Dazzling De Bruyne propels City closer to Premier League title

Manchester City’s midfield genius Kevin De Bruyne scored four goals on Wednesday in a 5-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers to put his team in a commanding position to retain the Premier League with two games remaining.

The Belgian put the game to bed with a hat-trick in a devastating 18-minute spell in the first half, before notching a fourth after the break as the away fans alternated between chanting “Kevin De Bruyne” and “Champions of England”.

The win leaves Pep Guardiola’s side top on 89 points, three ahead of Liverpool whom they also lead on goal difference, with the title now firmly in their sights.

A second consecutive Premier League title would assuage disappointment at their Champions League exit, after City fell in the semis and Liverpool reached the final.

At Molineux, De Bruyne scored the third earliest hat-trick in Premier League history with a sumptuously-placed finish in the seventh minute, a clever follow-up to a rebound in the 16th, and a curler from the edge of the box in the 24th.

Wolves had briefly threatened an upset, when Leander Dendoncker made it 1-1 after a great break, before the De Bruyne show rolled on. He scored a fourth from close range in the 60th minute, before team mate Raheem Sterling completed another easy win for City with his 84th-minute goal.

Wolves stayed in eighth position on 50 points.

Leeds beaten by Chelsea as relegation fears heighten
Leeds United edged closer to Premier League relegation after goals from Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku earned Chelsea a comfortable 3-0 victory over the 10-man hosts on Wednesday.

The fixture was important for both teams, with Chelsea needing five more points to be sure of a top-four finish prior to their trip north, while Leeds’ top-flight status remains in the balance.

Watford end horror home run in goalless draw with Everton

Relegated Watford ended a run of 11 straight home defeats when they held Everton to a goalless draw in a poor Premier League encounter at Vicarage Road on Wednesday, denying the visitors the chance to move further away from the relegation zone.

The best chance of the game fell to Everton’s Demarai Grey, who skewed his shot wide from eight yards with the goal at his mercy as Watford kept a first home clean-sheet this season.

Everton move to 36 points from 35 games, two ahead of Leeds United in the third relegation position, with the latter having played a game more.

Watford made a number of injury-enforced changes to their side and had no lack of effort on the day they appointed new manager Rob Edwards Read full story, but as has been the case for much of the campaign, they did not have the quality to trouble the visitors.

Everton were perhaps too cautious in their approach, certainly in the first half, and it was not until the second period when they troubled home goalkeeper Ben Foster.

Former Watford forward Richarlison was able to find some space in the box and his deflected shot was well saved by the out-stretched arm of Foster.

Vardy scores twice as Leicester beat relegated Norwich 3-0

Jamie Vardy scored twice on his return to the starting lineup as Leicester City moved into the top half of the Premier League table with a 3-0 home win over relegated Norwich City on Wednesday.

The largely meaningless match, with the Foxes out of contention for the European places but safe from relegation while Norwich were already condemned to the drop, ended Leicester’s run of seven games without a victory.