Premier League highlights and reports: Record breaking Man City

Premier League results

• Burnley 2-0 Norwich
• Everton 0-2 Sheffield United
• Manchester City 8-0 Watford
• Leicester 2-1 Tottenham - full report here

Premier League table

Manchester City 8-0 Watford

Champions Manchester City produced a stunning response to last week's shock loss at Norwich as they they thrashed their favourite whipping boys Watford 8-0, to secure their biggest ever Premier League victory.

Bernardo Silva claimed his first top-flight hat-trick as Pep Guardiola's side ran riot at the Etihad Stadium to move back within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Sergio Aguero - who might easily have had a treble himself in an embarrassingly one-sided encounter - also got on the scoresheet along with David Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Nicolas Otamendi and Kevin De Bruyne.

It was the perfect way for City to celebrate their 125th anniversary and a sobering result for the newly-reinstalled Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores.

In the end the rampant hosts stopped just short of equalling rivals Manchester United's Premier League record 9-0 defeat of Ipswich in 1995, but did surpass their own 7-0 victory over Norwich in November 2013, while their largest post war league victory came in November 1987 in a 10-1 victory over Huddersfield.

City could even have had more as they racked up 28 attempts on goal against the league's winless bottom side, including two that hit the woodwork.

In their nine previous meetings since the Hornets were promoted to the top flight in 2014, City had scored 31 goals, including their 6-0 walkover in last season's FA Cup final.

They were even more rampant than at Wembley, where it took them 26 minutes to score their first goal, as they raced into a 5-0 lead inside 18 minutes.

David Silva notched the first after just 52 seconds, applying the simple finishing touches from a typically sublime right-wing cross from De Bruyne.

Remarkably Watford almost replied immediately as Gerard Deulofeu skipped past an Otamendi challenge but his shot was deflected wide by Ederson.

That was as good as it got for the visitors as Aguero doubled City's lead from the penalty spot on seven minutes after Mahrez was brought down by Ben Foster.

Mahrez was tripped again on the edge of the area five minutes later and he stepped up to fire in the resulting free-kick, albeit with aid of a big deflection off Tom Cleverley.

Bernardo Silva made it 4-0 with a simple diving header after Otamendi flicked on a corner and the Argentinian defender himself grabbed the fifth soon after.

Watford again switched off at a set-piece and Aguero broke clear to set up his countryman with a low cross to the far post.

It was certainly not a Premier League debut to remember for Watford right-back Dimitri Foulquier and his embarrassment was completed when Flores substituted him after 33 minutes.

City did not score again until the second half but they could easily have been leading 8-0 at the break as Aguero shot wide when through on goal and then hit the post before forcing a good save from Foster.

Normal service was resumed after the restart as Bernardo Silva grabbed two more to claim a hat-trick.

Both were simple finishes in front of goal after being teed up by David Silva and De Bruyne respectively.

Aguero put another shot wide and Mahrez then headed against the bar as City showed the visitors little respite.

De Bruyne claimed the eighth with a thumping shot into the roof of the net five minutes from time and the Belgian almost made it a record-equalling nine moments later but dragged his shot wide.

Burnley 2-0 Norwich

A early Chris Wood double provided Burnley a vital home victory over a Norwich side that could not repeat their Manchester City heroics at Turf Moor.

The Burnley striker struck twice in the opening 15 minutes, his first goals of the season, to help his side to their first victory since the opening day of the campaign.

Norwich could still have taken the lead, Teemu Pukki being denied by Nick Pope the only time the visitors made it out of their own half in the first 10 minutes, but it was no surprise when Wood headed in the opener from Ashley Westwood's corner.

It was extremely poor defending from Norwich, who left the striker all alone a couple of yards out with no one on the near post.

The Norwich treatment room was already a busy place, and it gained another customer 12 minutes in when captain Alex Tettey appeared to suffer a muscle injury and was replaced by Moritz Leitner.

Two minutes later Burnley grabbed their second and again Norwich's defenders seemed strangely unconcerned by Wood as he strode across the area to meet Dwight McNeil's low cross with a sweeping finish.

McNeil was seeing a lot of the ball down the left and Burnley twice came close to a third but Tim Krul reacted well to keep out Jack Cork's neat flick while Jamal Lewis prevented Hendrick heading into an empty net.

Norwich finally put a move together in the Burnley half in the 22nd minute and very nearly profited but Leitner's 25-yard effort, which took a deflection off Cork, crashed against Pope's post.

