Man City make it 17 straight wins and a 13-point lead

Tuesday, 26 December 2017 01:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

LONDON (Reuters): Manchester City extended their winning sequence to 17 and their lead at the top of the Premier League to 13 points with a 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth on Saturday as Manchester United were held 2-2 at Leicester City and champions Chelsea suffered a goalless stalemate at Everton.

Pep Guardiola’s City slickers began their unprecedented run of domestic league triumphs away to Bournemouth in August when a 97th-minute winner from Raheem Sterling sealed the points.

They found the south coast side an easier nut to crack this time with Sterling again on target as City continued to turn the title race into a procession.

Sergio Aguero also scored twice and Danilo completed the rout as record-breaking City reached Christmas with 55 points and 60 goals.

They have now scored 101 goals in 2017, becoming the first top-flight team to do so in a calendar year since Liverpool netted 106 throughout 1982.

City are 13 points ahead of Manchester United, who were criticised by manager Jose Mourinho for “childish” mistakes in defence and attack after conceding an equaliser in the fourth minute of added time at Leicester.

Chelsea, three points behind United, were left frustrated at a misty Goodison Park after 25 goal attempts came to nothing.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane also continues to rewrite records, with his seventh hat-trick of the year in all competitions firing his side to a 3-0 win at Burnley that put the Londoners back above their hosts, and Arsenal, into fifth.

Kane struck a first-half penalty and produced two clinical finishes after the break to equal Alan Shearer’s record of 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year set in 1995.

Arsenal and fourth-placed Liverpool drew 3-3 on Friday.

At the other end of the table Newcastle United ended a run of nine league games without a win to beat West Ham United 3-2 at the London Stadium and move out of the relegation zone.

City are unbeaten at home in 2017 and when Sterling made it 2-0 shortly after halftime for his 12th league goal of the season it was just a matter what the winning margin would be.