Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hailed 21-goal winger Riyad Mahrez, whom he says "reads the game perfectly".

The Algerian has been a key part of City's Premier League title push, netting eight goals in their past 10 league games, for a season total of 10.

Mahrez has been influential in Europe as well with six Champions League goals for City, who are into the quarter-finals. Across all competitions this season, he already has 21 goals to his name.

The 31-year-old contributed 14, 13 and 12 goals over the previous three seasons, with his increase in production prompting praise from Guardiola – 21 is already a personal best.

"He's an exceptional player,” Guardiola said at the news conference prior to Monday's league game with Crystal Palace. "He's a player that many teams would like to have.

"He's scored a lot of goals, penalties, assists and everything and part of that is the quality. He reads the game perfectly when he has to attack or give an extra pass."

The Spaniard added: "I try to push him a lot. We struggle together because I know the quality he has and he's a player I admire for the fact he handles the pressure.

"He likes to play on the biggest stages. It's difficult to find that and players like him. Not just me, the whole club has an incredibly high opinion of him and his quality, no doubt about that."

Despite never before scoring as many goals as in 2021-22, Guardiola refused to label it a career-best season.

"I will not say it’s his best season or not because he’s played in the Premier League for many seasons at a high level. Last season, for example, he was exceptional," Guardiola said.

"The final quarter of the season until the end he was so important and playing really well."

Mahrez's 10 Premier League goals mean he is the club's joint-top scorer in the top flight this term along with Raheem Sterling. Kevin De Bruyne is just behind them on nine.

Antonio Rudiger's future at Chelsea has been the topic of plenty of speculation.

The 29-year-old centre-back has been with the Blues since 2017 when he joined on a five-year deal.

Rudiger is yet to extend his contract with Chelsea, with plenty of interest in the Germany international.

TOP STORY – NEWCASTLE AND MAN UTD IN FOR RUDIGER

Newcastle United are ready to compete in the race to sign Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger, claims the Telegraph.

The Germany international has drawn interest from Real Madrid while the Express reports that Manchester United are also considering a move for the defender.

Rudiger's contract with Chelsea expires at the end of this season, although he has not ruled out staying at Stamford Bridge.

ROUND-UP

- The Express claims Harry Kane has informed his Tottenham team-mates that he will remain with the club should they clinch a top-four spot and Champions League football.

- Arsenal may move to re-sign Serge Gnabry from Bayern Munich, who previously spent four years with the Gunners, according to Football.London. Gnabry is valued at €75million (£63m).

- Arsenal, along with Leicester City, have sent scouts to track Sassuolo forward Domenico Berardi, according to Nicolo Schira. The Italians are asking for €30m for their club captain, with interest from Napoli and Milan also.

- FootMercato claims Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea are considering moves for Manchester City's Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez.

Kevin De Bruyne was pleased with how Manchester City responded to Liverpool's win against West Ham, after a "different" Manchester United derby challenge on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp's side closed the gap on Pep Guardiola's Premier League leaders to three points with a 1-0 victory over West Ham on Saturday.

But any sense of concern was quickly quashed when De Bruyne opened the scoring in the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium after just five minutes.

That was his 50th goal in the competition, and he soon added a 51st to his name, albeit after Jadon Sancho had levelled up for Ralf Rangnick's visitors.

Belgium international De Bruyne, who became the first City player to score a brace in this league fixture since Sergio Aguero in April 2015, then teed up Riyad Mahrez to put the hosts 3-1 up.

With that assist, De Bruyne recorded his 89th goal involvement in just 100 Premier League home games, spread across his time with Chelsea and predominantly City, and the midfielder was satisfied with his side's 4-1 win. Mahrez had added gloss to the scoreline in the closing stages, firing in off the face of David de Gea.

"I think Man United played differently to other occasions. They tried to press us and did well in the first half," De Bruyne told Sky Sports.

"We had a few more difficulties to get the ball around, but in the second half we created more opportunities."

De Bruyne was unable to explain why City have previously struggled at home to United but done well away, though he was delighted with this result against Rangnick's side.

"I can't explain why we always win over there [Old Trafford] but have more difficulty at home," he said. "Today, we played really well and deserved the three points.

"It's about winning game by game. They [Liverpool] won yesterday, but we responded in the right way. Sometimes we don't get the result, but we always play the right way and we will fight until the end of the season."

Mahrez sealed the derby success with the late strike that took him to 101 goal involvements for City across all competitions. It was his 21st goal of the campaign.

But the Algeria international acknowledged he had to stay patient for his opportunities, after a limited first-half display that saw the majority of chances come down City's left side.

