Man City outclass Man Utd to regain a six-point lead at the top
Key takeaways:
- Manchester City outclassed Manchester United to keep the Premier League championship race with a fantastic show at Etihad Stadium.
- City stays six points clear of Liverpool, having played one match more after an arguably even more apparent win than the scoreline indicates.
Man City wins the Manchester derby:
Ralf Rangnick's team was without injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani, Raphael Varane, and Luke Shaw, who have Covid-19, and saw themselves devastated by the quality and power of the reigning winners.
Kevin de Bruyne was at the core of it all. He placed City ahead with a crisp early finish. He then fixed their lead halftime after Jadon Sancho put United equalized with a particular low strike, the Belgian's second hammered home in a goalmouth scramble.
City turned up the beat after halftime and got the goal their extensive excellence earned after 68 minutes when Riyad Mahrez met De Bruyne's corner on the half-volley to surpass United keeper David de Gea. The goal came through a deflection off United skipper Harry Maguire, who took a nightmare afternoon.
It got even better for City in the ending moments when Mahrez ran clear to pound De Gea, the goal being given after a lengthy VAR review for offside.
Man City react to pressure
Manchester City felt Liverpool at their back after Jurgen Klopp's squad advanced to within three points following their victory against West Ham United. Still, the winners could not have answered more impressively.
City set themselves on Manchester United from the first whistle. Sancho's sound leveler proved to be a minor inconvenience as the interval between Guardiola's team, and their arch-rivals was brutally revealed.
De Bruyne was the mastermind, netting twice and making City's third, the bright star in a galaxy on show at Etihad Stadium as they indicated they are in no mood to lose their crown, no matter how badly Liverpool pushed them.