Kevin De Bruyne penetrated the ball and fired a powerful shot into his former club’s goal in the 70th minute, consolidating City’s lead in the competition with 56 points from 22 games, while Chelsea had 43 points of the same number.
Liverpool comes third with 42 points, but it has two more games, including one against Brentford on Sunday.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed that he will try to continue to reach the top, but he was realistic in his words and said, “We will not give up, but if City continues to win every game, no team will catch up.”
Manchester City achieved its 12th consecutive victory in the league, and the victory was well deserved after it dominated possession for long periods.
Chelsea offered no glimpses of their thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool, but they played with great caution and City looked the closest to scoring and winning.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said: “We achieved a well-deserved victory. We cannot expect to create 10 or 12 chances against this opponent. This is the European champion.”
“The opponent waited behind to try to punish us (on the counter-attack). We scored a goal on the counter-attack. We knew exactly how the opponent played and how good they were. In general, today we were very patient.”
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