The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Tevez earns Man City 1-0 victory at Aston Villa Posted: 04 Mar 2013 02:50 PM PST
The Argentine produced a cool finish to punish a defensive mistake just before halftime and though not playing at full throttle City were rarely troubled as they claimed a victory that left Villa in the bottom three. United, who face Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 second leg on Tuesday, still look unstoppable in pursuit of a 20th English title with 71 points. With 10 games left to play City have 59 points and Tottenham Hotspur are third on 54. Villa, needing a point to climb out of the relegation zone above Wigan Athletic, dominated the opening 20 minutes and nearly went ahead when Christian Benteke's goalbound header was booted off the line by Tevez on the post. City gradually settled into their rhythm and Pablo Zabaleta was unlucky not to give them the lead after 36 minutes when his shot was finger-tipped against the inside of the post by Villa keeper Brad Guzan. Villa looked like reaching halftime unscathed but a moment of madness from defender Ciaran Clark undermined a hard-working first-half display by the hosts. Attempting a fancy turn rather than a simple thump forward, he was dispossessed by Edin Dzeko and the Bosnian squared for Tevez who danced past Guzan before slotting into the net despite Clark's attempts to get back on the line. Tevez nearly increased City's lead shortly after the break when he weaved across the area but his shot was beaten out by Guzan who was by the far the busier of the two goalkeepers. Nothing much was coming back from Villa with City keeper Joe Hart being a virtual spectator before frantic late pressure from the home side brought no reward. – Reuters |
| Man United’s Jones ruled out of Real match Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:47 AM PST
The versatile defender or midfielder suffered the injury during last month's FA Cup fifth round victory over Reading. "He's not fit," Ferguson told a news conference today. Jones put in a top-class performance in the first leg of the European tie last month, man-marking Real forward Cristiano Ronaldo during the 1-1 draw. Ronaldo scored with a towering header but Jones was not to blame. "His performance over there was absolutely excellent," Ferguson said. "It's a miss but we can't deem it as something we can't manage, we've got options." Ferguson added that United's main task against Real would be to put in a strong defensive performance to keep a lid on any breaks by the Spanish visitors. "It probably will be the key to the game," he said. "I believe they are one of the best counter-attacking clubs in Europe ... we've got to find a way of coping with that but also having our own threat in an attacking sense also." One of those attacking threats could come from midfielder Ryan Giggs, who will make his 1,000th professional appearance in tomorrow's match at Old Trafford. "Tomorrow he will be involved at some point, whether it's starting or on the bench I haven't made my mind up but he will be involved and of course his experience of these occasions will be vital to us," Ferguson said. – Reuters |
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