Dazzling De Bruyne propels Manchester City closer to title
● In-form maestro bangs four goals at Wolverhampton Wanderers to keep rivals Liverpool at bay
Manchester City’s midfield genius Kevin de Bruyne scored four goals on Wednesday in a 5-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers to put his team in a commanding position to retain the Premier League with two games remaining.
The Belgian put the game to bed with a hat-trick in a devastating 18-minute spell in the first half, before notching a fourth after the break as the away fans alternated between chanting “Kevin de Bruyne” and “Champions of England”.
The win leaves Pep Guardiola’s side top on 89 points, three ahead of Liverpool, whom they also lead on goal difference, with the title now firmly in their sights.
A second consecutive Premier League title would assuage disappointment at their Champions League exit, after City fell in the semis and Liverpool reached the final.
At Molineux, De Bruyne scored the third earliest hattrick in Premier League history with a sumptuously placed finish in the seventh minute, a clever follow-up to a rebound in the 16th, and a curler from the edge of the box in the 24th.
Wolves had briefly threatened an upset, when Leander Dendoncker made it 1-1 after a great break, before the De Bruyne show rolled on.
He scored a fourth from close range in the 60th minute, before teammate Raheem Sterling completed another easy win for City with his 84thminute goal.
Wolves stayed in eighth position on 50 points.
In another match, Leeds United edged closer to Premier League relegation after goals from Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku earned Chelsea a comfortable 3-0 victory over the 10-man hosts on Wednesday.
The fixture was important for both teams, with Chelsea needing five more points to be sure of a top-four finish prior to their trip north, while Leeds’ top-flight status remains in the balance.
The hosts, however, could not have got off to a worse start as Mount fired Chelsea in front inside four minutes, before a reckless challenge from Dan James saw him sent off 20 minutes later, leaving Leeds with a mountain to climb.
There only looked like being one winner from that moment on, with Chelsea putting the game to bed in the 54th minute as American forward Pulisic slotted home from the edge of the area, before Lukaku hammered in a late third to seal victory.
A third successive league loss for Leeds means they stay in the bottom three on 34 points from 36 matches, level with 17th-placed Burnley, who have a game in hand, making Sunday’s clash with Brighton & Hove Albion pivotal for Jesse Marsch’s side.
Chelsea’s first win in four league games moved Thomas Tuchel’s third-placed team onto 70 points from 36 matches, four clear of Arsenal in fourth, and eight clear of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth.
“We talked about keeping it 0-0 as long as possible but I thought we were aggressive and the game still was there for us at 0-1 — the red card changes the match,” Marsch said.
“The guys are gutted because we are not giving ourselves the chance we want to. Our guys do everything they can, fight for each other, to keep ourselves in this league.
“We have to do everything we can to be ready for the next challenge on Sunday.”
Coming into the match, Leeds had conceded 34 home league goals this season, their most in the top-flight in a single campaign since 1959-1960.