KEVIN De Bruyne’s stunning goal was the difference on Saturday as Manchester City stretched their winning run and secured a significant 1-0 Premier League win over Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium.
The crucial victory helped City to open up a 13-point gap at the top of the Premier League table.
De Bruyne struck in the 70th minute after shrugging off the desperate N’Golo Kante and unleashing a fierce long-range shot that flew past Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Chelsea goal.
Playing without a recognised striker, Manchester City were dominant in the first half, pinning Chelsea back and having the only shots on target in the period.
Chelsea failed to register a single shot on or off target during that half, and were lucky to go into the break level.
Although there were few clear-cut chances in the first half, they all fell to Manchester City against a placid Chelsea side who left Romelu Lukaku isolated upfront.
The best opportunity of the cagey first period came five minutes before half-time when Mateo Kovacic’s misplaced pass sent Jack Grealish through on goal one-on-one with Arrizabalaga.
The £100m signing though failed to make it count, with his placed finish saved by the onrushing Spaniard.
The second half was livelier as Chelsea became more bold and they had a good chance when Lukaku was through on goal only to be thwarted by Ederson.
De Bruyne’s sumptuous strike then forced Chelsea into making offensive changes, as Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner were introduced to assist Lukaku upfield.
Thomas Tuchel’s changes however came too late for Chelsea, who failed to fashion any sustained form of pressure on the City rearguard.
Manchester City have now won each of their last 12 Premier League games; the ninth run of 12 or more successive victories in the competition’s history, with the Citizens now responsible for four of those (and all under Pep Guardiola), according to Opta statistics.
City are on top of the table with 56 points from 22 games, 13 ahead of Chelsea in second place.
Liverpool in third have 42 points but have played two games fewer than both City and Chelsea.
