Manchester City remained top of the Premier League after a 4-0 demolition of Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola's side made it eight league wins in a row and sit three points clear of Liverpool, who drew 2-2 at Tottenham Hotspur, while Covid-hit Chelsea were held 0-0 by Wolves.
Ruben Dias’ opener – after Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and defender Ciaran Clark failed miserably to deal with a Joao Cancelo cross – set City on their way. Cancelo doubled their lead following a surging run and blistering finish.
Riyad Mahrez’s 50th Premier League goal for the club made it 3-0 after 63 minutes and Raheem Sterling tapped in a late fourth as Newcastle remain second from bottom.
It was City's 34th league victory of 2021, eclipsing the previous record set by Liverpool in 1982, although manager Pep Guardiola is convinced there is room for improvement.
“I prefer to win titles, but when you break a record from a long, long time ago, in a calendar year, the most victories, you are consistent, " said the Spaniard. "You win games and win games and win games, and this is the most precious value this team has.
“But you have to renew, you have to build again and build again to avoid performances like the first half, to do it better.
“But yes, compliments – but one day, it will be broken. We’ve had 100 points, maybe one day one team will get more points, but they will have to do well, really well because it’s not easy to do it.
“I’m happy for the guys, for all the club, they should be proud of that, no more than that. That’s why today when we break a record and we played the first half [like we did], I like it because I am aware still of the margin that we have to be a better team, and we are working on that.”
You can see the player ratings from Sunday's game in the gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.
