PL: De Bruyne nets 4 as Man City demolish Wolves 5-1 to go 3 points clear

Premier League leaders Manchester City travelled to the Molineux Stadium on Wednesday to face Wolves in a decisive tie in the title race and came out emphatic 5-1 winners.

Expectedly, the reigning champions opened the scoring via Kevin De Bruyne, with the Belgian maestro striking early in the seventh minute, assisted by the brilliant Bernardo Silva.

Wolves, however, responded in spectacular fashion four minutes later through another Belgian, Leander Dendoncker, who slotted the ball into the back of the net for the home side after being played in by Pedro Neto during a counter-attack.

Also read | PL: Chelsea beat 10-man Leeds 3-0, strengthening top-four bid

While the home fans expected Wolves to weather City’s onslaught after the equaliser, Pep Guardiola’s men were in no mood to fool around, and re-established their lead minutes later through another Kevin De Bruyne goal in the 16th minute.

City turned up the pressure on Wolves with a one-goal lead in hand and De Bruyne went on to complete his hattrick in spectacular fashion in the 23rd minute after capitalising on a Wolves mistake to smash the ball home with his left foot.

The hattrick was De Bruyne’s first in the Premier League, and the second of his senior career.

Also read | James Rodriguez considers return to ‘elite’ European football

With a comfortable lead in hand, City, predictably, slowed down the pace of the game to establish a firm control over proceedings, and the half ended 3-1 in favour of the reigning Premier League champions.

City began the second-half in blistering pace and almost established a three goal lead minutes into the second-half. However, Raheem Sterling’s goal was ruled out due to offside.

However, the immaculate Citizens eventually claimed their fourth goal of the match when De Bruyne struck yet again in 60th minute to complete the first four-goal haul of his career.

Also read | A warm welcome: Kevin De Bruyne hits Erling Haaland celebration after 4-goal haul against Wolves

Phil Foden came close to making it 5-1, but struck the post, as City continued to create promising chances. After a slew of efforts, Raheem Sterling finally made it 5-1 in the 84th minute, wrapping up a literal five-star performance.

The win took City three points clear of second-placed Liverpool in the Premier League title race, putting Pep Guardiola firmly in the driving seat.

Wolves, meanwhile, remained eighth in the Premier League table, with 50 points from 36 games.