BURNLEY, England (AP) — Manchester City responded to the challenge laid down by title rival Liverpool by winning at Burnley 2-0 in the English Premier League on Saturday to stay in first place heading into the seismic meeting of the top two next weekend.
Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan scored first-half goals at Turf Moor to keep City in a one-point lead over Liverpool with eight games remaining.
Liverpool beat Watford by the same scoreline a few hours earlier but City had no problems matching its title rival, delivering a composed display and ultimately a customary win over next-to-last Burnley.
De Bruyne rifled a rising effort into the top corner following a lay-off from Raheem Sterling to put City ahead in the fifth minute, and the two combined for Gundogan’s 25th-minute goal, too.
Sterling exchanged a one-two with De Bruyne before squaring the ball to Gundogan, whose shot took the slightest deflection off defender James Tarkowski and ricocheted into the net.
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