Premier League: David Silva gives Man City 15th win in a row

Swansea City 0 Manchester City 4

Pep Guardiola described David Silva as an “animal” when the Manchester City star scored twice in the club’s 4-0 thrashing of Swansea City.

The victory, City’s 15th consecutive league win, keeps them 11 points clear at the top of the table. It means they have now scored 52 goals in 17 matches this season.

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Silva has netted four times in the last three games. Guardiola said of his Spanish sharpshooter: “David is hugely competitive, everyone knows his skills, there is no doubt – a blind guy is able to see that – but you cannot imagine how competitive he is… he is an animal, always wanting to win games.”

Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero added goals of their own in the rout, which leaves Swansea two points adrift at the foot of the table. Guardiola had nothing but praise for his invincible team.

“Considering we have had a lot of games in our legs, a demanding game at Old Trafford three days ago, we were solid, we were serious and we made a good performance,” he said.

With City commanding such a dominant lead over their rivals at the halfway point of the season, Guardiola was asked if complacency could be the club’s biggest threat next year.

“We can lose, we can drop points but complacency, it has never happened in the past, the present or the future,” he replied. “That is not going to happen… winning 15 games in a row gives us a lot of confidence.”

Manchester United 1 Bournemouth 0

United recovered from the pain of losing the Manchester derby on Sunday with a 1-0 win against Bournemouth. Romelu Lukaku scored the all-important goal in the first-half from Juan Mata’s cross.

It was a far from convincing display by the Red Devils, but Jose Mourinho was in a positive mood.

“I am pleased with the three points,” he said. “They had one more day’s rest than us, they were fresher than us, and mentally fresher because a big match takes more from our players.”

The United manager gave short shrift to the idea that the title race was over following Sunday’s defeat to City. “It is only over in May,” he said. “If it is over now I go on holiday to Brazil or Los Angeles.”

West Ham United 0 Arsenal 0

It is over for Arsenal, however, after they were held to a goalless draw away at West Ham.

The Gunners, without a league win this month, dropped down to seventh and now trail Manchester City by 19 points.

“We had so much of the ball, but it was very frustrating because we could even have lost it at the end,” said Arsene Wenger.

Asked about Arsenal’s league position approaching the busy Christmas period, which sees them play Newcastle, Liverpool, Crystal Palace and WBA within the space of a fortnight, Wenger replied: “There’s always concern about the table as we are here to win games.”

In the other matches Liverpool also suffered a frustrating night. Both they and West Brom failed to score at Anfield, but Tottenham took advantage of their rivals’ sterility with a 2-0 win against Brighton. Serge Aurier and Son Heung-min were the scorers as the Lilywhites climbed into fourth place.

“I think it’s fantastic for us, three victories in a row [in all competitions],” said Mauricio Pochettino, whose side are four points behind Chelsea in third.

Last night’s Premier League results

• Newcastle United 0 Everton 1
• Southampton 1 Leicester City 4
• Swansea City 0 Manchester City 4
• Liverpool 0 West Bromwich Albion 0
• Manchester United 1 AFC Bournemouth 0
• Tottenham Hotspur 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 0
• West Ham United 0 Arsenal 0