MY ACCOUNT
Manchester City confirmed their status as Premier League champions by thrashing Wolves 5-1, believes Chris Sutton.
Pep Guardiola’s side followed up a 5-0 thumping of Newcastle by dismantling Bruno Lage’s Midlanders thanks to a Kevin De Bruyne masterclass at Molineux.
The result moves them three points clear of Liverpool with two games to go and pundit Sutton reckons they have one hand on the trophy.
He said: “I think the display by Manchester City was a display of Premier League champions.
“I thought it was a tough task before the game but 5-1 was really emphatic.
“They are disappointed with the Champions League, but they are saying the Premier League is ours with that performance.
“He was brilliant. Kevin De Bruyne was cunning. Manchester City were far too good. They are going to see [the title] through now.
“This was a display of dominance, of real authority. They were so good in all areas of the pitch. It looks like there is no stopping them.”
The Kevin De Bruyne show
Ex-City star Micah Richards labelled the performance the “Kevin De Bruyne show” after the Belgian netted the first four goals, including a hat-trick inside the opening 24 minutes.
The Sky Sports pundit also conceded that had Guardiola not taken him off at Real Madrid last week, the Citizens might have coped with the hosts’ onslaught better.
Richards said: “It was the Kevin De Bruyne show today, it really was.
“Today Kevin De Bruyne was in that central role, they didn’t know how to live with him.
“He would’ve been disappointed against Real because they did manage to keep him quiet. He wasn’t allowed to get into the pockets of space.
“When you have disappointment, you have to react. To have a player like Kevin De Bruyne [in extra-time], it might have been different, they crumbled on the pitch.”
De Bruyne praises Reds
De Bruyne himself felt that he should have scored more in the Black Country but was also quick to praise title rivals Liverpool.
Their 1-1 draw at home to Spurs gave City breathing space before they upped the pressure again with a 2-1 win at Aston Villa on Tuesday night.
De Bruyne said: “It’s a little bit crazy the standards we both set, you can only respect it.
“They’ve played everything until the end of the season. We know how hard that is and I think both teams have ultimate respect and we play hard, that’s the only thing that we can do.”
City visit West Ham on Sunday before their final game of the season at home to Aston Villa a week later.
