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.
Iker Casillas responds after Porto heart attack scare. Casillas out of the woods. Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has taken to social media after he suffered a heart attack at Porto's training facility. The Spanish goalkeeper is considered to be one of the best goalkeepers of the last decade or so.
Iker Casillas to retire from football after heart attack scare
Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham's 3-0 win at Cardiff gives his side more belief in the Premier League title race. Spurs moved back into second place and, to within six points of Premier
Mauricio Pochettino Admits Cardiff Win 'Makes Us Believe' as
Football: Man City end Liverpool's unbeaten run, cut lead to four points Manchester City's Leroy Sane (right) celebrates with team mates after scoring their second goal. PHOTO: AFP
Man City end Liverpool's unbeaten run, cut lead to four
Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha has been given a one-match ban by the Football Association for improper conduct after sarcastically applauding referee Andre Marriner. Zaha was punished following
Palace's Zaha banned for referee sarcastic clap - Breitbart
Latest football news and transfer rumours. Get your team updates, match results and upcoming fixtures. Stay ahead of the game plus pictures and videos with The Sun Football
Mario Balotelli - Wikipedia
Reds get back fear factor, says Van Dijk AFP. The Anfield side fell behind domestic and European rivals but Tuesday's remarkable 4-3 aggregate win over Barcelona secured back-to-back Champions
Liverpool news: Virgil van Dijk warns Reds of Huddersfield
Interviewed by Spanish TV channel La Sexta on Sunday, the pope praised his Argentine compatriot Messi, but said he must not be called God. Two 'He's great to watch, but he's not God': Pope sets
'He's great to watch, but he's not God' - Pope sets fans
FAS technical director hopeful Sigurdur Ragnar Eyjolfsson says Iceland can be model for Singapore With a population of less than 350,000, Iceland's meteoric rise in football has drawn questions here as to why Singapore cannot follow suit, with both nations hemmed in by limited human resources.
Football: New FAS technical director Joseph Palatsides
Barcelona - Barcelona forward Luis Suarez has been ruled out of playing in the China Cup with Uruguay after spraining his ankle for his club at the weekend. Suarez, 32, is expected to miss between
Injured Suarez to miss China Cup for Uruguay | Aaj News
Win over Watford more like draw: Ole LONDON • While Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was able to mark his first game as Manchester United's full-time manager with a victory, he was far from impressed by the "slow and sloppy" performance by his players.
"It was more like a draw" | Ole after Watford Match - YouTube
(REUTERS) - England's preparations for their Nations League semi-final against the Netherlands on June 6 could be thrown into disarray if two English Premier League teams reach the Champions
Football: Champions League final may 'mess' with England's
0 comments:
Post a Comment