Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 6y

Beating title rivals key to big Manchester City lead - De Bruyne

Manchester City's ability to beat their Premier League title rivals has enabled them to build a formidable lead at the top of the table, Kevin De Bruyne has told SFR Sport.

City won 2-1 at Manchester United in Sunday's derby to stretch their advantage over their second-placed neighbours to 11 points.

Pep Guardiola's side are 14 points ahead of reigning champions Chelsea, in third, and 16 in front of fourth-placed Liverpool.

In the first half of last season, City beat both United and Arsenal but lost to Liverpool and Chelsea. This time, they have beaten all four during a record 14-game winning streak.

"I think last year we played well but didn't win the big games," De Bruyne, who has contributed four goals and eight assists, said.

"This year, we have won the four games against the big teams -- that means we have 12 points more than we did last season. That's a little change in comparison to last year.

"But we have to be very focused on our games. Eleven points is good, that's for sure. But we want the title and, to do that, we have to win matches."

Draws for Arsenal and Liverpool and a defeat for Chelsea this weekend gave City an opportunity to stretch their advantage still further, and Belgium international De Bruyne said: "We had seen that the other teams had dropped points, and I think it was a good match to put pressure on the others.

"At the end, it's just three points, but it's good to be 11 points clear."

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