BOURNEMOUTH, England (REUTERS) - Substitute Riyad Mahrez scored the only goal as Manchester City beat Bournemouth 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday (March 2) to return to the top of the Premier League.
The home side showed champions City plenty of respect in the opening 45 minutes, defending deep and forcing their opponents to probe patiently for openings, and they conceded little in the way of goalscoring chances.
City manager Pep Guardiola was forced to replace the injured Kevin De Bruyne with Mahrez at halftime, and he was quickly followed by defender John Stones, who was substituted early in the second half with a thigh problem.
The visitors continued to probe and their patience finally paid off when David Silva teed up Mahrez, who lashed home a shot with his right foot to break the deadlock 10 minutes into the second half.
Bournemouth were unable to raise their game and goalkeeper Artur Boruc pulled of a number of fine saves.
He was quick off his line to thwart a breakaway attempt by Raheem Sterling and Aguero clipped the underside of the crossbar before Boruc beat away a close-range header from Mahrez.
"We made one of the best performances we have played. They were very organised, but they didn't have one shot. We created a few chances. People should understand how difficult it is to attack 11 (defending) players," Guardiola said.
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe was disappointed to see his side's defensive efforts undone by what he termed an "ugly" goal.
"You want to be competitive and that was the way for us to make the game tight, show toughness and mentally hang in. The only frustration is their goal was ugly, which is very unlike them," he said.
The win put City top on 71 points, two ahead of Liverpool who face Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday. Bournemouth, who have lost four of their last five, remained 12th on 34 points.
PARIS: Olympiakos dumped AC Milan out of the Europa League on Thursday (Dec 13) after beating the seven-time European champions 3-1 in a pulsating clash in Greece, while Eintracht Frankfurt fans
Rangers out of Europa League, Eintracht fans run riot at Lazio
Injuries open way for Sanchez and Lukaku to shine for United. Both players have struggled for form for much of the season, with Alexis Sanchez having started just one Premier League match in 2019.
Everton avoided a third consecutive English Premier League home defeat as Kurt Zouma's header and a late goal by Dominic Calvert-Lewin earned them a flattering 2-0 victory over Bournemouth. At a rainy Goodison Park on Sunday in Liverpool, there were grumblings of discontent from the home fans as
Everton ride luck for 2-0 home victory over Bournemouth
London (AFP) - Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi says he will miss the rest of the season after suffering a ruptured Achilles in Monday's 2-2 draw against Burnley. Hudson-Odoi limped off helped by two members of Chelsea's medical staff after sustaining the injury in the first half of the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi to miss rest of the season after
Singapore's hero in their Airmarine Cup 1-0 match win over Malaysia, Faris Ramli is not ruling out a return to the Malaysian league. The winger scored the decisive goal against their Causeway rivals late in the match on Wednesday, to help the Lions reach the final of the invitational tournament.
Much improved Malaysia downed Afghanistan to - goal.com
2019 World Cup: 10 players to watch in France - usatoday.com
Football: Five games that tipped the scales in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's favour for the United job LONDON (AFP) - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been rewarded by Manchester United for engineering a remarkable turnaround in the club's fortunes since he took over from the sacked Jose Mourinho in December .
Football: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named permanent Manchester
Sterling hits hat-trick as England thrash Czech Republic
Real captain Sergio Ramos put it This is what makes Real Madrid so great, and still, even without Ronaldo and in the midst of a bad season, so formidable in their favorite competition
Ramos: Winning is Real's only objective with or without Ronaldo
Son's Late Winner Gives Tottenham Champions League Edge Over Manchester City Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min's late goal sealed a 1-0 home victory against Manchester City in an
Son Heung-min's late winner gives Tottenham edge over
Argentina have appointed Cesar Luis Menotti to be the overall manager of their national teams. Menotti is now 80. When he was not yet half that age he took Argentina to their first World Cup win - an achievement that has consistently been under-rated. Focus on that 1978 tournament usually falls on
Menotti named Argentina's director of national teams - Reuters
Soccer Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Burnley - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - December 22, 2018 Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scores their second goal Action Images via Reuters/J
Football: Aubameyang brace gives Arsenal win over Burnley
Harry Winks has shrugged off criticism of Tottenham after their defeat to Wolves, saying the fact that the north Londoners have even been considered title contenders and are "fuming" at their
Harry Winks shrugs off 'Spursy' slight following shock defeat
Jurgen Klopp Says Liverpool Will Fight With Every Fibre For Premier League Title. Jurgen Klopp has urged his Liverpool players to fight with every fibre of their bodies for the Premier League title, while also issuing a rallying call to supporters.
Klopp rallies Liverpool in Premier League title fight with
0 comments:
Post a Comment