London, England

Manchester City and Manchester United have now set themselves apart from the rest of the pack as both teams registered big victories to lord on top of the English Premier League standings.

Manchester City continued to rack up wins as Mario Balotelli scored his first Premier League goal since March in the 69th minute while James Milner followed it up with a tally in the 72nd minute to foil a spirited challenge from the Wigan Athletic at DW Stadium.

Wigan Athletic played rock solid defense in the first half and up to the first minutes of the second half but Balotelli and Gareth Barry started to push their attacks into the box.

Balotelli, who started for the first time in six games, had a chance to put City ahead early but his header went wide.

But Manchester City could not be denied as Barry slipped into the box and fired a low strike towards Ali Al Habsi. The Wigan Athletic goaltender's failure to corral the ball into his hands allows Balotelli to slot in the go-ahead goal.

Milner then fired a bullet shot into the back of the net three minutes later to put icing on the cake. However, Milner had to limp off the field with 10 minutes remaining.

Meanwhile, Robin Van Persie continued to deliver the goods in his first season with Manchester City as he struck in a goal in the first minute while his team's defense fended off attacks from West Ham United to register a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.

Manchester City (9-5-0, 32 points) and Manchester United (11-0-3, 33 pts) have taken a significant cushion over trailer Chelsea, who played to a scoreless draw with Fulham on Wednesday.

On other English Premier League matches: Everton drew with Arsenal 1-1, Southampton drew with Norwich City 1-1, Stoke City edged Newcastle United 2-1, Swansea City bested West Bromwich Albion 3-1 and Tottenham Hotspur nipped Liverpool 2-1.

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