Manchester City vs Stoke City. Premier League.
Etihad StadiumAttendance54,128.
Sunday 15 October 2017 07:43, UK
Manchester City were in red-hot form as they thrashed Stoke 7-2 at the Etihad Stadium to go two points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
There were six different goalscorers for the hosts, with Gabriel Jesus the only player to score twice, and his 17th-minute opener was swiftly followed by Raheem Sterling's strike (19) before David Silva netted in the 27th minute to see Man City race into a 3-0 lead.
Stoke fought back with two goals either side of half-time as Mame Biram Diouf (44) scored ahead of the break, and the striker was involved again as a Kyle Walker own goal (47) made it 3-2 shortly after the restart.
But that brief blip stirred Manchester City back into action as they netted their next three goals in just six minutes, Jesus adding his second (56) before Fernandinho (60) and Leroy Sane (62) got their names on the scoresheet, with Bernardo Silva (79) completing the rout.
Man City now go two points clear of Manchester United, who had earlier replaced them at the Premier League summit following their goalless draw at Liverpool, while Stoke slip down to 15th.
The hosts came racing out of the traps in the first half with chances coming every few minutes, but it was Jesus who struck the opener in the 17th minute. Walker tapped the ball into his path after a Kevin De Bruyne cross, and the Brazilian made no mistake in slotting home.
De Bruyne was involved again two minutes later, finding Sane in the middle of the box. The German then picked out Sterling at the back post and he tapped home. Shortly after, Sterling added an assist to his repertoire for the afternoon, back-heeling a Sane cross for David Silva to stroke home Man City's third.
Stoke denied their hosts a clean sheet and had them worried for a while as they scored their goals either side of half-time. Diouf slotted home from a Jese cut-back with a minute of the first half to play, and then saw his header deflect off the thigh of Walker two minutes after the restart to pull the scoreline back to 3-2.
But Man City raced away with the game in the reminder of the second half and scored three goals in six minutes to put themselves out of sight. Jesus added his second in the 56th minute, finding himself almost unmarked in the middle of the box as he powered home a De Bruyne cross.
Fernandinho scored the goal of the afternoon as he thundered the ball past Jack Butland via the underside of the crossbar from just outside the box on the hour mark, before Sane added another two minutes later, directing home a superb De Bruyne pass at the back post.
And there was more to come as Bernardo Silva completed the seven-goal haul in the 79th minute, simply tapping home after a Sterling lay-off to round off a dazzling performance from Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola: "I enjoyed it like all our fans so we are so happy for the victory and the way we played. This season we have played in many good games, like last time at Stamford Bridge, but today we played better most of the time.
"Sometimes we play well for 30 or 45 minutes but today, it was the first time since I've been here that we played well for a long time, except for the last minute of the first half and the beginning of the second."
Mark Hughes: "It was difficult from our point of view clearly. You don't want to concede the amount of goals we did although some of them were top class and with De Bruyne, you've got a genuine, world-class player in their ranks.
"We found it very difficult to stop his influence on the game and he was a big factor in them being able to take the game away from us. We got back into the game at 3-2, although if we're honest, I think it flattered us at 3-2 but very quickly, we made a few mistakes and they took the game away from us. In the end, we were grateful for the referee's whistle."
Paul Merson: "I don't know how you stop them. Someone like Jose Mourinho will set up tight against them because they were great today, but they did let in two goals if you want to nit-pick.
"But it's all about their movement. I can't remember anyone passing the ball and then standing still. They are all over the place. Some teams are like Subbuteo - they kick off and at half-time they are all in the same positions - but these players go everywhere.
"You felt sorry for Stoke because they just couldn't live with them. That was the standard. I feel embarrassed that I didn't pay to watch it."
Where do you start with De Bruyne's performance on Saturday? It was nothing short of world-class, and he was involved in virtually all the goals - apart from the final strike from Bernardo Silva after he had been substituted - on what was his 100th appearance for the club.
He picked up two assists for his performance but he once again pulled the strings and set up the attacking moves for his team in a dominant display. His talent is clear and he is an exciting player to watch each time he steps onto the field.
Man City are in Champions League action on Tuesday as they welcome Napoli to the Etihad Stadium before another home Premier League clash against Burnley on Saturday.
Stoke are also on home turf in the league next weekend when they host Bournemouth at the Bet365 Stadium.
