March 06, (THEWILL) – Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the English Premier League table to six points after a convincing 4-1 derby victory over Manchester United.
City won the 50th Premier League match between these two rivals, as Pep Guardiola’s side outclassed Ralf Rangnick’s side, which had their goalkeeper David De Gea to thank for keeping the result from being more humiliating than it was.
Kevin De Bruyne scored a brace and helped set up City’s third goal for Riyad Mahrez, who added a fourth late on. United drew level in the first half thanks to a stunning finish from Jadon Sancho, but that was as good as it went for the visitors.
To start, Bernardo Silva brought the ball back into the area for De Bruyne to hammer the ball in from just 12 yards out, giving City the lead for the first time in the game.
Sancho’s every touch was booed by the home crowd following his choice to leave the club earlier in his career, but through his boots United were level before the 20-minute mark. He made a superb cut inside the box to curl home beyond Ederson Moraes.
The game was wide open, with City churning out countless chances thanks to United’s unusual 4-2-4 formation which served them by pushing players up wherever they could.
Phil Foden’s glancing header nearly doubled the lead because though it was almost perfect, it barely brushed the top of the bar with just De Gea to beat.
Then, De Bruyne doubled his score for the day as City retook the lead shortly before the half-hour mark. Foden was in the thick of things again, but De Gea denied him after a brilliant flick over Victor Lindelof’s head embarrassed him. However, the Spaniard’s save was not cleared, and Alex Telles unwittingly handed the ball to De Bruyne six yards away, from where he made no mistake.
After being set up by De Bruyne, Foden should have made it three minutes before halftime, but his effort was deflected wide to leave the score at 2-1 into the break.
City grabbed control in the second half, and they should have extended their lead just after the break. Foden created the danger once more, this time outmuscling Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the edge of the box but only being able to fire wide with only De Gea between him and the net.
On the hour, Mahrez got a free-kick, and De Bruyne could smell his hat-trick and struck it beautifully, but De Gea was in the way.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, De Bruyne’s corner found Mahrez on the edge of the area, who finished clinically.
De Gea was subsequently called upon to make a series of stops, but he was unable to prevent Mahrez from scoring the fourth goal, which deflected in off the Spaniard’s face.
It was a finish that meant City maintains their six-point lead over Liverpool in the Premier League, while United could not leave fifth place after Arsenal’s win against Watford.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
