The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Ten-man Manchester City trim Chelsea’s lead Posted: 15 Mar 2014 08:42 AM PDT Kompany saw red for a last-man foul on Nikica Jelavic, but David Silva put City ahead with a glorious curling effort just four minutes later and Edin Dzeko made sure of victory at the death. It was City's first league match for three weeks and they still have two games in hand on Chelsea, although the leaders can reassert their nine-point advantage with victory at Aston Villa later on Saturday. City's success at the KC Stadium also saw them climb to second place above Liverpool, who visit Manchester United on Sunday, and Arsenal, who travel to Tottenham Hotspur later the same day. "We needed to win today and playing with one player less for 80 minutes is very difficult, but I think we did a very good performance," said City manager Manuel Pellegrini, who saw his side eliminated from both the FA Cup and the Champions League earlier this week. "We defended well with and without the ball, but we also attacked a lot. It was a very professional response from the players." City were missing top scorer Sergio Aguero due to injury and they received a further setback in the 10th minute when Kompany was given his marching orders. Jelavic appeared to foul Kompany as they jostled for possession, but play was allowed to continue and when the City captain hauled the Croatian down, referee Lee Mason immediately brandished the red card. Kompany kicked out at a door in frustration as he stalked down the tunnel, but City reacted in stirring fashion, with Silva gathering a pass from Yaya Toure and arcing a glorious shot inside the left-hand post from 25 yards. Visiting right-back Pablo Zabaleta then saw a tremendous volley hit the bar and bounce on the goal-line, but Hull finished the first half strongly. Jelavic had earlier put a volley wide from an Ahmed Elmohamady cross and after David Meyler had seen a goal ruled out for offside, Jake Livermore drilled a shot just off-target from long range. Joe Hart saved from Shane Long, twice, and Jelavic early in the second period, while substitute George Boyd had a penalty appeal turned down after tumbling over a challenge by the City goalkeeper. Fernandinho spurned a gilt-edged chance to double City's lead when he scuffed wide from only 10 yards, but Hart saved from Boyd and Jelavic to preserve the visitors' advantage. Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor prevented Dzeko from putting the game to bed in the closing stages, but the Bosnian atoned in the last minute by sweeping home from Silva's incisive pass. Kompany expressed his pride – and perhaps relief – through Twitter, writing: "Proud of the guys! Phenomenal shift they have put in again!" Saturday afternoon witnesses a potentially significant fixture at the bottom of the table, with second-bottom Sunderland welcoming fifth-bottom Crystal Palace to the Stadium of Light. Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew begins his seven-game ban for headbutting Hull midfielder Meyler as his side visit bottom club Fulham, while third-bottom Cardiff City travel to Everton. In the day's other games, Swansea City host fellow relegation candidates West Bromwich Albion, Norwich City visit Southampton, and Stoke City tackle West Ham United in a mid-table clash at the Britannia Stadium. – AFP, March 15, 2014. |
| Wenger aims to pile on the misery for troubled Spurs Posted: 14 Mar 2014 10:26 PM PDT Wenger's side will be 10 points behind leaders Chelsea by the time they kick off at White Hart Lane if Jose Mourinho's men win at Aston Villa today. But Wenger is convinced his team can still overhaul their title rivals and the Gunners manager believes the short trip down the Seven Sisters Road to face beleaguered Tottenham is the ideal place to start. After leading the top-flight table for a long period, Arsenal have surrendered the initiative with just one win in their last four league matches. Yet Arsenal's wobble pales in comparison to the problems across north London, where Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood is engaged in a battle to save his job three months after taking over from Andre Villas-Boas. Sherwood's surprise appointment looked like a masterstroke by chairman Daniel Levy when Spurs won five of their first six matches under the former Blackburn midfielder. But Sherwood has seemed increasingly uncomfortable in recent weeks as Tottenham's form has dipped, culminating in his stinging criticism of his players' lack of character following last weekend's 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea. With reports claiming Levy is already sounding out potential replacements, Sherwood desperately needed to restore morale in Thursday's Europa League tie against Benfica. Instead, his players hardly looked like they had taken their manager's words to heart as they slumped to a lacklustre 3-1 defeat which was most memorable for Sherwood adding to the impression of a man feeling the heat as he became embroiled in a touchline spat with Benfica coach Jorge Jesus. In the circumstances, Wenger knows Sherwood can ill-afford to lose tomorrow's derby showdown and he hopes the pressure on Spurs will aid his team's bid to get back on track after their midweek exit from the Champions League against Bayern Munich. "It has always been difficult at White Hart Lane, but we are in a position where of course we want to win the game, because after losing at Stoke, it is very important," Wenger said. "We had a good result against Everton in the FA Cup, we had a good result even at Bayern, but we must continue and have no more weak moments before the end of the season." The Gunners have already beaten Spurs twice this season, but Wenger's team are unlikely to be overconfident after losing their previous two visits to White Hart Lane. Their cause isn't helped by the absence of Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil, who will be sidelined for several weeks with a grade two hamstring tear suffered against Bayern. Even so, Wenger is confident the loss of Ozil won't prevent Arsenal getting their title challenge back on course. "It is a blow of course, but I am confident we have the quality to deal without him during that period," he said. "We have many creative players in our squad who can take over and produce quality performances. "I am convinced that the team is ready, even without Ozil, to go for the challenge." Fifth placed Tottenham still have more than just north London pride to play for as they try to close the gap on fourth placed Manchester City in the race to qualify for the Champions League. Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen is adamant his team-mates shouldn't let Sherwood take the blame for the club's current woes and he made it clear they need to raise their game this weekend. "I have only been here for a few months but I still know how a derby is," Eriksen said. "Now it is at home and I am looking forward to it. I think a positive result will give everything and everybody a big boost. "Hopefully we will be way better on Sunday than what we were against Benfica." – AFP, March 15, 2014. |
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