De Bruyne and Mahrez fire Manchester City to 4-1 win over United; Arsenal pile misery on Watford with 3-2 win

Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez scored two goals each as Manchester City restored their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points with a convincing 4-1 derby victory over Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

United had put up a decent fight in the first half, going in 2-1 down at the break, but City’s quality showed after the interval with Ralf Rangnick’s side looking increasingly demoralised.

City have 69 points from 28 games with Liverpool on 63 from one game less. United slip down to fifth place, a point behind Arsenal who beat Watford on Sunday and have three games in hand.

Belgian De Bruyne was outstanding, running the game from central midfield and then presenting himself as a threat in the box.

United were without Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani through injuries and surprisingly Rangnick opted to play Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in forward positions.

City made the perfect start with De Bruyne putting them ahead in the fifth minute, slotting home a low pulled-back pass from Bernardo Silva after they overloaded the left side.

But United drew level through a superb curling shot from Jadon Sancho, who took his time and cut inside after a swift break before beating Ederson with his confident strike.

But Belgian De Bruyne restored City’s advantage finding the target after Phil Foden had powered into the area and seen his shot parried out by David De Gea.

City dominated after the break and made it 3-1 when De Bruyne struck a corner deep to the edge of the box and Mahrez met it with a first-time drive which took a slight deflection off Harry Maguire.

Mahrez completed the victory with a goal that was initially flagged as offside but VAR found Alex Telles had played the Algerian onside before he latched on to an Ilkay Gundogan pass and blasted in off the shoulder of De Gea.

Arsenal beat Watford 3-2 

Arsenal added to struggling Watford’s woes with a 3-2 win at Vicarage Road on Sunday, boosting their hopes of Champions League football next season and keeping their hosts mired in the Premier League relegation zone.

Martin Odegaard put the Gunners ahead in the fifth minute, latching on to a Bukayo Saka pass after a sweeping move down the right and lashing the ball in low under Watford keeper Ben Foster.

Cucho Hernandez replied in spectacular fashion for Watford six minutes later, meeting a Kiko Femenia cross whipped in from the right with a perfectly timed bicycle kick that left the Arsenal back line rooted to the spot.

Watford showed no signs of having lost their previous seven home games in a row as they piled pressure on the visitors, who are trying to secure Champions League football for the first time since the 2016-17 season. But the home side were held back by wayward shooting.

Instead, it was Saka who reclaimed the lead for Arsenal on the half hour, stealing the ball off Tom Cleverley outside the box, playing a one-two with his captain Alexandre Lacazette and thumping his shot high into the net.

Early in the second half, Gabriel Martinelli finished off a well-worked Arsenal move involving Odegaard and Lacazette again, with a strike from distance to give the visitors a two-goal cushion.

But Arsenal slipped into cruise-control too early and Watford’s Moussa Sissoko set up an action-packed finale in the 86th minute when he skipped in behind the defence and squeezed a shot under keeper Aaron Ramsdale to reduce the deficit.

The visitors rode their luck in the final minutes, however, and held on for the win.

“This is the dream this year, to be in the top four and qualify for Champions League football. We have to stay humble and focus on ourselves,” Arsenal’s Saka told Sky Sports.

Arsenal climbed to fourth place in the table ahead of the Manchester derby, with 48 points from 25 games – and with games in hand on the teams around them. Watford remained 19th on 19 points.