ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Fulham 0
Man City 2
LONDON • This felt like a little more than a box-ticking exercise for a team with Manchester City's ambitions.
There was never any jeopardy, no sense that they were ever in any danger against opponents with all the nous and snarl of a sleeping kitten, and City did not have to do much more than tickle Fulham's tummy to return to the Premier League's summit yesterday.
It was over as a contest long before the end - first-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero enough to seal a 2-0 win and three points for Pep Guardiola's side, who will be hoping for a slip-up by Liverpool when they host Tottenham today.
The pressure is back on Jurgen Klopp's men, who will start with 76 points - a point below the leaders when they face Spurs.
City manager Guardiola, though, is not focusing too much on their rivals and looking only to carry on the momentum in hopes of winning every game left in the season.
"After the international break, you usually miss a bit with your rhythm, but the effort was there," the Spaniard told BBC Sport.
"The first 15 to 20 minutes was incredible with the way we played. We played with incredible spirit, we could have scored more. After the goals, we controlled it.
"We are going to do everything to win. No matter the next competition, we will win the game. We don't think too much about what people say about the quadruple.
"What Liverpool and Man City have done in the Premier League, both deserve the credit. That's why we are here.
"Enjoy the moment and dream to win another game."
The task of puncturing the worst defence in the league proved predictably straightforward for City.
They got down to business straight away, setting up camp in Fulham's half from first whistle to last, and were so dominant that it almost felt as though they had wasted time by waiting until the fifth minute to break the deadlock.
Fulham, cautious and timid in their 5-4-1 system, had intended to frustrate City's illustrious attack by sitting deep and waiting for opportunities on the break.
The problem with that ploy, however, is that Scott Parker's players were riddled with anxiety even on the rare occasions when they had possession.
Unable to cope with City's high press, they were punished for trying to play out from the back when Timothy Fosu-Mensah's errant pass went to Kevin de Bruyne instead of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
Bad idea. The ball was nestling in the back of Fulham's net in a matter of seconds.
De Bruyne, starting for the first time since March 2 after shaking off a hamstring problem, quickly found Aguero, who looked right and saw Bernardo Silva.
The Portuguese midfielder cut inside, ignored a couple of limp challenges and fizzed a crisp drive inside the right post from 20 yards, confirming the suspicion that Fulham were horribly out of their depth against opponents of this calibre.
0
Fulham failed to get a single shot on target for the first time in their last 188 home league matches, since April 2010 against Wolves.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
YESTERDAY
Man United 2 Watford 1
Burnley 2 Wolves 0
Leicester 2 Bournemouth 0
Palace 2 Huddersfield 0
Brighton 0 Southampton 1
West Ham v Everton Late kick-off
TODAY
Cardiff v Chelsea Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, 9.05pm
Liverpool v Tottenham Ch102 & Ch227, 11.30pm
TOMORROW
Arsenal v Newcastle Ch102 & Ch227, Tuesday, 3am
It barely resembled a contest as City rained attempts on Sergio Rico's goal for the rest of the half.
David Silva was at his creative best in midfield, de Bruyne looked free of rust and Raheem Sterling, brimming with confidence on the left flank, relished running at the nervous Cyrus Christie.
Second-bottom Fulham, bereft of belief, could not get close to them.
They were once again punished for their sloppiness in the 27th minute when Joe Bryan's miscued pass gave Bernardo Silva the chance to free Aguero, who swept past the ineffective Maxime Le Marchand before lifting a lovely shot over the advancing Rico.
"We started the game very well, pressing high, creating chances," Bernardo Silva told Sky Sports.
"The second half we tried to control the ball. We're very happy with three points and it's on to the next one. If we win the seven games left, we will be champions."
Meanwhile, Huddersfield were relegated yesterday after losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace. With Southampton and Burnley both picking up wins, Huddersfield become the first Premier League team since Derby in 2007-2008 to be relegated in March.
THE GUARDIAN
Manchester United have sacked Jose Mourinho after Sunday's defeat at Liverpool left the club 11 points adrift of the Premier League top four. A caretaker manager will be appointed until the
Football: Shellshocked Real Madrid knocked out of Champions
Spurs to trigger Alderweireld contract extension, says Pochettino (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said the club will activate a one-year extension in defender Toby Alderweireld's contract to keep him at the club until 2020.
Tottenham to trigger Alderweireld contract extension
The ABC TV comedy series, The Chaser's War on Everything, has sparked controversy yet again - this time by mocking terminally-ill children. During the show, the comedy troupe poked fun at child
Amazon courts controversy again, sells toilet seat covers
Nazri, 48, who was recently appointed assistant to new national coach Tatsuma Yoshida, said: "They responded to me very well and I always try to win the players' trust, that's the most important thing and it showed during the AirMarine Cup. "I hope they can continue the momentum and that's where I come in also to motivate the players.
HK racer legend in making - theworldnews.net
Super-sub Kim sends below-par Koreans into last eight
Football: Palace climb away from troube with 3-1 win at Burnley BURNLEY, England (REUTERS) - Crystal Palace moved further away from the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-1 win at fellow strugglers Burnley on Saturday (March 2) thanks to second half goals from Michy Batshuayi and Wilfried Zaha.
Palace climb away from troube with 3-1 win at Burnley - The
Spurs shine to hit Everton for six; But with Liverpool facing Arsenal and Manchester City in a top-of-the-table clash in their next three games over the festive period, Tottenham have the
Football news - Huddersfield end losing run with 0-0 draw at Cardiff Bottom club Huddersfield Town ended their eight-match losing streak in the Premier League with a goalless draw at fellow
Football: Huddersfield end losing run with 0-0 draw at Cardiff
PARIS (AFP) - Rangers crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday (Dec 13) after falling 1-0 at Rapid Vienna, while crowd trouble sparked by Eintracht Frankfurt fans marred the German side's win
Rangers out of Europa League, Eintracht fans run riot at Lazio
France coach: Women in football face daily battle. 2018, France women's football team coach Corinne Diacre (right) and Eastern football club head coach Chan Yuen-ting pose after an Eastern
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 31, 2018, with the headline 'Spurs paid the price for complacency: Pochettino'. Print Edition | Subscribe
Spurs paid the price for complacency: Pochettino
So today we wanted to do a video on the seven best goalkeepers in world football right now, and depending on how many people watch it and what kind of response we get in the comments and on
Brian Jensen gives his take on Burnley's goalkeepers
The Bankruptcy Means Test. Among other things involved in the bankruptcy process, before you can file a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy, you will have to take a means test.The means test identifies those debtors who have the financial capacity to pay a significant portion of their bills to creditors.
List of retailers affected by the retail apocalypse - Wikipedia
0 comments:
Post a Comment