Manchester City beat relegation side Watford 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium to stay on top of the Premier League table, 4 points off Liverpool in second place who will host Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday. Pep Guardiola has won all his fixtures against Watford as the manager of Man City.

Manchester City opened the scoring within four minutes after Zinchenko drilled the ball into the box for Gabriel Jesus who smashed it into the net. Watford sat back, trying to absorb City’s pressure, and played on the counter trying to expose the hosts’ high line. The hosts were putting crosses in from all angles in the first half, to try and extend their lead.

Gabriel Jesus fired the header in from a cross by Man City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne in the 23rd minute. The cross by the Belgian was an absolute work of art, well-measured and perfect weight on the pass for the Brazilian to finish it off.

FULL TIME | A five star performance!

5-1 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/6kR5XqOIst

— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 23, 2022

Manchester City went 3-1 up in the 34th minute when midfielder Rodri fired a rocket into the top corner after he controlled the pass by Jesus on the chest, and took the shot. The Spaniard gave the hosts some breathing space with his fourth goal of the season for City.

Five minutes later, Watford got one back through build-up play by Joshua King and Emmanuel Dennis, who assisted Hassane Kamara to score his first goal for the club. He was in behind Man City’s defence to smash the ball into the bottom corner.

JESUS COMPLETES HAT-TRICK

The second half started with City winning a penalty within 14 seconds of the restart when Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster tackled Gabriel Jesus who put away the penalty into the bottom corner for his hat-trick. This was the Brazilian’s fourth career hat-trick and his first since 2019. Kevin De Bruyne setup Gabriel Jesus once again in the 53rd minute after a one-touch quick passing move opening up Watford’s defence.

Pep Guardiola has a wonderful home record in the Premier League this season, picking up 41 points from 17 matches at the Etihad. Watford have been in great form away from home, as 15 of their 22 points this season came on rival turf. But they could not replicate this form against league leaders Man City. The Hornets, who are now winless in their last 15 meetings against Manchester City sit in 19th in the table with 22 points, seven behind 17th placed Everton.

Manchester City have two away games in a row as they will take on Leeds United at Elland Road before travelling to Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Roy Hodgson’s men will face Burnley in the relegation battle at the end of April before taking Crystal Palace and Everton next month. Watford’s final two games are against Leicester City and Chelsea, which makes their survival chances rather grim.