LONDON (REUTERS) - Manchester City returned with a swagger from the international break on Saturday (March 30), resuming their quest for four trophies with another dominant 2-0 win at Fulham that thrust them back to the top of the Premier League.
On the afternoon that Huddersfield Town were relegated and Manchester United celebrated the full-time managerial appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a 2-1 win over Watford, City again demonstrated why they remain the league's benchmark.
Bernardo Silva scored for the third game in a row and Sergio Aguero extended his league-leading tally to 19 in a dazzling early spell, allowing the champions to ease to a seventh straight league victory while never having to hit the heights.
It restored City's advantage at the top, one point ahead of Liverpool on 77 points with both sides having played 31 games, though Juergen Klopp's men could return to the summit with a win over third-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Still, City, who have won the League Cup and are in the FA Cup semi-finals and Champions League quarter-finals, moved closer to an unprecedented, if still unlikely, 'quadruple' with 14 matches left.
Without seemingly having broken stride, their cosmopolitan crew reconvened after the international break and looked as if they had never been apart as soon as Bernardo Silva arrowed in a left-footed strike within five minutes.
For manager Pep Guardiola, the lunchtime stroll at Craven Cottage, featuring the return of key players like Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho after injury, felt like the most perfect resumption with the pressure immediately restored on Liverpool.
"The first 15, 20 minutes was incredible with the way we played," he told the BBC.
"After the international break, you usually miss a bit with your rhythm. This game was tricky - 12.30 on a Saturday, a sunny day. That is unusual, and that is why I am so satisfied.
"We don't think too much about what people say about the quadruple. What Liverpool and Manchester City have done in the Premier League both deserve credit. That's why we are (both) here."
WINNING START
Manchester United moved into fourth place, level with Tottenham Hotspur on 61 points having played a game more, as Solskjaer got his permanent reign off to a winning start with victory over unfortunate Watford.
Goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial secured United's win, even though this was far from their most convincing performance under the Norwegian as Watford deserved more for their enterprise than a late Abdoulaye Doucoure consolation.
Â
Â
Still, the win lifted United above Arsenal, who host Newcastle United on Monday.
At the other end of the table, as 19th-placed Fulham's defeat left them a step closer to what looks certain relegation, Huddersfield's even more inevitable demotion to the Championship was confirmed with a 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.
The Terriers became only the second team in the Premier League era to be relegated before the end of March as they lost to goals from Luka Milivojevic and Patrick van Aanholt.
Wins for 17th-placed Burnley, 2-0 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, and 16th-placed Southampton, 1-0 at Brighton & Hove Albion, ensured their fate was sealed as they matched Derby County's record, set in 2008, for the earliest relegation from the Premier League after 32 games.
Leicester City marked an emotional day for the club on what would have been the 61st birthday of their late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter accident in October, by beating Bournemouth 2-0 at the King Power Stadium.
His image was flashed up on the big screen along with the words "Always in our hearts" before the match and, in the 61st minute, the fans rose to applaud his memory.
In the day's late game, West Ham United, after six unbeaten matches at the London Stadium, came unstuck with a lacklustre 2-0 home defeat by Everton Goals from Kurt Zouma and Bernard moved Everton above the Hammers into ninth, one point behind Wolves and Leicester.
Buffon: PSG and Man Utd are equal as Champions League tie approaches the attitude and the spirit of sacrifice for the team," he told reporters. Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian
Gigi Buffon identifies two problems PSG have ahead of
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 07, 2019, with the headline 'City in seventh heaven with Rotherham mauling'.
MAN CITY 7-0 ROTHERHAM | VLOG | SEVENTH HEAVEN! - youtube.com
U.S. businesses optimistic on China growth, bemoan unfair treatment. U.S. businesses optimistic on China growth, bemoan unfair treatment. Breaking News. How would you best describe yourself?
Liverpool returned to their swaggering best and retained a slender lead in the Premier League with a 5-0 thrashing of Watford on Wednesday that was powered by two goals apiece from Sadio Mane and
Stylish Liverpool thrash Watford 5-0 to stay top of league
Our Tampines Hub a hotbed of passion as football fans throng the venue to catch Champions League final screening Singapore's football fans create an electrifying atmosphere at Our Tampines Hub for
Our Tampines Hub to screen Champions League showdown on
Football: Ihsan Fandi, the winner of the match, after Singapore for less than 22 years defeated Thais with 1-0 to capture the Merlin Cup, football news and best stories. singapore June 9, 2019 singapore
Singapore Football on Flipboard | Yoshida, Singapore, Solomon
English Premier League Alex Iwobi, Alexandre Lacazette lead Arsenal to win at Huddersfield. Arsenal had suffered four defeats in their last nine league games, including a 3-1 loss at Manchester City last week, but Alex Iwobi put them ahead in the 16th minute with a deflected shot.
Football: Iwobi, Lacazette lead Arsenal to win at Huddersfield
Professional footballers across the Premier League and Football League are set to undertake a 24-hour boycott of all forms of social media, in protest against the recent rise in racial abuse and
'#Enough' - Premier League players boycott social media in
Football: Klopp confirms Firmino fitness for Champions League final Roberto Firmino trained in Madrid on Friday and is fit after missing Liverpool's last three games, manager Jurgen Klopp said
Tottenham vs Liverpool: Roberto Firmino passed fit for
Cristiano Ronaldo hamstring injury: Ronaldo eases Juventus
Two British members of an Islamic State cell dubbed 'The Beatles', have complained about losing their UK citizenship and biased media coverage. Report by Louee Dessent-Jackson.
"This is clearly unfair": Gymkhana FC president expresses
Zidane Sure Of Ronaldo's Stay. Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid is an unimaginable prospect for coach Zinedine Zidane. The Portuguese star remains the subject of growing speculation over his future, with reports suggesting Ronaldo is unsettled at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Cristiano Ronaldo confirms he is not leaving Juventus
(Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min wanted a transfer back to Germany after struggling in his debut season at the Premier League club but stayed put after a conversation with manager Mauricio Pochettino, the South Korea international has said. Son moved to Tottenham from Bayer
Abu Dhabi: Japan captain Maya Yoshida promised the Blue Samurai would come back stronger after suffering a shock 3-1 defeat by Qatar in the Asian Cup final. A moment of magic from Qatar striker
2019 AFC Asian Cup - Wikipedia
Matt Boling runs Historic 44.7s anchor at Texas State Meet to steal 6a Mile Relay Gold from Desoto - Duration: 3:49. ATHLETE 2M 195 views. New
Justin Franks (I) - News - IMDb
0 comments:
Post a Comment