Manchester City vs. Chelsea result: De Bruyne goal has Premier League champions on pace for repeat

Manchester City moved closer to its fourth Premier League title in five seasons after it defeated second-place Chelsea 1-0 to extend its lead atop the standings to 13 points with 16 matches left to play.

A Kevin De Bruyne moment of magic with 20 minutes remaining was all Man City needed, as he hit the target with a patented curling finish from outside the box. Man City supporters chanted "Campeones, Campeones", sensing that the goal was good enough to secure the win.

The victory marked Man City's 12th consecutive league win, a streak which has helped the defending champion to build and pad its sizable advantage. 

Chelsea was mainly focused on defending in the first half and was not inspired in attack, but it did have two half-chances on the foot of star forward Romelu Lukaku. On a favorable opportunity in the first half, the Belgian opted for a pass to an offside teammate, and then early in the second half his breakaway shot was stopped by Man City goalkeeper Ederson who came off his line to challenge.

With Chelsea virtually knocked out of the title race, the onus shifts to third-place Liverpool which has two matches in hand and could yet move to within eight points of Man City with a head-to-head matchup still on the calendar.

"I think they [Chelsea] came here. They had a good plan. They were tight defensively, but I think we played a pretty good game," De Bruyne said postgame. "It was nice to score the goal because it was important — it was the only one. But the team played very well today."

Goals:MCI — Kevin De Bruyne — 70th min.

(All times Eastern)

Full-time: It felt like one goal would decide the game and that proved to be the case. Belgium star Kevin De Bruyne came up with the decisive goal in a moment of brilliance, while fellow Belgian Romelu Lukaku failed to convert on his chance for Chelsea. That's what this game boiled down to in the end.

Man City can create attacking build-ups with ease, something that doesn't come easy for defensive-oriented Chelsea. That ultimately explains the gap in the standings: As Man City have gone a perfect 12W-0L-0D in its last dozen matches, Chelsea has stumbled to a middling 4W-2L-6D record in the same span. Liverpool is the last title challenger left for Man City.

84th min.: SUB — Ilkay Gundogan replaces the goal scorer, Kevin De Bruyne. Man City is still very much in control.

81st min.: SUB — Mason Mount comes on for Marcos Alonso. Chelsea is pushing forward now and Man City is content to cede possession, but the visitors don't have clear ideas in attack.

70th min.: And just as Chelsea bring on the subs, Kevin De Bruyne comes up with a moment of magic. He gets past N'Golo Kante and then curls a shot inside the right post and out of Kepa's reach. Spectacular finish. And Man City fans are chanting "Campeones! Campeones!"