Brighton 0
Manchester City 4
De Bruyne 17, Foden 26 34, Álvarez 62
The talk in recent weeks and certainly since Arsenal and Liverpool lost on the Saturday before last has been about whether City might have a slip of their own in them, something that-frankly - they have never done previously under Pep Guardiola when the trophy has been within their grasp, the focus narrowing over the run-in.
The theory or maybe just the hope from Arsenal, in particular-was that Brighton could get something from City. Roberto De Zerbi's team had lost only two league games on their own turf all season. Apart from Tottenham away, it looked like City's toughest remaining assignment in the defence of their title.
The champions tore the notion apart in devastating fashion, the game feeling over when Phil Foden scored with a deflected free-kick after 26 minutes and definitely being so when he got another one just after the half hour. It added the gloss to yet another excellent individual performance; Foden now has 24 City goals for the season.
Guardiola's issue has been that his players are close to empty on a physical level but there was zero evidence of that here. Is it just a mind game? Kevin De Bruyne had opened the scoring with a fabulous header while Julián Álvarez got No 4. The dream of a record fourth straight title edges ever closer.
This story is from the April 26, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the April 26, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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