spain striker Alvaro Morata limped off in the 35th minute and, struggling to get a foothold for long periods, they finally cracked in the 67th minute.
Taking Gabriel Jesus’s pass in stride, De Bruyne advanced unchecked to the edge of the penalty area and smashed a fierce strike past Courtois for his first league goal this season.
GUNNERS WIN
Arsene Wenger celebrated the 21st anniversary of his arrival at Arsenal in winning style as the Gunners cruised to a 2-0 victory over Brighton on Sunday.
Nacho Monreal opened the scoring in the first half before Alex Iwobi, converting Alexis Sanchez’s majestic assist, wrapped up the points after the interval. Arsenal’s sixth win from their last seven matches in all competitions moved them to within six points of leaders Manchester City. Fittingly, Wenger marked his milestone date with a notable record of his own. Brighton are the 45th different Premier League club to be defeated by Arsenal since Wenger took over.