Man City racks up record 15th straight league win
Manchester City’s David Silva, centre, scores his side’s first goal of the game against Swansea City, during their English Premier League soccer match at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, England, Wednesday Dec. 13, 2017. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
Another win, another record for rampant Premier League leader Manchester City.
And this one might be the most impressive of the lot.
By beating Swansea 4-0 on Wednesday, City racked up its 15th straight victory — a feat never achieved in the 129-year history of England’s top division.
Second-place Manchester United also won, beating Bournemouth 1-0 through Romelu Lukaku’s goal to keep the gap at the top to 11 points, but chasing down its cross-town rival looks to be a forlorn hope at this rate.
City is unbeaten after 17 games and has now scored 52 goals, the latest coming at Liberty Stadium through David Silva (2), Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero against last-place Swansea.
With Liverpool held 0-0 at home by West Bromwich Albion for a second straight draw at Anfield, Tottenham climbed back into fourth place — the final Champions League qualifying spot — thanks to a 2-0 win over Brighton.
NO CITY HANGOVER
Three days after beating Manchester United, there was no derby hangover from City.
This was one of City’s most dominant displays yet, highlighting the gulf between the league’s first and last teams.
“At times it was horrible, seeing my side trying but suffering for long periods,” Swansea manager Paul Clement said. “It was hard to watch at times because they were so dominant. For me, one of the best sides I’ve ever come across.”
David Silva ran the game from midfield and scored a goal in each half at Liberty Stadium, with City manager Pep Guardiola describing the Spain playmaker as an “animal.”
“We cannot disguise his quality but in the past he didn’t score too much goals,” Guardiola said. “He’s sharp, he’s in an amazing condition.”
Silva’s second goal — City’s third — was the highlight after he swapped passes with Raheem Sterling before chipping the goalkeeper.
UNITED BOUNCES BACK
Romelu Lukaku ended a four-game run without scoring in the league to help United bounce back from the damaging loss to City on Sunday.
It was timely for the striker, who was at fault for both of City’s goals in the derby before squandering a close-range chance late on.
Lukaku headed in the only goal after 25 minutes on a night of heavy rain and sleet at Old Trafford. Substitute Marcus Rashford later hit the bar but United needed goalkeeper David de Gea to make a string of fine saves to preserve the lead.
LUCKY GOAL
Tottenham will be the next team to try to end Man City’s unbeaten start to the season, and heads into Saturday’s game at Etihad Stadium on the back of two straight wins.
After thrashing Stoke 5-1, Spurs got past Brighton thanks to a lucky 40th-minute goal by Serge Aurier and Son Heung-min’s sixth goal in seven starts.
Aurier appeared to be aiming for a teammate in the area when he sent the ball over from the right wing. It ended up finding the top corner of the net.
Son’s 87th-minute goal came when his header from Christian Eriksen’s cross flew in off Brighton midfielder Davy Propper.
BLANKS FOR LIVERPOOL, ARSENAL
Liverpool and Arsenal were held to draws for the second time in four days to drop further behind the Premier League’s pace-setters.
Liverpool had a late goal disallowed against West Brom, with Dominic Solanke ruled to have touched the ball with his hand after chesting down a cross from fellow substitute Joe Gomez.
The Reds were fourth heading into the midweek round of games but have dropped to fifth place, a point clear of an Arsenal team that is now winless in three games.
Arsene Wenger’s side dominated for long spells against West Ham at the Olympic Stadium but nearly ended up losing after Javier Hernandez hit the crossbar with a shot in the last minute.
Arsenal is seventh in the standings.
WINS FOR LEICESTER, EVERTON
Leicester manager Claude Puel enjoyed his return to Southampton, where he was fired in the offseason, as his new team won 4-1 thanks to goals by Shinji Okazaki (2), Riyad Mahrez and Andy King.
Wayne Rooney scored Everton’s goal in a 1-0 win at Newcastle as the Merseyside club continued its resurgence under new manager Sam Allardyce, with the team winning three of his four matches in charge.
