Man City thrash Man Utd 4-1 to extend Premier League lead

Manchester United’s English striker Marcus Rashford (L) vies with Manchester City’s English defender John Stones during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on March 6, 2022. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez scored twice as Manchester City reopened a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League by brushing aside Manchester United 4-1 at the Etihad on Sunday.

Defeat means there is now a 22-point gap between the clubs and is another blow to United’s chances of just qualifying for the Champions League next season.

The Red Devils now trail Arsenal by a point in fourth, who also have three games in hand.

At the top of the table, Liverpool also have a game in hand to reduce City’s advantage to three points.

But Pep Guardiola’s men responded to the pressure applied by the Reds’ seven-game winning run in the league by bouncing back from two sup-par performances against Tottenham and Everton.

Just as in their meeting at Old Trafford earlier in the season, there was a gulf in class between the sides as City secured just a second league double over their local rivals since an Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 swung the balance of power in Manchester.

United were without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani in attack, but it was defenders Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw, missing due to positive cases of coronavirus, whose presence was most keenly missed.

The visitors were breached by City’s first sustained attack as Bernardo Silva’s low cross found De Bruyne completely unmarked to sweep home from just inside the box.

Despite their dominance over United when it comes to finishing higher in the table in