"I think I touched four balls in the first 30 minutes, but in my head, I had to stay focused," Mahrez told Sky Sports.

"The first half was good and they [Man Utd] tried to play on the counter. Second half, we were more patient and more controlled and made the difference."

Discussing his goals, Mahrez added: "The first one, you just have to try and hit the target and the second one, I tried to put it high and it hit his face and went in. I will take both of them."

Guardiola's side will look to protect their lead at the Premier League summit when they travel to Crystal Palace in their next league outing, though Liverpool do still have a game in hand on City.

It was deemed a pivotal match in the title race. Liverpool would have been able to go top of the Premier League table – or at least within a point of it – with a win in their game in hand if Manchester City slipped up in the Manchester derby.

But upon its conclusion at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, it was difficult to imagine Liverpool players doing anything but lifting their jaws off the floor after City blew Manchester United away in stunning fashion, beating Ralf Rangnick's side 4-1.

Not that it always looked likely to be so one-sided. A Cristiano Ronaldo-less United certainly made things interesting at the start, and the absence of the Portuguese forward – due to a hip injury – gave them an enigmatic aura, to some degree.

It emerged on Saturday night that Ronaldo was a doubt when reports began to suggest the Portugal captain had not been present with the rest of the squad at their team hotel.

City would surely have been preparing to face Ronaldo all week, and so United's set-up will have come as something of a shock – even more so when in the early exchanges it looked like the visitors were attempting to go punch-for-punch with the champions, something few teams survive.

In fact, early on there were signs of role reversal. United had spells of possession, City were playing for counters. Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, counter-attacking became something of a staple for the Red Devils in these fixtures.

But in the absence of Ronaldo, it was as if United were finally playing with a full complement of players, such has been his lack of influence outside the penalty area – you could potentially include inside the area as well given his recent wastefulness.

With Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba supporting wide forwards Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga, United looked fluid, intricate and generally dangerous in attack, almost mimicking City's striker-less style for 2021-22, the hosts' fifth-minute opener from Kevin De Bruyne not appearing to upset the away side's flow a great deal.

Jadon Sancho's excellent equaliser showed precisely what United were capable of, as they cut through City and the England international exhibited great composure by skipping around Rodri and curling into the bottom-right corner.

Though by that point, in the 22nd minute, City had already started to get to grips with United's slightly surprising set-up, as Rangnick's men started to show cracks.

In the first 15 minutes, the share of possession was almost 50/50 – over the course of a derby during Pep Guardiola's time in Manchester, United haven't had more than 40 per cent at the Etihad Stadium. But over the following third of the first half, City's share increased to 72.5 per cent, and it was unsurprising to see them regain the lead through De Bruyne just six minutes after Sancho's leveller.

If United were trying to mimic City, the latter were proving themselves to be the real deal.

Pep Guardiola seemingly targeted Aaron Wan-Bissaka – or United's right flank in general – as the weak link, with the right-back struggling to cope as Joao Cancelo, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva – even Phil Foden too at times – ganged up on him. City's first two goals originated from that area of the pitch and, in truth, even more could have.

United reached the break just one goal behind, and given their promising start and the open nature of the first period, there was reason to believe a way back wasn't out of the question.

But City were on a different planet after half-time.

Their control of the ball found another level, as did their cohesion when pressing, with United having immense difficulty passing through the City midfield.

Pogba faded into anonymity, Fernandes and Sancho too, while Grealish galloped with joy and De Bruyne ran the show, out-crafting and out-muscling his counterparts at almost every opportunity.

Adding to his brace, the Belgian also played the inch-perfect corner delivery that led to Riyad Mahrez's gorgeous half-volleyed third, which most would have accepted was game over for United. Though fans would have hoped the players weren't of the same opinion.

Yet the response to that 68th-minute goal was non-existent. City had 87 per cent of the ball between the 76th minute and full-time as United just seemed to throw in the towel – the concession of a late fourth to Mahrez was a just punishment for their reaction.

City's performance was a timely and fitting reminder that their superiority cannot be simply copied and pasted.

Rangnick said on Friday that City are an example because every decision in the club revolves around certain ideals and a joint-up philosophical approach to football – the second half on Sunday embodied that as they played United off the park playing the ferocious football they are known for.

Before this weekend, United had been reduced to the role of prospective party-poopers – it's a damning indictment of where they are now that even this was evidently way beyond their capacity.

Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez hit doubles as Manchester City thumped derby rivals Manchester United 4-1 to restore their six-point lead over Liverpool at the Premier League summit.

United had won their previous three games at the Etihad Stadium in all competitions but, without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, they were behind inside five minutes to a close-range De Bruyne strike.

