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Manchester City Opens Up 10-Point Lead in Premier League Title Race

Pep Guardiola's side inches closer to another title after taking all three points off Everton.

Associated Press

A 10-point lead. A 12-match winning run. Seventeen straight victories in all competitions.

The numbers are just getting bigger and bigger as Manchester City surges toward another Premier League title.

Everton was the latest team to be brushed aside by Pep Guardiola’s side, with City winning 3-1 at Goodison Park on Wednesday to open up its biggest lead yet in the league this season.

Making the evening all the sweeter for Guardiola was the sight of his star player, Kevin De Bruyne, back on the field in a brief cameo as a substitute after a month out injured.

Everything seems to be falling into place as City closes in on reclaiming the title from Liverpool.

City was being held 1-1 heading into the final half hour, after Everton forward Richarlison canceled out the deflected opener by Phil Foden, when Riyad Mahrez conjured up the moment of the match.

Cutting in from the right, Mahrez took aim from the edge of the area and curled a shot in off the far post to give City the lead again in the 63rd.

Bernardo Silva added a third goal in the 77th with a not-too-dissimilar effort as he also drifted in from the right flank and sent in a shot that Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford got a hand on but couldn’t keep out.

City has won every match it has played since squeezing past Southampton 1-0 on Dec. 19, a remarkable run that has come while its biggest title rivals — Liverpool and Manchester United — have started to drop away.

United and Leicester are the nearest challengers, both 10 points back, but are unlikely to claw back a such a big cushion given City’s relentless form.

Everton stayed in seventh place, three points behind Liverpool in sixth.

SAFETY IN SIGHT

Avoiding relegation is looking like a more and more realistic prospect for Fulham.

A 1-1 draw at Burnley moved Scott Parker’s improving side within six points of safety, with 14 games still to be played.

Fulham, which is in third-to-last place, has lost just one of its last six games and has tightened up considerably at the back after being among the most porous teams early in the season on its return to the top flight.

Importantly, Newcastle — the team above Fulham — recently lost star striker Callum Wilson for up to two months because of injury and suddenly looks well in reach.

Looking to back up a win at Everton on Sunday, Fulham took the lead at Turf Moor through defender Ola Aina at a corner in the 49th but conceded to Ashley Barnes three minutes later.

The draw kept Burnley eight points clear of Fulham.

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