Buendia then curled an effort wide as Norwich sought a response at the start of the second half but Burnley looked just as likely to add a third.

A crisp one-two between Barnes and Wood saw the former curl a shot just past the angle, while Wood spurned a great chance for a hat-trick by shooting straight at Krul.

Coote then waved away appeals after Barnes appeared to be felled in the area by Ben Godfrey and decided against a VAR check.

Everton 0-2 Sheffield United

Sheffield United produced a dogged and determined performance to claim a 2-0 victory over a disappointing Everton side devoid of creativity.

The Blades managed just one shot on target - substitute Lys Mousset's 79th-minute effort - in 90 minutes after Yerry Mina's own goal had put the visitors ahead just before half-time.

Chris Wilder's side, back in top flight for the first time since relegation in 2007, are unbeaten away from home since mid-January and this performance demonstrated why that was the case.

Organised, disciplined, decisive and committed to a game plan - almost everything their hosts were not having gone behind vastly against the run of play.

Marco Silva's team were previously unbeaten at home since February but having failed to press home their first-half advantage the latter stages of the game bordered on the chaotic in a hastily thrown-together formation as they tried to salvage something after last week's chastening defeat at Bournemouth.

It was in stark contrast to the way the visitors operated, never once deviating from what Wilder had asked them to do despite seeing little of the ball.

Everton's domination of possession led to little in the way of chances with the final pass often wayward or intercepted and for seasoned Goodison-goers what came next was all too familiar.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford came to claim Oliver Norwood's inswinging corner, United's first, and although there was shoulder-to-shoulder contact with Callum Robinson there was not enough, VAR ultimately decided, to warrant a foul.

The ball going in off the apparently startled Mina's shoulder merely added to Everton's embarrassment.

Whereas United's flexible back five encouraged their central defenders to regularly join the attack, Everton needed one of their holding midfielders of Morgan Schneiderlin and Fabian Delph to occasionally break the line.

Silva rectified that 10 minutes into the second half when he dropped Gylfi Sigurdsson into a deeper midfield role, switching to 4-4-2 after bringing on Alex Iwobi and Cenk Tosun for Bernard and Schneiderlin.

The hosts were re-energised and Wilder sent on former Toffees captain Phil Jagielka, who finally got to say goodbye to Goodison Park properly having left in the summer after 12 seasons, to add his vast experience to the rearguard action.

However, Everton's haphazard 3-1-3-3 set-up only seemed to produce confusion and not penetration with the visitors' tried-and-tested organisation allowing them to profit.

John Lundstram rolled a pass down the side and with Lucas Digne not tracking substitute Mousset and Pickford reluctant to come for the ball, the forward rolled a shot into an empty net.

That prompted hundreds of home fans to head for the exit and suddenly next week's Carabao Cup tie in Sheffield - against Wednesday - takes on unnecessarily greater significance for Silva.

Leicester 2-1 Tottenham

James Maddison's late winner earned Leicester a pulsating 2-1 home victory over Tottenham - as VAR took centre stage again.

The technology ruled out Serge Aurier's goal which would have put Spurs 2-0 ahead just minutes before Ricardo Pereira's leveller.

Son Heung-min was adjudged to be fractionally offside in the build-up. It was the second goal chalked off after Wilfred Ndidi's first-half effort was disallowed for offside.

Maddison then fired in a late winner in front of watching England boss Gareth Southgate.

Full report here

Newcastle 0-0 Brighton

Fabian Schar came to Newcastle's rescue as Brighton had to make do with a point from a dominant display on Tyneside.

The Switzerland international acrobatically hooked substitute Aaron Connolly's 74th-minute effort off the line to ensure the Premier League game finished goalless on a day when even Andy Carroll's late introduction could not inspire the Magpies.

Brighton headed off on the long journey home knowing they had left two points behind having dominated the game without being able to summon up the necessary quality in front of goal to clinch the victory their performance so richly deserved.

By contrast, Steve Bruce's men could count themselves fortunate to have walked away with something to show for their efforts from a display which was greeted with boos on both the half-time and full-time whistles by a crowd of just 43,316.

Sunday's Premier League tips

George Pitts looks ahead to the four Premier League games on Sunday, with a cracker at Stamford Bridge and 12/1 and 13/5 tips to consider. Click the image below to have a read...