Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez and Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne scored a double, to lead Manchester City to a 4-1 victory in the Manchester derby at home to Manchester United, who lacked Cristiano Ronaldo, at the Etihad Stadium, on Sunday.
City, the leaders, regained the six-point difference with Liverpool, their direct pursuit, in the twenty-eighth stage of the English Premier League.
De Bruyne scored his double in the first half (5 and 28), and Mahrez in the second (68 and 90), while Gaydon Sancho scored the only goal for the visitors (22).
The English champion renewed his victory over his neighbor this season in the league, following he dropped him 2-0 in the first match at Old Trafford, to achieve his first victory at home in the Manchester derby since November 2018.
Spanish coach Pep Guardiola’s team raised its score to 69 points, six points ahead of Liverpool, who won Saturday once morest West Ham, knowing that the latter has a postponed match once morest Arsenal.
Ronaldo missed the match due to a thigh injury, and French defenders Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw were infected with the Corona virus, according to what German coach Ralf Rangnick announced before the match.
With the continued absence of Uruguayan Edinson Cavani for his lack of readiness, United played without a spearhead, while Sancho, young Swede Anthony Ilanga and Portuguese Bruno Fernandes led the attack.
For his part, City lacked influential Portuguese defender Robin Diach, who will be away between four and six weeks due to a muscle tear, while Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Mahrez led the attack, while Raheem Sterling remained on the bench.
City prepared in the best way for its “semi-marginal” match in the second leg of the Champions League final once morest Sporting on Wednesday, following sweeping it in the first leg with five clean goals, and it is seeking the first continental title in its history.
It is United’s first loss in the league following six unbeaten matches since its fall at home to Wolverhampton at the beginning of the year.
City did not delay to open the scoring, when Portuguese Bernardo Silva passed a ball from the left side to De Bruyne, who was unattended inside the area, and fired a powerful shot once morest Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea (5).
United equalized following Frenchman Paul Pogba passed the ball in the opposite direction to Sancho on the left side, who dribbled around two players before curling a ball from inside the area to the left of the goalkeeper (22).
After that, the owners of the land took the reins, and succeeded in advancing once more following the confusion in the area, first when De Gea saved Foden’s shot from close range, to prepare in front of Silva, who followed her, bounced from the defense before being scattered by the Swede Victor Lindelof, and arrived in front of De Bruyne, who followed her in the goal (28).
City imposed absolute control over the second half, in which United did not take a shot at all despite the entry of Rashford and Lingard. In the bottom right corner (68).
City continued its pressure, and almost came out with a harsher result, Lula de Gea, who saved another ball from Mahrez (73), then from Portugal’s Joao Cancelo on the “half-scissor” bird (81).
Mahrez scored his second personal goal, the fourth for his team, when he received the ball from German Ilkay Gundogan, De Bruyne’s replacement, between the lines. for offside (90).