After Jadon Sancho temporarily levelled up against his former club, De Bruyne struck a second to put City back in front before half-time, and then teed up Mahrez for a superb City third in the second half.

United were previously unbeaten in 11 games in normal time in all competitions but conceded a fourth when Mahrez doubled his tally late on, seeing City give themselves some breathing space at the top, albeit with Liverpool holding a game in hand and still having to travel to the Etihad next month.

De Bruyne was left in plenty of space to drill Bernardo Silva's low pass away from David de Gea early on, the Belgium international registering his 50th goal in the competition.

United otherwise made a positive start, despite also being without Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and Edinson Cavani, and they were level with 22 minutes played.

Sancho was played into space by Paul Pogba and cut inside before sending a delightful curled finish past Ederson from the edge of the 18-yard box.

City restored their lead just six minutes later through De Bruyne, who blasted in after Phil Foden's initial shot was well saved by De Gea and not dealt with by United's defenders.

De Bruyne was again involved when picking out Mahrez from a corner to volley in a third goal for City, and the Algeria international rounded off the scoring in the 90th minute with another crisp finish after VAR judged Alex Telles had played him onside.

Pep Guardiola welcomed the show of support for Oleksandr Zinchenko as the Ukrainian defender captained Manchester City in their FA Cup win at Peterborough United.

With his country experiencing a Russian military invasion, Zinchenko stepped up to assume leadership on the football pitch after being handed the armband by Fernandinho.

It was a move designed to show solidarity with the 25-year-old as he waits for news from what Guardiola described as "this nightmare" in Zinchenko's homeland.

"It's not an easy period for Oleks," Guardiola told a news conference. "His family, his country, but playing football is the best for him at the moment."

In a separate BBC interview, Guardiola said of the left-back: "Unfortunately his citizens in Ukraine are living in a terrible and crazy and insane situation. All the people here at Peterborough, not just our fans, showed him warmth.

"Hopefully this nightmare can finish as soon as possible."

Goals from Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish in the second half carried City through to the quarter-finals.

Both were set up by Phil Foden, whose pass to Grealish for City's clincher particularly caught the eye.

Grealish later revealed it was inspired by watching clips of Guardiola's former Barcelona charge Lionel Messi in action.

"The pass from Phil was excellent. It was quite similar to the pass from Phil that he did to Joao [Cancelo] in Brugge in the Champions League, and the control was excellent from Jack," Guardiola said.

The City boss added: "They were brilliant goals. The quality for Riyad and the second goal the same. It was good.

"We created chances. All of them were brilliant. Riyad always had this quality in the final third – he is the best player in the final third that we have. He scored a fantastic goal. I'm so proud for the game he played."

There was cause for slight concern ahead of Sunday's derby against Manchester United, with Guardiola substituting starting centre-backs Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake at half-time due to what he hopes are only minor knocks. Aymeric Laporte and John Stones proved capable replacements.

The City manager said Dias was "not feeling good in his leg", while Ake suffered a blow when committing a first-half foul.

"That's why, for caution and to be alert, we made the substitutions," Guardiola said. "It was not planned. I would say it was a medical decision."

Bernardo Silva scored twice as Manchester City made Champions League history with an emphatic 5-0 away win over Sporting CP in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Riyad Mahrez got them on their way with a simple finish early on before Silva added a second with a thunderous strike before the midway point of the first half.

Phil Foden scored a third shortly after the half-hour mark and Silva got his second before half-time as Pep Guardiola's side became the first team in Champions League history to lead an away knockout match by four goals at the break.

Raheem Sterling added a superb fifth in the second half, with City's progress to the quarter-finals all but secured ahead of the return fixture in Manchester next month. 

City started at a blistering pace and went ahead in the seventh minute, Mahrez slotting in Kevin De Bruyne's pull-back after Antonio Adan had parried Foden's effort.

John Stones headed wide soon after, yet City doubled their advantage after 17 minutes when Silva crashed a sumptuous half-volley in off the crossbar from 10 yards.

City's dominance heralded a third goal in the 32nd minute, Foden stroking in from close range after Mahrez's low cross had squeezed past two Sporting defenders.

They made it 4-0 before the break when Silva’s strike from Sterling's pull-back was diverted past Adan by the unfortunate Goncalo Bernardo Inacio.

Silva saw a header ruled out for offside shortly after the interval, yet they added a fifth in the 58th minute courtesy of Sterling's wonderful curled strike from 20 yards.
 

What does it mean? City blow hosts away

City were utterly electric in the opening 45 minutes, effectively ending the tie with a game and a half remaining thanks to some ruthless finishing.

