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City teach United a lesson

Faced with the Red Devils weakened by the absences of Raphaël Varane, positive for Covid, and Cristiano Ronaldo, hit in the hip, Manchester City, with a double from Kevin de Bruyne and another from Riyad Mahrez, mastered the derby and consolidated its leadership position.

Manchester City's Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne scores his 2nd goal, and the 2nd for his team, against Manchester United, during the derby of the 28th day of the Premier League, March 6, 2022 at the Etihad Stadium Oli SCARFF AFP

With 69 points, the Citizens are 6 points ahead of Liverpool, who have one game less.

The defeat is, on the other hand, a very bad operation, for the men of Ralf Rangnick, now one point ahead of Arsenal - 48 against 47 -, for 4th place, the last qualifier for the C1, while they played three more matches.

The meeting at the Etihad gave the full measure of what separates them from a status of contenders for the title.

Unable to stem the attacks of the sky blue, especially on a right side of the defense where Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva did what they wanted, United remained in the race for a long time thanks to the equalizer of Jadon Sancho - formed at City --, after a well-conducted counter and concluded with an extremely precise strike (1-1, 22nd).

But they never raised their level of play enough to pose a serious threat to their hosts who recited their score.

From the 5th minute, a doubling between Grealish and Silva had allowed the Portuguese to send a center back at ground level taken over without opposition by de Bruyne (1-0, 5th).

On a ball badly revived by Anthony Elanga, Phil Foden then played Victor Lindelof with a blow from the sombrero and if his recovery was rejected by David De Gea, the ball returned after a mess with the Belgian for his double ( 2-1, 28th).

The second period was even more controlled by City who drove home the point with Mahrez on a volley corner (3-1, 68') and a face-to-face victory in front of De Gea (4-1, 90'+1) , but the score could have been much heavier given the many clear chances.

Manchester City's Algerian midfielder Riyad Mahrez scores from the penalty spot against Manchester United in the Premier League matchday 28 derby on March 6, 2022 at the Etihad Stadium Lindsey Parnaby AFP

A cruel observation for the Red Devils who risk missing out on a financial windfall that they really need this summer, given the scale of the project to rebuild a competitive team.

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Arsenal can dream

Deprived of the Champions League since the 2016/2017 season, Arsenal could well put an end to a long absence this year.

The three late matches of the Londoners are, of course, very high with the reception of Liverpool rescheduled on March 16, and trips to Chelsea and Tottenham, the dates of which have not yet been fixed.

But the feeling that the stars are lining up with successful recruitment, an increasingly well-mastered game plan and a schedule where only the Premier League remains, gives reason to believe in Arsenal's chances.

Against the Hornets, 19th to three units from Everton, the first non-relegation (17th), the Gunners showed off their attacking qualities with three very fine goals which materialized combinations carried out with a bang.

It was first a duet number between Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, on the right, which allowed the Norwegian to open the scoring (1-0, 5th).

Arsenal midfielder Bukayo Saka (3rd d) scores the second goal on Watford's lawn, during the 28th day of the Premier League, March 6, 2022 Adrian DENNIS AFP

Saka then doubled the bet after stealing a ball from the opposing feet and relying on Alexandre Lacazette (2-1, 30th), who was also a decisive passer for Gabriel Martinelli, after a new sequence with a touch of the ball (3-1, 52nd)

The joy of Arsenal's Brazilian striker Gabriel Martinelli, after scoring the 3rd goal on Watford's lawn, during the 28th day of the Premier League, March 6, 2022 Adrian DENNIS AFP

The small swings in concentration in defense, with a goal denied to Emmanuel Dennis for offside in the 16th second, a magnificent equalizer from Cucho Hernandez, an acrobatic return (1-1, 11th) and the reduction of the score by Moussa Sissoko (3-2, 87th) however came to remind Arsenal that his margin of error if he wants to find the European elite is close to zero.

© 2022 AFP