Phil Foden's first-half goal was enough to give Pep Guardiola's champion a 10th consecutive league win, as it took full advantage of injury-hit Chelsea's slipup at Stamford Bridge.

The defending champion now has 50 points after 20 matches, putting it eight clear of second-placed Chelsea. Liverpool, which lost to Leicester on Tuesday, is a further point behind.

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged English soccer's fixture list, leaving some clubs needing to play catch-up, but 2021 will end with City out on its own.

Brentford threatened in the opening stages in West London, but City took the lead in the 16th minute when Foden cleverly tucked in a pinpoint cross from Kevin De Bruyne.

Foden and Jack Grealish were left out of the starting 11 for City's wins over Newcastle and Leicester, after they were pictured on a night out following the 7-0 home victory over Leeds.

But the England pair was back on the roster on Wednesday and Foden's goal made it a perfect 10/10 for City.

Despite their dominance in possession, the visitors mustered just three shots on target in the entire game, and Guardiola looked edgy in the latter stages as his team attempted to see out a victory.

The visitors thought they had sealed the three points in the dying minutes when Aymeric Laporte rose to head home, but his goal was ruled out by a video assistant referee for a marginal offside.

Guardiola, who hailed the "exceptional" Foden, refused to be complacent despite his side's huge lead at the top of the Premier League.

"There are 54 points to play for," he told the BBC. "It is not expected to have this distance for eight and nine, but Liverpool play one game less. But it is 54 points.

"In December, no one is champion. We are going to lose games. I see in my mind Arsenal, Chelsea, Southampton coming. [...] I cannot say more than congratulations to the team, but we must focus."

 

Chelsea pain

Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea, who kicked off 45 minutes before City, looked poised for victory after Romelu Lukaku headed it into a first-half lead but Brighton substitute Danny Welbeck struck in stoppage time for a 1-1 draw.

Chelsea wingback Reece James limped off in the 27th minute with a hamstring injury to be replaced by Marcos Alonso.

The home side went ahead immediately when Lukaku shook off the attentions of Neal Maupay after a tussle, to power a header past goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from a Mason Mount corner.

But Graham Potter's side came back strongly with Adam Lallana and the impressive Yves Bissouma testing Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy either side of half-time.

It looked as though it was going to be a familiar story for Brighton, which has struggled to score this season, but substitute Welbeck had other ideas, heading home Marc Cucurella's cross in the 91st minute.

Tuchel counted the cost of further injuries to an already stretched squad after James limped off and Andreas Christensen had to be substituted at halftime.

The club announced on Tuesday that left wingback Ben Chilwell faced surgery on a knee injury and defender Thiago Silva missed the Brighton game because of a thigh complaint.

"Very frustrating, of course, very disappointing because we gave everything and we had enough big chances to decide the match," Tuchel told Amazon Prime.

"It was a very intense match and we have another two changes because of [James and Christensen’s] injuries, so in the dressing room they are completely, completely exhausted but it is the same subject every single match day now," he said.

City travels to face fourth-placed Arsenal on Saturday, knowing a win will take it 11 points clear of Chelsea, which hosts Liverpool the following day.