Manchester City go top of EPL; Bournemouth deny Everton
Manchester City halted their two-game losing streak at the expense of Southampton Saturday afternoon, with Kevin De Bruyne, Fabian Delph and Alexsandar Kolarov all scoring to put the Citizens back atop the table with a 3-1 win. Their position may well be temporary: Leicester or Manchester United can pass City with a win in today's late game.
Southampton were no match for City's ruthless midfield, which punished every slip and stumble in a match significantly affected by a steady, gale-force downpour. While Ronald Koeman couldn't very well complain about a playing surface so slick that players of both teams ended up sliding across the field, he was probably deeply unhappy to see his team conceding possession so cheaply and so often. Both of City's goals came off terrible giveaways and by the end of the first half Southampton not only lucky not to be deeper in the hole, but to have ten men still remaining on the pitch.
City nearly got on the board after just five minutes, with Kolarov nearly beating keeper Maarten Stekelenburg with a bullet of a free-kick. The save was bobbled on the line, and Nicolas Otamendi ended up in the back of the net, with Stekelenburg lucky to have clawed the ball back to safety.
But Southampton would concede shortly thereafter, with Maya Yoshida foolishly dawdling on the ball in his own third, allowing Raheem Sterling to take it off his laces. With the Saints' defenders in retreat, Sterling raced down the far flank, and sent in a neat square ball that de Bruyne tapped in for the lead.
Ten minutes later, Southampton were lucky not to see Steven Davis ejected when he clearly handled a goal-bound shot on his line to deny Fernandinho's header. Inexplicably, referee Roger East awarded a corner kick, and justice was served moments later when de Bruyne's corner was pounded in with a low, driven shot from Delph.
Willy Caballero, deputizing for the injured Joe Hart, didn't have much to do on the night, which was probably fortunate: when he was called into action, he showed why he is a backup. Just shy of the half hour, he made a hash of a routine free-kick that allowed Vincent Wanyama to get off an acrobatic strike that Caballero beat away.
But Southampton are not the pushovers they once were, and showed a bit of resilience after the break with smartly-worked play off a free-kick that victimized City's weakest link in the back. Dusan Tadic flicked the ball forward to Saido Mane on the trot, allowing a free cross to the far post fro Shane Long to head home. It was neatly worked, but the absence of Vincent Kompany continues to be keenly felt, as the slower Martin Demichelis was again targeted by an opponent.
As was the case for City in the first half, Southampton then seemed to be denied a stonewall penalty in the second half, with Fernandinho blocking a shot on goal with his arm that ref East again missed. East's performance in the game was poor overall and it will be interesting to see what action the league takes.
Kolarov then restored the two-goal cushion with twenty minutes to play, with de Bruyne again the architect. The Belgian served in a lovely ball to the far post that Kolarov was on cue to hammer back home across Stekelenburg and into the net.
There was another sour note for City, however: Sergio Aguero was once again removed injured, appearing to roll his ankle.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa's season continue to spiral out of control as an Allan Hutton own goal allowed Watford a 3-2 away win. Villa remain dead last with just 5 points from 14 games and look a team already relegated.
Sunderland finally got a win, exploiting ten-man Stoke 2-0 behind a late goal from Patrick van Aanholt to give Sam Allardyce's embattled Black Cats a boost. Ryan Shawcross was ejected for two bookable offenses for the Potters, and van Aanholt smashed home the winner from 20 yards. Duncan Watmore added the insurance minutes later as Stoke's rearguard collapsed.
Crystal Palace ramped up the pressure on Newcastle with a blistering 5-1 win at Selhurst Park. James McArthur, Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie scored in what was a romp for the Eagles as a toothless Newcastle played yet another insipid match. Toon manager Steve McClaren had ripped into his team in very public fashion but got no response. It will not be a surprise if Newcastle sack him this weekend.
Bournemouth and Everton played out a late thriller to draw 3-3. The Cherries had huffed and puffed to recover from a 2-0 deficit only to seemingly fall on the final kick of the game to a goal from Ross Barkley. Instead, on the restart, trailing 3-2 with no time remaining, Junior Stanislas scored his second of the game to snatch a share of the points. Ironically, the game had to be extended when Everton's fans invaded the pitch after Barkley's late goal; that time allowed the Cherries to storm back in dramatic fashion.
