Pep Guardiola’s title holders kept their fate in their own hands as they chased a fourth straight Premier League crown.
Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden set Manchester City on course for a comfortable victory at Brighton as the reigning Premier League champions kept up their push for a fourth successive title.
De Bruyne broke the deadlock inside 20 minutes at the Amex Stadium with a rare headed goal, before Foden added to City’s advantage with a quickfire double. Any hopes of a collapse to rival Liverpool’s on Wednesday night were quickly put to bed, and Julian Alvarez added a fourth around the hour mark.
The result lifted City above Liverpool into second and means a perfect record from their last five games of the season will ensure Pep Guardiola’s men end the season as champions. Less than maximum points could yet be enough if Arsenal, their closest challengers, slip up.
Before kick-off, some were wondering whether Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls might provide a potential banana skin. Those fears were quickly allayed, though, and it’s on to the next one.
After mixed results for Arsenal and Liverpool earlier in the week, City had to try to focus on their task at hand. Mikel Arteta’s Gunners thrashed Chelsea on Tuesday to lay down a marker, but Jurgen Klopp’s Reds were unable to follow suit as they lost at Everton the following day.
The first big chance of the game came their way, but Nathan Ake was always stretching to meet Phil Foden’s free-kick and couldn’t divert the ball on target. They didn’t have to wait much longer, though, and it was De Bruyne who struck first with a stooping header from Kyle Walker’s cross.
Lewis Dunk’s header moments later reminded City their opponents posed a threat, but City always looked like they had more goals in them. So it proved when Foden’s free-kick took a deflection off Pascal Gross and found its way past Seagulls keeper Jason Steele.
It was all over before half-time, with Foden benefitting from a loose Valentin Barco pass and finding the corner, while Alvarez added gloss to the scoreline from a second Walker assist of the night.