BRIGHTON.- He Manchester City scored another overwhelming victory on their march to an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title by beating Brighton 4-0 away on Thursday, thanks to a double from Phil Foden and goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Julián Álvarez.
In his most productive campaign as a scorer, Foden scored in the 26th and 34th minutes. De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 17th and Argentine Álvarez sealed the score in the 62nd.
The victory extended City’s unbeaten run in the English league to 18 games and reduced the gap between them and leaders Arsenal to one point. Liverpool are two points further behind and compromised their title hopes after losing 2-0 at Everton on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola’s team have five games left to play – one more than Arsenal – and their current form suggests they will not stumble in a final stretch that includes trips to Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Tottenham, as well as home games against Wolverhampton and West Ham.
With a total of victories, City will repeat as champions. No other club has managed to achieve four consecutive consecrations in the history of English football.
“I trust my team,” De Bruyne said. “With all due respect to Arsenal and Liverpool, they are incredible teams… but we just need to do our job.”
“We just have to continue doing our thing, not trust ourselves, be humble and work hard,” added the Belgian midfielder.
Since a 0-0 draw against Arsenal at home on March 31, City has won four in a row in the Premier League, with 17 goals scored.
They did not flinch despite the absence of the injured Erling Haaland, the league’s top scorer with 20 goals. Foden took the opportunity to suddenly get into the bidding for the Golden Boot.
Foden reached 16 goals in the campaign and has totaled 24 in 48 games in all competitions this season. The attacking midfielder exhibited his devastating punch in the presence of England coach Gareth Southgate at the Amex Stadium, with seven weeks left until the start of the European Championship.
In his time with City:
“This year I have moved more towards the center and I have improved immensely,” Foden said of the positional adjustment that allows him to play in the middle of the field instead of the wing. “I can score more goals in that area.”
De Bruyne scored with a header for the first time in the Premier. He dived in to hit Kyle Walker’s cross and put City ahead.
Foden scored his first of the night when his free kick deflected off the back of rival defender Pascal Gross. His other goal came with a low shot inside the area, taking advantage of a poor start by Brighton.
“Spider” Álvarez, who started for Haaland, made it 4-0 after another assist from Walker on the right.
Source: AP
