LONDON (REUTERS) - Phil Foden's first Premier League goal ensured Manchester City edged past Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Saturday (April 20) to return to the top of the Premier League and avenge their Champions League elimination by Mauricio Pochettino's side.
With Liverpool playing Cardiff on Sunday, City completed their 10th successive league win to move one point clear with four games left and remain masters of their own fate in what promises to be a thrilling finale to the title race.
However, their joy was muted by another injury to Kevin De Bruyne, who went off late in the first half and will almost certainly miss the midweek trip to Manchester United.
Elsewhere, relegation-threatened Brighton & Hove Albion scraped a key point in a goalless draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers and relegated Fulham recorded their first away win of the season at Bournemouth.
Newcastle United erased any lingering relegation doubts as Ayoze Perez scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 victory over Southampton that lifted them 10 points clear of the drop zone.
City struck early when Foden headed home on five minutes after a clever ball back across goal from Sergio Aguero.
They struggled to assert themselves, however, against ever dangerous opponents who always looked capable of scoring with Son Heung-min twice free on goal and Christian Eriksen failing to make City pay.
The champions could have extended their lead in a fast-flowing game in which both keepers produced excellent saves, but there was to be no repeat of Wednesday's thriller which City won 4-3 but went out of Europe on goal difference.
"It's my first Premier League goal so it will live with me forever," said Foden, who admitted he was surprised to be given the chance to start such a vital game.
Of De Bruyne, Guardiola said: "I don't know - he's played a lot of minutes without preparation. After injury they don't train properly to be able to take a game every three days."
COSTLY DEFEAT
Defeat may prove costly for third-placed Spurs who are struggling to hang on to their top-four place. Three points separate them from sixth-placed United, who have played one game fewer.
"It was an amazing game again," Pochettino said.
"It was tough again. Both teams competed really well and I think we deserved more. (City keeper) Ederson was man of the match.
"I am happy, disappointed with the result but so happy with the performance - we were always in the game."
Â
Â
At Molineux, Brighton hardly oozed confidence after a run of four straight league defeats with no goals scored, but they scrambled a draw to go three points clear of Cardiff with four games remaining. Crucially, they also have a much better goal difference.
Fulham produced the shock of the afternoon by beating Bournemouth 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium - their second successive victory of an underwhelming season.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored the winner from the penalty spot to ruin Eddie Howe's 500th game as a manager.
Gerard Deulofeu scored an impressive double as FA Cup finalists Watford kept their European ambitions alive with a comfortable 2-1 victory over Huddersfield while Leicester City twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with West Ham United at London Stadium.
Jamie Vardy bagged their first equaliser with his 16th goal of the season before Harvey Barnes pounced in stoppage-time with his first goal for the Foxes.
"It's obviously a great feeling to score - it's been a long time coming," Barnes said.
Perez struck twice in three first-half minutes for Newcastle but Mario Lemina replied as Southampton threatened a comeback. Perez sealed the points late on to become the first Newcastle player to score a Premier League hat-trick since 2015.
Guardiola isn't thinking that far ahead just yet and he urged his players to take it one game at a time. "Liverpool and Man City have done incredible so far so deserve the credit. We will have 80 points with six games to play if we win next week," he said. "We are going to do everything to win.
Guardiola salutes 'incredible' Manchester City
desdelabanda.com/2019/04/02/guardiola-salutes-incredible-manchester-city/
You can't have Salah, Bobby Firmino and Sadio Mane scoring a hat-trick each every weekend, but that just isn't how football works. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Sergio Aguero suffered a knock during his side's 2-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
100 points: Guardiola salutes incredible Man City - Starr Sports
starrsportsgh.com/2018/05/100-points-guardiola-salutes-incredible-man-city/
Pep Guardiola saluted his "incredible" Manchester City as the champions became the first Premier League side to reach 100 points thanks to a 1-0 win at Southampton on Sunday. Guardiola's team have been focused on rewriting
Football: United confirm huge Mourinho payoff; 'Class of 92
The Spanish champions were dumped out of the Champions League despite taking a 3-0 lead to Anfield and the fall out could be serious for Coutinho and for coach Ernesto Valverde as well. Some
How to say axe in Spanish - wordhippo.com
NFL Media senior analyst and personnel guru Gil Brandt ranks the best running backs in NFL history. Take a look at how they stack up.
The Greatest Comeback in Football History | Super Bowl 51
Barcelona have one hand firmly on the La Liga title after winning 2-0 at Alaves on Tuesday, leaving them 12 points clear at the top of the table with four games to play. Should second-place Atletico Madrid lose at Valencia on Wednesday or against Real Valladolid on Saturday, Barcelona will be champions before they face Levante that evening.
Barcelona on verge of Liga title after beating Alaves
Singapore youngster Ikhsan Fandi continued his goalscoring form for his Norwegian second division side Raufoss IL as he scored his third goal from as many matches the other day. This time, the 20
WATCH: Singapore youngster Ikhsan Fandi scores his first
Chelsea collapsed to a 4-0 thrashing at Bournemouth as the Premier League's supposed lesser lights continued to cause mischief at the top end of the table. Liverpool, seeking a first title since 1990, have still increased the gap over City from four points to five but it was night of jitters at a freezing Anfield.
EPL PIX: Leaders Liverpool stumble, Chelsea collapse
José Mourinho Where next for José Mourinho as Real Madrid have an itch to scratch? China has the money but not the prestige while Bayern Munich are another option José Mourinho may sound out Real Madrid fans display a giant banner thanking Jose Mourinho during his last La Liga match in charge, in 2013.
Where next for José Mourinho as Real Madrid have an itch to
Speed key for Socceroos to catch Chile on the hop, writes Harry Kewell. Harry Kewell, News Corp Australia. June 13, 2014 2:09am. Share this on Facebook Vidal is a key player, a box-to-box man
Arnie's search for taegeuk in his Socceroos squad
PDF | This article shows how accounting and rugby have been used as tools of control. It compares the role of accounting in amateur and professional sport, initially analysing the Fiji Rugby Union
Speed dating
That's right, the FA Cup is alive again. Resurrected by a VAR fracas, a flurry of wonderful goal-mouth scrambles and tap ins, a couple of Cupsets and some 90th-minute magic. All hail our
Iran and Iraq are neighboring countries, sharing a long history. In the contemporary era, especially during the reign of Saddam Hussein, the two countries had bad relations and fought the Iran-Iraq War for 8 years. In 2001, for the first time in decades, an Iran-Iraq match was not held at a neutral venue.
Iran - Football - BBC Sport
Putri Nur Syaliza did not expect to be thrown into the deep end when Singapore played Maldives in Putri the goal-scoring machine. Putri Nur Syaliza in the Under-15 Women's National Team in May The next youngest players selected for the Women's National Team squad against Maldives were 15
ST Young Athlete of the Year: Passion and determination drive
0 comments:
Post a Comment