They cooled off somewhat in the second period, although Sterling's glorious strike meant they became the 14th team to score 200 goals in the Champions League. It took them 97 games to reach that milestone – fewer than any of the other 13 teams to do it in the competition.

Sterling's landmark goal

Sterling brought up his 150th club goal with a wonderful strike after the break, while the England international also left Portugal with an assist after teeing up Silva's second goal.

Poor Porro

Pedro Porro did not enjoy the most fruitful of outings against his parent club, the Spaniard losing possession a joint game-high 19 times, while he failed to have a shot or play a single key pass.

What's next?

Both sides are back in domestic action at the weekend, with City hosting Tottenham on Saturday and Sporting at home to Estoril a day later.

The Champions League returns on Tuesday as the round of 16 gets underway, and what a way to kick things off.

Paris Saint-Germain host Real Madrid in what is widely considered to be the tie of the round, with particular interest in PSG duo Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe for differing reasons.

Sporting CP welcome Manchester City to the Estadio Jose Alvalade in the other first-leg encounter, with Ruben Amorim's men hoping to spring a surprise against the champions of England.

What do the numbers say about the opening games of the Champions League knockout stage, though? Stats Perform takes a look to decipher who is likeliest to come out on top.

Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid

Real Madrid have a slight edge over PSG in their 10 previous meetings in European competition, having won four and lost three. The French side lead 2-1 in the head-to-head in the knockout stages, eliminating Madrid from the 1992-93 UEFA Cup quarter-final and the 1993-94 Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final.

The last meeting between the two came in the group stage of the 2019-20 Champions League, a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu. PSG won the previous game at Parc des Princes 3-0, and ultimately finished five points ahead of Madrid in Group A.

Los Blancos did win their last Champions League knockout game in Paris, beating PSG 2-1 in the round-of-16 second leg in 2017-18.

PSG will hope to improve their home record, having won just one of their past six such Champions League knockout games, a run including four defeats.

Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, Mbappe – who is being linked with a move to Madrid when his contract expires at the end of the season – has been involved in more open-play sequences ending in goals (17) than any other player in the Champions League. He also has the highest expected goals sequence involvement of any player in this period (16.4).

Mbappe's France team-mate Karim Benzema, who is battling to be fit for the game, has found the net in each of his past four outings in the Champions League. Should he do so again on Tuesday, he will become just the third player to score in five consecutive appearances for Madrid in the competition, after Cristiano Ronaldo (four times, between 2013 and 2018) and Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2007.

The Spanish giants won all three of their away games in the group stage without conceding a goal. The only previous Champions League campaign in which they won their first four away games was in 2014-15, during Carlo Ancelotti’s first spell in charge.

Sporting CP v Manchester City

Sporting and City have only ever faced each other twice in European competition, which was their two legs in the round of 16 in the 2011-12 Europa League, with the Portuguese side going through on away goals.

City have only won once in their past six matches in Portugal (D2 L3), including their 1-0 defeat in last year's Champions League final to Chelsea in Porto.

This will be just the second time Sporting have played in the Champions League round of 16, with the previous occasion seeing them lose 12-1 on aggregate to Bayern Munich in 2008-09, the largest aggregate defeat in the competition's history.

City have kept just one clean sheet in their previous 11 matches in the Champions League and conceded at least once in all six group games this season. Still, should they win this game, Pep Guardiola's team will be the first in Champions League history to win five consecutive away games in the knockout stages.

Sporting boss Amorim, at 37 years and 19 days old, will be the second-youngest Portuguese coach to take charge of a Champions League knockout-stage tie after Andre Villas-Boas (34 years and 127 days) with Chelsea against Napoli in 2011-12. Villas-Boas was sacked prior to the second leg.

Among Portuguese players, only Ronaldo (six goals) has been directly involved in more Champions League goals this season than Sporting’s Pedro Goncalves (five – four scored, one assisted) and Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo (five – two scored, three assisted).

Saturday's 4-0 win at Norwich City was the first time Riyad Mahrez has failed to score for City since early December. The first of his seven-game scoring run was the final Champions League group clash, a 2-1 defeat at RB Leipzig.

Mahrez has also scored nine goals in his past 10 appearances in the Champions League and has been directly involved in six goals in his most recent six games in the knockout rounds (four scored, two assisted). Since the start of last season, Mahrez has scored at least four goals more in the competition than any other City player (Gabriel Jesus is next with five).

Pep Guardiola has braced Manchester City for an assault by Liverpool on their Premier League supremacy.

City's lead stands at nine points after 24 matches, although second-placed Liverpool have a game in hand, and the manner of the Reds' 2-0 win over Leicester City on Thursday spoke of their continuing belief.

