De Bruyne strike sinks Chelsea, sends Man City 13 points clear

dpa London Kevin De Bruyne hit a scorching winner as Manchester City extended their Premier League lead to 13 points with a 1-0 victory against second-pla...

dpa LondonKevin De Bruyne hit a scorching winner as Manchester City extended their Premier League lead to 13 points with a 1-0 victory against second-placed Chelsea.A tightly contested game at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday came to life 20 minutes from time as De Bruyne intervened decisively.Chelsea did not see much of the ball but had their chances to get on the scoresheet too, with Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech particularly wasteful on the counter-attack.Pep Guardiola’s City have now won 12 league games on the bounce, and it is difficult to see how they can be denied making it back-to-back titles in May.City dominated much of the first half but were grateful for poor decision-making and execution from Lukaku and Ziyech on two occasions as Chelsea looked to counter early on.The best chance for the hosts in the opening 45 minutes came when an effective high press set Jack Grealish through on goal, but Kepa Arrizabalaga deflected his shot behind with his left leg.The visitors should have taken the lead two minutes into the second half when Lukaku was sent clear by Mateo Kovacic, but Ederson palmed his shot away before Ziyech lifted the rebound over the bar.The league leaders finally broke the deadlock in the 70th minute when former Chelsea man De Bruyne cut in from the left side before expertly firing past the despairing dive of Arrizabalaga from 22 yards.The Blues tried to find an equalizer, but City showed their solid side to clinch the three points, moving a significant step closer to lifting the Premier League trophy once more.Coutinho makes immediate Villa impact to draw with Manchester Utd Philippe Coutinho scored a late equalizer on his debut as Aston Villa recovered from two down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United at Villa Park.United looked set to seal a morale-boosting and hard-fought victory thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ brace, but Villa fought back in the final 13 minutes to secure an unlikely point.There was undoubtedly a hint of fortune about United’s opener, an Emiliano Martinez howler allowing Fernandes to score for only the second time in the Premier League since September, but the Portugal star’s second was an emphatic effort.That looked as though it would be enough for United, but Jacob Ramsey scored and then teed up new loan signing Coutinho to rescue a draw with a dream debut goal.It took United - who were without Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford due to injury - just six minutes to score, though Martinez gave them more than a helping hand, inexplicably allowing Fernandes’ long-range strike squirm through his legs.Villa came to life towards the end of the half, but David de Gea was equal to Emi Buendia’s near-post header and debutant Lucas Digne’s controlled strike.Chances continued to flow at either end after the restart, with Anthony Elanga going close twice and Ramsey forcing De Gea into a smart save.But Fernandes was less wasteful, his drive clattering in off the crossbar after a Morgan Sanson error led to Fred feeding United’s captain.Villa rallied, however. Ramsey pulled one back with a well-taken left-footed finish inside the box before playing an inch-perfect pass across goal for Coutinho to smash home five minutes later.Premier League Saturday ResultsManchester City 1 Chelsea 0Burnley vs Leicester City postponedNewcastle United 1 Watford 1Norwich City 2 Everton 1Wolverhampton 3 Southampton 1Aston Villa 2 Manchester United 2