Maybe it’s Pep Guardiola’s courtesy. “We are not the best club in the world,” said the Manchester City coach, despite beating Brentford 2-0 to consolidate their lead at the top of the Premier League by 12 points.
The day before yesterday, Riyad Mahrez (40th minute penalty) and Kevin de Bruyne (69th minute) scored at home to give City a win over newcomers Brentford. City’s Spanish coach Guardiola, who is 12 points ahead of Liverpool, said at the end of the match: “I am not a fool, I will praise my team more than anyone else after winning.”
With 70 points after 24 matches, City has strengthened its top position. Liverpool scored 48 points, two matches less than them. In the other match of the day, Tottenham lost 2-3 to Southampton.
Chelsea in the final
Chelsea reached the final of the Club World Cup by defeating Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia with the only goal scored by Romelu Lukaku. South American champion Palmeiras will face Blu-ray in the final. Belgian forward Lukaku scored in the 32nd minute of the second semifinal of the tournament in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Lukaku, who joined Chelsea for a record transfer fee, failed to score in five matches before coming to Abu Dhabi. Brazil’s Palmeiras beat Egypt’s Al Ahly 2-0 in the first semis. Final tomorrow.