A dip over the Christmas and New Year period cost Liverpool substantial ground in the title race, but they are looking sharp again for Jurgen Klopp, setting up the prospect of a tantalising final few months of the season.

City and Liverpool are due to meet on April 9 at the Etihad Stadium, and that could yet be a pivotal moment in the title race.

"If we want to fight to win the Premier League, we will have to win an incredible amount of points against these opponents that we've faced in the last seasons many, many times," City manager Guardiola told a news conference on Friday.

"The margin against Liverpool is nothing. We have to win a lot, a lot, a lot of games. We have to get more than 90 [points] - 95, 96 to be champions.

"I'm pretty sure of that right now."

Reigning champions City have reached 60 points through 24 games, and if they carry on at that rate they are on course to hit 95 points for the season, while winning every game would take them to 102 for the campaign.

Liverpool can post a maximum of 96 points if they win their 15 remaining fixtures, and Guardiola does not expect the Reds to drop many.

Guardiola, whose team face Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday, spoke about Liverpool's threat amid a broader point on how he expects his City players to perform week-in, week-out.

He says he was raised in a culture at Barcelona, since he was a youth player, to take nothing for granted, no matter how sunny the outlook might seem. 

"I was born in Barcelona and I grew up in the academy. They taught me everything and the best way, even there, is [to think] that everything can go wrong," Guardiola said.

"We've made an incredible run so far in the Premier League, and now Liverpool is there behind the corner. That shows how difficult our opponent is, how good it is.

"It's not about the mentality, because these players have showed in the last years they're not scared. [The aim is] to face every single game with optimism and being positive, but knowing that of course we can lose by being bad and drop points.

"This is not the issue, it is how you behave in the moment when you are losing games."

He recalled a moment in City's midweek win over Brentford when Kevin De Bruyne rushed back to help out John Stones in defence, pointing to that as an example of how to give everything.

"You can lose. Of course you're going to lose, nobody wins always," Guardiola said.

"But it's the way you lose. You can lose in different ways. Many times when we lose, we lose as a great team, and you become a great team with the way you lose, not the way you win, and we have to continue this way."

Guardiola spoke once more about Riyad Mahrez, who has scored in each of his last seven appearances for City across all competitions. The last player to score in more consecutively for the club was Sergio Aguero in the 2013-14 season (eight games).

Asked whether Mahrez was in the prime of his City career, Guardiola said: "No, last season was his best moment. He can still do better this season to reach the level he reached in the last four, five, six months of last season. Last season was outstanding, the way he played and produced."

Guardiola has a win rate of 88 per cent against English managers in the Premier League (P66 W58), the highest of any manager to take charge of five or more such games.

His four games against Englishman Dean Smith, Norwich's former Aston Villa boss, have all been won by an aggregate score of 13-2.

However, Norwich have won seven points from their most recent three Premier League games this season, just one fewer than they had taken from their previous 12 fixtures (W2 D2 L8).

Smith is looking to become the first Norwich manager to go unbeaten for four Premier League matches since Chris Hughton in February 2013.

The visitors have other ideas, with Guardiola's City having won nine and drawn two of their 11 away games in the league since an opening defeat to Tottenham.

It is close to perfection, but Guardiola pointed out that is an unattainable goal in football.

"A team will never be perfect," said the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona head coach.

"As a human being, we are imperfect. Perfection doesn't exist in sports, especially in football."

Premier League leaders Manchester City collected a routine victory over Brentford to further their advantage at the top.

That victory saw Pep Guardiola's side extend their lead at the summit to 12 points, with second-placed Liverpool due to host Leicester City on Thursday.

Tottenham fell to a late defeat against Southampton as Antonio Conte suffered his first home league loss as Spurs boss, while Aston Villa shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller with Leeds United.

And strugglers Norwich City picked up a valuable draw at home to Crystal Palace, with Dean Smith's side now a point behind 17th-placed Newcastle United as the relegation battle continues.

Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the Opta data from the day's top-flight action.

Manchester City 2-0 Brentford: Citizens cruise to league double over Bees

Strikes either side of the interval from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez helped City to a 2-0 win over Brentford as the Citizens completed the league double over the Bees for the first time since 1936-37.

Mahrez opened the scoring as he netted in his seventh consecutive game across all competitions for City – only Lionel Messi (twice) and Sergio Aguero have previously achieved that feat under Pep Guardiola.

De Bruyne doubled the hosts' lead in the second half, the midfielder recording his 85th goal involvement (35G 50A) in his 96th top-flight appearance at the Etihad Stadium, where he has found the net five times in his last four games.

