Man City pile on Liverpool FC pressure by getting the basics right vs Brentford

Winning the Premier League is all about getting the basics right and then finding moments of inspiration from your talented players.

And as Manchester City extended their lead at the top to 12 points ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Leicester tomorrow night, they got both right.

Just as it was in the encounter in west London in December, this was a bruising, tight encounter against hard-working, well-organised opponents.

But the breakthrough came down to Raheem Sterling doing what he does best, taking the direct option, and then Riyad Mahrez making no mistake from the resulting penalty.

Kevin De Bruyne made sure with a second goal from a mistake by Bees keeper David Raya in the second half, but this was merely a competent, professional display from the Blues, with no frills and few thrills.

It was a moment of sheer pace from Sterling that finally broke Brentford’s resistance, which had been aided by moments of sloppiness and inaccuracy from the Blues in the opening 45 minutes.

The winger simply knocked the ball towards the by-line and set off after it, nothing fancy.

Jack Grealish has been the preferred option on the left, and he provides a more subtle approach - but sometimes there is no substitute for turning on the after-burners.

The winger was also smart, checking his run ever-so-slightly as Mads Roerslev converged on him tempting the lunge for the ball which only succeeded in sweeping Sterling off his feet.

Until Mahrez took over duties, City getting a penalty barely rated as a goalscoring chance, so patchy was their record.

Mahrez has since become City’s go-to man, having been discarded after his dreadful spot-kick that stopped the Blues from ending their long-term duck at Anfield in 2018.

They have cycled