Sunday 22 April 2018 23:29, UK
Manchester City moved closer to breaking Chelsea's all-time Premier League points record with a 5-0 victory over Swansea City on Super Sunday.
Pep Guardiola's champions now only need six points from their remaining four matches to surpass Chelsea's 95-point haul after goals from David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bryune, Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus sent them to a classy victory.
Guardiola's men recorded 83% possession and completed 942 passes from 1,015 attempted over the course of 90 minutes; both of which are the most by any side in a Premier League game since 2003/04.
Man City could also become the first top-flight team to register 100 points in a season if they take 10 points between now and the end of the campaign. This five-goal haul took them to 98 goals for the Premier League season - the record, set by Chelsea in 2009/10, is 103.
Swansea, who were chasing shadows throughout, remain four points above the Premier League drop zone and still have both Stoke and Southampton to play.
Swansea welcomed the new champions onto the pitch with a guard of honour and that was about as close as they got to Guardiola's side. The hosts took the lead on 12 minutes.
Sterling made a clever break in behind the static Swansea defence and flicked a clever reverse pass to David Silva, who thrashed a low effort into the far corner - his 10th goal of another amazing season for him.
Silva then turned provider five minutes later, threading through Fabian Delph down the left wing and he had the simple task of squaring the ball across goal for Sterling to tap home.
Swansea rarely ventured out of their own half as Silva, De Bruyne and Sterling ran amok in midfield. By half-time City had enjoyed a remarkable 86% of the ball.
A similar pattern continued after the break. One slight criticism you can throw at the champions is that they can overplay at times, however, De Bruyne dispelled that notion on 54 minutes with a stunning long-range strike.
There did not look much on when he picked the ball up 30 yards from goal but one swing of his right boot saw the ball fly like a rocket right into the top corner.
Sterling then drew a clumsy foul off Federico Fernandez inside the area and, despite the cries from the crowd for Ederson to take it, Gabriel Jesus stepped up. His effort came back off the post but Bernardo Silva reacted quickest after 64 minutes to slide home the rebound.
It was then party time as Guardiola gave minutes to crowd favourites Yaya Toure and Benjamin Mendy, who was returning from seven months out after a serious knee injury.
There was time for Jesus to get a deserved goal with two minutes remaining when he skillfully headed home a delightful chipped pass from Toure.
Swansea simply had no answer to the brilliance of Guardiola's men.
Whether the brilliant Belgian wins the PFA Player of the Year award or not, the levels he has reached this season are frightening. He bossed this game from the very first kick, gliding around the pitch orchestrating almost every attack Manchester City put together. His link play with David Silva was a joy to watch and his performance was capped with a sensational strike that will be talked about in the pubs of Manchester long into the night.
Manchester City are in front of the Sky Sports cameras again next Sunday when they visit West Ham United, who still need points to secure their Premier League status for next season. Meanwhile, Swansea have a difficult clash with Chelsea next Saturday at the Liberty Stadium.