Brentford rarely troubled Ederson's goal and were caught offside 10 times in the match, the most by a Premier League team since January 2018 as City recorded their 100th clean sheet under Guardiola in the competition.

The Bees have now lost five consecutive league matches for the first time since December 2007, under Terry Butcher in League Two, and for the first time in the top flight since April 1947 (seven in a row).

Tottenham 2-3 Southampton: No home comforts for Conte

Southampton twice rallied from behind to earn a late 3-2 victory at Tottenham to end Conte's unbeaten start at home in the league as Spurs boss.

Jan Bednarek poked into his own net to give Spurs the lead, the centre-back now on a Premier League-high three own goals since the start of 2019-20. Similarly, Tottenham have benefited from the most own goals in the competition this season (three).

But Armando Broja soon levelled up. That was the Albania striker's sixth top-flight goal this term – only Kevin Davies (nine in 1997-98) managed more in the Premier League for Southampton while aged 20 or under.

Son Heung-min restored his side's advantage with his 12th strike against Southampton across all competitions, five more than he has registered against any other team for Spurs.

Saints fought back again, Mohamed Elyounoussi equalising before Che Adams sealed victory. Both finishes were set up by James Ward-Prowse, who assisted two goals in a single Premier League match for only the second time in 290 appearances.

Having equalised in the 79th minute, Southampton's victory was the latest they had been behind in a Premier League match that they would go on to win since March 2016 against Liverpool (equalised in 83rd minute).

Aston Villa 3-3 Leeds United: Whites continue away scoring run in Villa Park classic

Aston Villa, who had Ezri Konsa dismissed late on, shared the points with Leeds in a 3-3 thriller as Dan James, Jacob Ramsey and Philippe Coutinho dominated proceedings.

James scored his third and fourth Premier League goals this term, his best-ever tally in a season, though Marcelo Bielsa found his side 3-2 down at half-time.

Coutinho initially cancelled out James' opener as he became the sixth Villa player to score in each of his first two Premier League appearances at Villa Park, and the first since Carlton Cole in August 2004.

The Brazil international then teed up a Ramsey double as the midfielder became the youngest player to score more than one goal in a Premier League game for Villa (20y 257d) since Luka Moore got a hat-trick in February 2006 (19y 356d).

Diego Llorente restored parity in the second half as Leeds recorded three goals in consecutive Premier League away games for just the second time, and for the first time since March 1995, to earn a valuable point.

Norwich City 1-1 Crystal Palace: Zaha's penalty falter costs poor travelling Eagles

Norwich City raced out the blocks at Carrow Road but ultimately had to settle for a point after a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.

Teemu Pukki – who has scored 43 per cent of Norwich's top-flight this season (6/14), the highest such share of any player in the competition – netted the fastest goal in the Premier League this season as he finished after just 38 seconds. 

Wilfried Zaha pegged Smith's team back with his 80th goal involvement in England's top division (53G 27A), 79 of which have been for the Eagles.

Michael Olise teed up the Ivory Coast international's second-half equaliser, his seventh goal involvement (3G 4A) across all competitions in 2022 – the most by any Premier League player.

Palace should have secured all three points but Zaha failed from the penalty spot for the first time, on his fifth attempt, meaning the Eagles have won just one of their last 13 away games in the league.

Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne made Brentford pay for individual errors as Manchester City secured a 2-0 win at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. 

After an uneventful opening 30 minutes, City began to bare their teeth and the deadlock was broken when Mahrez curled home a spot-kick after Mads Roerslev clumsily sent Raheem Sterling to ground. 

The reigning champions never really got out of second gear but were gifted another goal when David Raya's misplaced pass was quickly followed by De Bruyne slotting home. 

City consequently increased their advantage over Liverpool to 12 points, though Jurgen Klopp's side are in action against Leicester City on Thursday. 

Brentford were tough to break down, but City gradually began to create more openings, with Sterling volleying over and Aymeric Laporte shading the outside of the post after the half-hour mark. 

The visitors' resistance was finally broken when Roerslev felled Sterling and Mahrez dispatched the resulting penalty into the top-left corner. 

Brentford tried to threaten on the break but never looked like troubling Ederson with Ivan Toney absent due to a calf injury. 

Their hopes of salvaging a draw were effectively extinguished when Raya gave the ball straight to Sterling on the edge of the box. 

Although the Brentford keeper managed to block Sterling's shot, the rebound fell to De Bruyne, who passed the follow-up into the bottom-right corner.

City came under minimal pressure and comfortably saw out the closing stages to get back to winning ways after dropping points at Southampton in their previous Premier League outing.

