Man City puts on show of strength
LONDON— Who needs Alexis Sanchez? That may have been the message Sergio Aguero was trying to deliver as he inspired runaway leader Manchester City to a 3-1 home victory over Newcastle on Saturday.
City pulled out of the race to sign Arsenal striker Sanchez earlier this month, leaving the way clear for Manchester United to seal an expected deal for the highly rated Chilean forward in the next few days.
Aguero has broken record after record in his seven years at City and once again underlined his importance to Pep Guardiola’s team by firing a hat trick against Newcastle, a team he scored five against in 2015.
“We’re really happy with the victory,” said Aguero after registering his 11th treble for the club and his second of the season. “We needed it after last week.
“It’s a long season though and we’ve not won anything yet. We need to keep going and pushing on to the next game.”
Aguero headed the opening goal in the 34th minute, getting the slightest of touches to a cross from Kevin De Bruyne.
The Argentine made it 2-0 from the penalty spot early in the second half after Raheem Sterling was fouled by Javier Manquillo.
Jacob Murphy pulled one back for Newcastle after a mistake by Nicolas Otamendi but Aguero had the final say in the 83rd with a fine turn and shot.
Newcastle was completely outplayed, having only 19 per cent of possession as City took their points tally for the season to 65.
There was a minute’s applause at all the games, and players wore black armbands, as the Premier League paid tribute to former England striker Cyrille Regis, who died last Sunday at the age of 59. Manchester United 1, Burnley 0: Second-place United squeezed past Burnley at Turf Moor with a 54thminute goal from Anthony Martial but Jose Mourinho’s side remained 12 points adrift of its crosstown neighbour.
Chelsea 4, Brighton 0: Chelsea ended its recent struggles in front of goal with a 4-0 demolition of Brighton at the Amex Stadium. Man of the match Eden Hazard (2), Willian and Victor Moses were on target as the defending champion climbed to third in the standings with 50 points from 24 games.
Arsenal 4, Crystal Palace 1: Arsenal hosts Chelsea in a League Cup semifinal second leg on Wednesday after the first game between the two clubs ended goalless earlier this month. Like Chelsea, Arsenal also turned on the goals Saturday, thrashing Crystal Palace 4-1 at The Emirates to remain in sixth place on 42 points. Nacho Monreal, Alex Iwobi, Laurent Koscielny and Alexandre Lacazette put the game beyond Palace before Luka Milivojevic pulled one back for the visitors.
Stoke 2, Huddersfield 0: Former Scotland international Paul Lambert celebrated his first game in charge of Stoke with a 2-0 victory against Huddersfield, thanks to goals from Joe Allen and Mame Biram Diouf.