Sterling City continues to set gold standard
Manchester City overcame the absence of David Silva to ease to victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium, with Raheem Sterling scoring a double.
Raheem Sterling scored twice as Manchester City extended its record run of victories in the Premier League to 16 games with an emphatic 4-1 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite the talismanic David Silva, who had scored four goals in his past three outings, missing a league game for the first time this season, Pep Guardiola's all-conquering juggernaut rolled on to move 14 points clear of nearest rival Manchester United at the top of the table.
Ilkay Gundogan's free header from a corner gave City an early lead before Kevin de Bruyne doubled the advantage with a left-footed drive 20 minutes from time.
The home side could even afford to see substitute Gabriel Jesus miss a penalty before Sterling bagged a late brace, taking the England international's tally for the season to 15.
Christian Eriksen struck a late consolation but Spurs, who will drop to seventh if Liverpool avoids defeat at Bournemouth on Monday (AEDT), were thoroughly outclassed on the road, meaning they have now claimed just one point from their past five away trips away from Wembley Stadium.
The result sees Guardiola equal the best winning streak he oversaw while in charge of Barcelona, although his current crop is still three shy of matching the 19-game run his Bayern Munich squad managed in the 2013-2014 Bundesliga campaign.
On this form, it is hard to see when the current run will come to an end.