What does it mean? Further contrasting fortunes 

City completed a league double over Brentford for the first time since 1936-37, the season in which they won their maiden top-flight crown. 

Pep Guardiola's side are now unbeaten in 14 Premier League matches, while the Bees have lost five in a row. The last time they endured a winless streak of that length was in 2007, when they were in League Two. 

A Sterling display 

Although he may not have taken the chances that came his way, Sterling won the penalty and played a pivotal role in the second goal with his high pressing. He also supplied two key passes and drew five fouls – at least three more than anyone else on the pitch. 

No Raya light 

He may have made more saves (five) than he has done before in a single Premier League match, but Raya's woeful distribution ultimately ended Brentford's chances of snatching what would still have been an unlikely point. 

What's next? 

City take on Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday, when Brentford entertain Crystal Palace. 

Pep Guardiola is unconcerned about Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez being spotted on a night out in Manchester, joking he was "upset" they did not invite him.

The City trio were filmed outside a bar in Manchester on Sunday night, with claims on social media suggesting Grealish was turned away for being inebriated.

City believe this to be false, according to the Manchester Evening News, with the club apparently indicating the players left the bar in question after a misunderstanding with staff.

Last month, Grealish and Phil Foden were warned about their conduct and dropped after a night out, The Times said at the time.

But Guardiola seemingly has no issue with Grealish, Walker and Mahrez this time, adamant all were "perfect" and none of them were drunk.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's Premier League meeting with Brentford, Guardiola told reporters: "I'm so upset because they didn't invite me, and I don't like it.

"Next time, I hope they can invite me and have dinner correctly at eight o'clock.

"The video didn't show what did or didn't happen. Dinner together, sober, enjoying with mates and some of the backroom staff. So, the players know, they risk when they go out because of social media.

"All of them, they were perfect [not drunk], but they will be fined because they didn't invite me," he said with a grin.

Then asked if they had been unfairly treated, Guardiola replied: "In this case, yes."

Attention soon turned to talk of Guardiola's future, with the City boss into the final 18 months of his contract.

He appeared completely at peace with the situation, convinced that him staying longer is simply down to the results he gets.

"I'm here six years because we won a lot," he said. "I came because many people convinced me.

"It [staying beyond next year] depends on the results, nothing more than that.

"I have one and a half years left on my contract, which is a long time when you look around at world football."

Riyad Mahrez must have had mixed feelings about his starring role for Manchester City against Fulham in the FA Cup, but Pep Guardiola was eager to shower him with praise.

On Sunday, the Africa Cup of Nations final sees Egypt and Senegal go head to head, vying to succeed Algeria as champions.

This time around, Algeria put up a dismal defence of their title, with captain Mahrez unable to prevent them tumbling out after the group stage with just one point from three games.

It has meant he has been available to City perhaps sooner than anticipated, and his two goals in the 4-1 win over Fulham on Saturday showed what he brings to Guardiola's team.

Mahrez fired in a second-half penalty to move City 3-1 in front, before adding the security of the hosts' fourth goal, a shot with his weaker right foot trickling in via a touch off Fulham defender Tim Ream.

Mahrez called it a "great performance", and he has now scored in his last six appearances across all competitions for City, taking his tally for the team to 15 goals this season, his best tally for the club in a single campaign.

Guardiola was particularly pleased to see Mahrez tuck away another spot-kick, convinced now he has a player who is deadly from 12 yards.

Mahrez has converted his last seven penalties for City, and that means he is the first-choice taker, ahead of Kevin De Bruyne.

"Of course, he is a guy with a mentality to score a goal," Guardiola said in his post-match news conference.

"As a player, he has a special quality. He understands how he attracts opponents to make one against two, or one against three, and afterwards pass the ball for the free men.

"Close to the box, always you have a feeling that he has to score a goal. We have struggled a lot in the last year to take and score penalties, and now he is a guarantee.

"He is scoring every penalty he is going to take and that is important for us as well, and especially under pressure.

"You take a penalty at 4-0, and it is easy, but last season in Dortmund we were 1-0 down and he scored a penalty, and this season 1-0 [behind] against Arsenal he scored - he had the personality to say, 'Give me the ball, I'm going to score', and he did it."

Guardiola insisted he had been impressed by Championship leaders Fulham, who took a surprise early lead through Fabio Carvalho but were soon themselves trailing, as City hit the front in the 13th minute after goals from Ilkay Gundogan, who was teed up by Mahrez, and John Stones.

"Very pleased to be in the next round," said Guardiola. "This round showed us there can be many surprises, and we won against a very top team."

