Silva sees slick City to record
DAVID SILVA scored twice as Manchester City set a new record in winning their 15th consecutive Premier League match.
Victory over Swansea last night at the Liberty Stadium keeps them 11 points clear of second-placed Manchester United, who beat Bournemouth thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s goal.
Kevin De Bruyne also scored for City, with Sergio Aguero adding a fourth. Pep Guardiola was even able to rest Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus with one eye on Saturday’s match against Tottenham.
Spurs themselves returned to the top four with victory over Brighton, thanks to goals from Serge Aurier and Son Heung-min.
MANCHESTER CITY sealed a record 15th straight Premier League win with a facile success over Swansea.
First-half goals from David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne put City 2-0 up at the break, Pep Guardiola’s side monopolising the ball to such an extent that the only surprise was that they were not further clear when referee Anthony Taylor blew the half-time whistle.
The second period followed the same pattern and a second from the impressive Silva ended the game as a contest, while Sergio Aguero’s late fourth was the icing on the cake.
While City will have to face sterner tests than Swansea in the second half of this season, the title is undoubtedly theirs to lose.
Guardiola made four changes to his side from the Manchester derby win over United, with Danilo and Bernardo Silva included in the starting XI.
Aguero came in for Gabriel Jesus in attack, while Paul Clement replaced Wayne Routledge with Jordan Ayew for Swansea and stuck with a 4-3-3 formation.
Following their victory at Old Trafford on Sunday, City’s players had celebrated enthusiastically, leading to a controversial tunnel bust-up the FA are still investigating.
In South Wales, loud music and the sound of Oasis could be heard from the away changing room before kick-off and the size of the task facing the Swans was more than obvious early on.
Free-scoring City went into this game with 48 league goals to their name and their attacking threat was immediate as they dominated possession.
Aguero smashed the ball into the side-netting and Lukasz Fabianski produced a wonderful low save to keep out Fernandinho’s volley.
At the other end, Ayew forced Ederson into a routine save on a rare Swansea breakaway, but City’s chances kept coming. Aguero and De Bruyne could not find the target and then the former headed Bernardo Silva’s whipped delivery over.
Against his former club, Swansea’s bright spark was Wilfried Bony, the powerful Ivorian holding the ball up well and proving a constant menace to Nicolas Otamendi in particular.
But, finally, the City goal arrived. Roque Mesa gave the ball away and when Fabianski dallied as Bernardo Silva’s cross arrived in the six-yard box, David Silva flicked the ball home.
Fabianski made amends almost immediately by denying Aguero from making it 2-0 but it was not long before City’s advantage was doubled. De Bruyne’s low free-kick from the left beat everyone to settle in the back of the net.
As well as City played, Swansea would have been disappointed to concede what were two soft goals and Clement introduced Tammy Abraham for Tom Carroll at the break. It failed to stop David Silva from missing an absolute sitter at the start of the second half, while Aguero again worked Fabianski. But soon it was 3-0.
Raheem Sterling escaped down the left far too easily and his pass was controlled and clipped home by David Silva for his second of the evening.
Guardiola withdrew Fernandinho with Saturday’s clash with Tottenham in mind. Yaya Toure entered the fray, but with captain David Silva running the show, you got the feeling City could have scored at will.
Ederson, off balance, then produced a superb stop to deny Mesa’s long-range deflected effort, changing direction at the last moment to keep the ball out.
But such was City’s utter control that Guardiola introduced Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko, 20, for a rare outing.
There was still time for De Bruyne and Sterling to have further chances before Aguero finally grabbed his deserved goal five minutes from time.