Man City crush Arsenal with De Bruyne masterclass

Tuesday, 17 December 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne scores their third goal, Soccer Football, Premier League, Arsenal v Manchester City, Emirates Stadium, London, Britain – Action Images via Reuters

LONDON (Reuters): Manchester City resumed normal service in the Premier League as a masterful display by Kevin De Bruyne fired them to a 3-0 victory over a listless Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday.

Belgian De Bruyne produced two sublime finishes and one silky assist for Raheem Sterling as Pep Guardiola’s City killed the match as a contest before halftime.

Arsenal managed to avoid any more punishment in the second half as City switched on cruise control but it was an uncomfortable 90 minutes for their stand-in manager Freddie Ljungberg whose side were totally outclassed.

There was no big celebration by the travelling City fans as the champions, who dropped eight points in their previous five games, remain 14 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool.

They did, however, close the gap on second-placed Leicester City to four points ahead of their clash next week.Arsenal managed only six shots — their lowest total at home in the Premier League since 2008 — and are ninth with 22 points, seven points adrift of the top four and showing little sign that things will improve anytime soon.

City could and should have scored more after the break, despite taking their foot off the accelerator, while for a chastened Arsenal it was simply a case of damage-limitation.

The last time they experienced such a long run without a home win was 1994-95.

Impressive as City were, Guardiola said last week’s performance in losing 2-1 to Manchester United was better.

“Against United we played much better,” the Spaniard, in charge of his 200th match for City, said. “I know we are judged on the result but I have a duty to judge the performance, not just the result.”