Manchester United lost on penalties to Middlesbrough on Friday, but City were far more clinical against second-tier opposition than their Mancunian rivals.

Since Guardiola took charge in 2016, City have won 42 domestic cup matches across the EFL Cup (20) and FA Cup (22), which is four more than the next side – Chelsea (38).

They are now on a 12-match winning run against Fulham, so as much as Guardiola made a point of saying he rated the "positional game" of Marco Silva's team, backing them for promotion, these teams remain poles apart in terms of quality.

Riyad Mahrez scored twice as Manchester City thrashed Fulham 4-1 in the FA Cup, showing neighbours United how it should be done.

This meeting of the Premier League leaders and Championship pace-setters followed on from Manchester United's shock Old Trafford defeat to second-tier Middlesbrough on Friday night.

United spurned a host of chances in that game, but City here were ruthless, with goals from Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones and Mahrez putting paid to Fulham's hopes of an upset.

City march through to the fifth round, chasing a first appearance in the final since 2019, the year they scored a crushing 6-0 Wembley win against Watford to seal a domestic treble.

Fabio Carvalho, who nearly signed for Liverpool last week, gave Fulham a shock fourth-minute lead at the Etihad Stadium, turning in Harry Wilson's right-wing cross.

But City were level two minutes later, Gundogan finding the bottom left corner from 10 yards after the ball pinged around the Fulham penalty area.

Stones headed in a corner from Kevin De Bruyne to nudge City in front and they remained ahead at the break, with Aleksandar Mitrovic firing just wide for the lively visitors.

Jack Grealish went dancing through the Fulham defence early in the second half and was rewarded with a penalty as Joe Bryan scythed him down. Mahrez, back from a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations with Algeria, smashed the spot-kick into the right corner.

Mahrez's second arrived in the 57th minute, after De Bruyne seized on a stray pass from Fulham's Harrison Reed and sprinted down the left before sliding a pass across goal. The winger's shot took a touch off Tim Ream before nestling in the back of the net.

Little went right for Fulham, who might count this as a reality check.

Pep Guardiola reiterated his admiration for the free-kicks of James Ward-Prowse, insisting the Southampton midfielder is the world's best over dead balls.

The Manchester City manager described Ward-Prowse as the best free-kick-taker he had ever seen in December 2020 after his side won 1-0 at St Mary's Stadium.

The England international scored a spectacular long-range goal in the 3-1 loss to Wolves last week that took him to 12 goals from direct free-kicks in the Premier League, a tally bettered only by David Beckham (18) in the history of the competition.

Since the start of 2012-13, Ward-Prowse's first in England's top flight, only Hakan Calhanoglu (14), Miralem Pjanic (15) and Lionel Messi (33) have scored more often directly from set-pieces. His 12 goals have come from just 90 attempts, though, giving him a 13.3 per cent conversion rate, a figure only bettered by Paulo Dybala (13.5 per cent) among players to score at least 10 such goals in that time.

Ward-Prowse's repertoire goes beyond spectacular goals, though: he has created 224 chances from set-pieces over the past 10 seasons, providing 19 assists, numbers only beaten by Calhanoglu and Dani Parejo in Europe's top leagues.

Ahead of Saturday's match on England's south coast, Guardiola again drew attention to the threat the 27-year-old poses.

"He is the best taker I have ever seen, right now in the world," he said. "No player is a better taker than Ward-Prowse.

"He is so good, maybe we miss a little bit this quality of a football player: a guy who adapts in the same position, a team player, great quality without the ball, with the ball, understanding the game.

"Set-pieces and corners are exceptional. We need to pay more attention."

Beating Southampton away on the final day of the 2017-18 season saw City win their first Premier League title under Guardiola and become the first side in England's top tier to score 100 points in a single season.

Their latest visit offers the chance of another moment of history, as a draw will see Guardiola reach 500 points since he took charge in 2016. City have already accrued at least 38 more than any other team in the competition in that time, and 108 more than Manchester United.

However, when asked about the milestone, Guardiola said: "I'm not thinking of this when it hasn't happened. It will happen sooner or later. Southampton.

"We struggled in the first game last season when we played there. When we played home, we won, but we struggle in the actions. Southampton are a tough team. A real tough team."

Guardiola, who confirmed Riyad Mahrez has been given a week off after Algeria exited the Africa Cup of Nations, has seen his side build up an 11-point lead at the top of the table with one game to go until the Premier League takes a two-week break.

He said there will be no warm-weather training camp in Abu Dhabi during that interval due to concerns around coronavirus.

"We spoke with the club and it’s not safe to go all together with the virus," he said. "Instead, we decided everyone to go for themselves with family and friends."