SOUTHAMPTON (AFP) - Manchester City showed they are willing to accept the challenge of Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title with a 3-1 win away to Southampton on Sunday (Dec 30).
Following shock defeats by Crystal Palace and Leicester, reigning champions City cut the gap between themselves and Premier League leaders Liverpool to seven points ahead of their meeting with the Merseysiders at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
But they allowed a limited Southampton side back into the game after a dominating start, which suggests there are still frailties for Liverpool to exploit.
David Silva put City ahead after 10 minutes but they passed up a number of chances to add to the lead and gifted Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg an equaliser in the 37th minute.
For a period, Pep Guardiola's side looked fragile, but a James Ward-Prowse own-goal and a header by Sergio Aguero just before half-time restored their confidence.
Saints' frustrations boiled over with a red card for Hojbjerg after a wild challenge on Fernandinho late in the game.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl sprang a surprise in his team selection by giving a debut to 18-year-old former Chelsea starlet Kayne Ramsay at right-back.
Â
Â
Â
City should have gone ahead in the fifth minute when Jack Stephens allowed Raheem Sterling to steal possession and set up David Silva.
But the City man tried to be too deliberate, with his shot blocked by goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
But Saints could also have taken a more surprising lead after eight minutes when Mohamed Elyounoussi's clever flick over the City defence sent Charlie Austin clear.
Austin's first touch, however, was dreadful and sent the ball into Ederson's grateful arms.
Instead of being a goal up, the home side were behind within a minute.
The left side of their defence was opened up with ease by a simple one-two, leaving Bernardo Silva clear of full-back Matt Targett and free to advance down the right. He had all the time he wanted to pick out the unmarked David Silva, who hit the ball first-time past McCarthy.
Riyad Mahrez then shot wide after a move that began with City playing a series of passes inside their own penalty area.
And Aguero squandered an excellent chance in the 25th minute, hitting his shot against McCarthy after Sterling had accelerated past the hapless Targett.
But overplaying at the other end almost proved City's undoing.
Ederson was nearly caught by Austin before dribbling round the striker. But he showed a mastery of the more conventional goalkeeping arts on the half-hour with a diving save to keep out Austin's glancing header from a corner by Ward-Prowse.
City did not heed the warning and Saints were level after 36 minutes.
Oleksandr Zinchenko was slow to see Hojbjerg closing in on him and the Southampton captain robbed the Ukraine defender and strode forward before lashing the ball in from 15 yards.
City double stuns Saints
Zinchenko could count himself lucky that referee Paul Tierney did not see his barge on Ward-Prowse after 44 minutes as a penalty.
And the home crowd were still complaining about that decision when City retook the lead on the stroke of half-time.
Sterling forced his way down the left and fired in a low cross that hit the foot of Ward-Prowse and zipped between the surprised McCarthy and his near post.
And the crowd's disbelief was complete three minutes into first-half stoppage time when Aguero rose unchallenged by Jan Bednarek to nod Zinchenko's cross under McCarthy.
In the second half both sides went through the motions. City had the points they needed and Southampton were happy to avoid further damage to their confidence and goal difference. But even then City could have had three or four more goals.
Sterling shot straight at McCarthy, Aguero hit the angle of the post and crossbar, and Mahrez blasted straight at the goalkeeper.
Frustration got the better of Hojbjerg, who launched into a scissors-style challenge on Fernandinho and was rightly sent off.
Lacazette double helps Arsenal beat Valencia 3-1 | Free
Iraq's Olympic side draw 0-0 with Iran at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran to ensure that they topped Group C of the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers. Abdul-Ghani Shahad's team will be aiming to finish in the top three of that tournament in order to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Iraq national football team - Wikipedia
The long trophy streak has, at long last, been broken. After hoovering up all 11 trophies on offer in the previous three seasons, Albirex Niigata finally tasted defeat when Home United triumphed 5
Home United snap Albirex Niigata's title-winning streak
sportslifetale.com/soccer/home-united-snap-albirex-niigatas-title-winning-streak/
The long trophy streak has, at long last, been broken. After hoovering up all 11 trophies on offer in the previous three seasons, Albirex Niigata finally tasted defeat when Home United triumphed 5-4 on penalties to lift the Community Shield last night as the new Singapore Premier League (SPL) season kicked off.
Home United snap Albirex Niigata's title-winning streak
The Cubs are also known as "the North Siders", a reference to the location of Wrigley Field within the city of Chicago, and in contrast to the Chicago White Sox, whose home field, Guaranteed Rate Field, is located on the South Side. Chicago Cubs won the MLB World Series 3 times but have 17 National League Pennants.
Chicago Cubs News, Scores, Status, Schedule - MLB
Manchester United's Champions League hopes were hanging by a thread after a 2-0 home defeat by Paris St Germain in their round-of-16, first leg match on Tuesday, with talisman Paul Pogba sent off late in the game.
PSG take charge with 2-0 win at Manchester United, Paul Pogba
Eden Hazard intends to remain at Chelsea this year but offered no assurances about his future beyond that. The Belgian playmaker hinted he may leave Stamford Bridge after the World Cup, yet while international colleague Thibaut Courtois has completed a switch to Real Madrid, Hazard's mooted move to the Spanish capital has not happened.
'I think it's goodbye': Hazard ready to leave Chelsea after
Get the latest Penn State Nittany Lions football news, rumors, schedules, photos, and stats. Find comprehensive coverage of playoffs, history, players, and more at PennLive.com.
Cardiff City City chairman Mehmet Dalman said on Tuesday the club will pay the fee for striker Emiliano Sala if they are contractually required to do so.. Sala had signed for the Premier League side and was flying to his new team from his old club Nantes in France when his plane went missing over the Channel on January 21.
Cardiff to pay Sala transfer fee to Nantes 'if obliged', says
A small village in Argentina on Saturday bid farewell to a favorite son, the soccer striker Emiliano Sala, who died along with his pilot last month when his small plane crashed in the English Channel.Friends, family and supporters gathered early Saturday in the village of Progreso, in the country's northeast, for a wake at Mr. Sala's soccer boyhood club, San Martín de Progreso, where his body
Emiliano Sala's Grieving Argentine Hometown Bids Farewell
Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus will not travel to the US for the pre-season International Champions Cup in the summer, avoiding fears the star forward could be arrested over rape claims in the country.
Juve to avoid US pre-season amid Ronaldo rape claims - report
Football News - EPL MAN UNITED And the United manager suggested that their own failures in management make them unqualified to offer such views. Mourinho reveals fragile ego of mystery Man
Jose Mourinho rejects first managerial offer since Manchester
This article list all the confirmed broadcasters for the UEFA Europa League with each broadcaster holding three season broadcasting rights. The current cycle will be from 2018-2021.
Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to
Pep Guardiola claimed he still doesn't believe Manchester City can win the quadruple after his side reached the FA Cup final with a 1-0 win over Brighton on Saturday. Guardiola's men were well below their best in the Wembley semi-final, but Gabriel Jesus's early goal got the job done.
Guardiola coy over quadruple bid after City reach FA Cup
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is determined to keep Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford at Old Trafford, saying the pair are vital to his plans of building a team "worthy of the
Solskjaer: Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford vital to Man Utd
0 comments:
Post a Comment