The goals round-up will automatically launch in the picture box on the right and you can click the links underneath the picture for in-depth highlights of all the games (UK only). Manchester City climbed to third in the Premier League after thumping Sunderland 5-0 on Sunday in one of their most fluent attacking displays of the season.
City scored twice in the first 15 minutes, Adam Johnson's opener followed quickly by a Carlos Tevez penalty awarded when the striker was brought down by Phil Bardsley.
David Silva's 63rd-minute goal opened the floodgates, substitute Patrick Vieira scored with his first touch and Yaya Toure became the fifth name on the scoresheet with a neat finish in the 73rd.
Earlier in the day, Bobby Zamora struck twice to help Fulham beat Blackpool 3-0, lifting his team closer to safety and plunging the visitors deeper into relegation trouble.
City manager Roberto Mancini had opted for an unfamiliar 4-4-2 formation rather than his customary 4-5-1, bringing back Mario Balotelli to partner Tevez up front after dropping the temperamental Italian last month.
The move to be more adventurous paid off and City, sometimes accused by their fans of playing too defensively, looked sharp in a win that lifted them above Chelsea into third place and strengthened their grip on a Champions League spot.
"We started the game fantastically. All the players played very well," Mancini said, adding that it was a relief to have several players back from injury.
"We hope that we continue to play very well like today. We are third in the table today, our target from the start of the season was the Champions League."
Watching the match at Eastlands was Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, whose team went seven points clear at the top on Saturday after a 4-2 comeback win at West Ham United.
City are 10 points behind their neighbours, who have 66 points from 31 games, and while that may be too far behind to mount a realistic title challenge they do stand in the way of United's bid for a treble as the sides meet in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Second-placed Arsenal were held 0-0 by Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. Chelsea's hopes of retaining their title are all but over after being held 1-1 at Stoke City as the Londoners trail the leaders by 11 points.
Tottenham Hotspur stayed fifth after a 0-0 draw at bottom club Wigan Athletic but are five points behind Chelsea.
On Saturday, West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson masterminded a 2-1 win over his former club Liverpool.
While West Ham's defeat plunged them deep into relegation trouble, Birmingham City clambered out of the bottom three and up to 15th with a 2-1 home victory over Bolton Wanderers.
Aston Villa could only draw 2-2 at Everton and are just two points above the relegation zone while Newcastle United thumped second-from-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1.
Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment