Soccer: Pep’s City slickers give Hull the runaround with 20-pass gem
LONDON— Manchester City didn’t just appoint Pep Guardiola to win trophies. City hired him to do it with the sort of style his iconic Barcelona and magnificent Bayern Munich sides did.
The Spaniard’s first season in England has been far from smooth sailing, with a Champions League qualification spot not yet secure, but his side’s second goal during a 3-1 victory against Hull on Saturday showed why many remain so excited by his pres- ence in the English Premier League.
All 11 City players, including recalled goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, touched the ball in the 20-pass move which ended with the familiar sight of Sergio Aguero putting the ball in the net.
“The second goal is the big example of what we would like to be,” Guardiola said. “I don’t like the defenders to just defend and the strikers just to score goals. I like everybody involved in the way we want to play.”
Fourth-placed City is seven points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal, which has two games in hand. CHELSEA 3, BOURNEMOUTH 1:
Individual brilliance from Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso ensured first-place Chelsea stayed on track.
An own goal put Chelsea in front before Hazard rounded Artur Boruc to double the lead after just 20 minutes.
Despite Josh King pulling a goal back before the break, the Blues didn’t blink.Alonso sealed victory by scoring with a perfect free kick. TOTTENHAM 4, WATFORD 0:
Son Heung-min’s double helped Tottenham stretch its home winning run to 11 EPL games.
Dele Alli and Eric Dier also tallied for Tottenham, who extended its advantage over fifth-placed rival Arsenal to 14 points.
Tottenham top scorer Harry Kane returned from an ankle injury after almost a month sidelined.
LIVERPOOL 2, STOKE 1: Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho started on the bench as Liverpool contested its third EPL game in six days, but came on at the break after Jonathan Walters gave Stoke the lead.
Coutinho levelled before Firmino volleyed home a spectacular winner from the edge of the box to ensure Liverpool held onto third place.