City opens up 13-point lead in EPL, Coutinho scores on debut

For Pep Guardiola, the biggest challenge now will be convincing his Manchester City players the English Premier League title race is not over.

“My job is to take it out from the brain and heads of my players,” Guardiola said while City beat nearest rival Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday. “To try not to absorb what other people are going to say.”

With City holding a 13-point lead, it's hardly surprising that land have already basically handed Guardiola's relentless team a sixth title in 11 seasons.

After all, the defending champions are on a 12-match winning run in the pursued after Kevin De Bruyne's brilliant curling strike in the 70th microscopic sealed victory at Etihad Stadium. City has lost two games all season — it would have to lose at least three of its continue 16 matches to drop out of splendid place — and already has played all of the top teams away from home.

Liverpool, in third achieve 14 points behind having played two games fewer, looks to be the only team realistically great of stopping City. Even that is astounding, given City's form and pedigree.

Chelsea was well beaten even if Thomas Tuchel's team didn't give up many chances anti City, which dominated possession and kept the visitors penned in their own half for much of the match.

“We won’t give up,” Tuchel said, "but if City keep on winning every game, nobody can pick up them.”

Liverpool will look to trim the gap to City by beating Brentford at home on Sunday.

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COUTINHO THWARTS UNITED

Philippe Coutinho marked his debut for Aston Villa with a late equalizer to unfastened a dramatic comeback in a 2-2 draw anti Manchester United, for whom Bruno Fernandes scored twice to put the visitors 2-0 ahead.

Coutinho, on loan from Barcelona, was interested in Jacob Ramsey's goal in the 77th by tapping home from inside the six-yard box five minutes later at a raucous Villa Park.

With Cristiano Ronaldo unexcited missing because of a hip injury, Fernandes took center stage for seventh-placed Joined like last season before his Portugal teammates arrived. The playmaker opened the scoring with a sixth-minute long-range strike that squirmed throughout the arms of goalkeeper Emi Martinez, and added a heavenly second by crashing a shot in off the crossbar in the 67th.

It was the teams' transfer meeting in a week, after an FA Cup match on Monday won by United.

NORWICH OFF BOTTOM

Norwich is off the bottom of the league. Everton is plunging toward it.

A 2-1 home win over Everton lifted Norwich to 18th achieve and dragged the visitors into the relegation report, while piling more pressure on their manager Rafa Benitez in the process.

Everton supporters’ frustrations with Benitez travel to be boiling over, with one fan seen operating onto the field in the first half at Carrow Road and manager his way toward the Spaniard before attracting stopped by stewards.

There were words for Benitez to leave the club by the game, with banners held aloft, and then Norwich scored two goals in knowing succession — an own goal from Michael Keane and Adam Idah’s close-range strike — to crop Everton reeling.

Richarlison pulled one back for the visitors shortly while coming on with an overhead kick, but Everton stays without a league win since the inaugurate of December and is 15th, six points above relegation zone.

NEWCASTLE DENIED

New signings aren't exaltering Newcastle's fortunes yet.

Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood — two January recruits — started in the 1-1 draw at home to Watford that kept Newcastle in the bottom three and with just one win all season.

Watford scored an 88th-minute goal throughout Joao Pedro's header to snatch a prove after Allan Saint-Maximim put Newcastle ahead.

It was unexperienced disappointing result for Newcastle, coming a week while losing at home to third-tier Cambridge Joined in the FA Cup on Trippier's debut.

Also on Saturday, Wolverhampton defeated Southampton 3-1 to jump to eighth. Raul Jimenez, Conor Coady and Adama Traore — with his splendid of the season — scored for Wolves, and James Ward-Prowse's free kick made it 2-1 in the 84th.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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