Plea heroics keep Nice rolling
Stalemate was 5th straight game without win for City
Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Jesus Navas (right), vies with Southampton’s Moroccan midfielder Sofiane Boufal during the English Premier League football
match between Manchester City and Southampton at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England on Oct 23. (AFP) MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Oct 23, (AFP): Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League with a 1-1 draw home to Southampton on Sunday but the performance again raised questions over the title credentials of Pep Guardiola’s team.
The stalemate was a fifth consecutive game without a victory for City, as Kelechi Iheanacho’s eighth goal in his last 11 league games cancelled out Nathan Redmond’s firsthalf opener for Southampton, which owed much to an extraordinary mistake by City defender John Stones.
City, after winning their first 10 games under Spanish coach Guardiola, have suffered a major dip in form.
“We have to analyse what is the situation,” Guardiola told the BBC.
“In the period, apart from at White Hart Lane against Tottenham (losing 2-0) it’s been good. Against Everton and Barcelona — when it was 11 v 11 — the displays were as good as those in the first 10 games.”
Guardiola, who saw his expensively assembled side held 1-1 home to Everton last weekend, had spoken passionately in the wake of the midweek 4-0 defeat at former club Barcelona about his desire to stick to his footballing philosophy.
Guardiola PARIS, Oct 23, (AFP): Alassane Plea grabbed a hat-trick as surprise Ligue 1 leaders Nice continued their terrific start to the season with a thrilling 4-2 victory at promoted Metz on Sunday.
With Mario Balotelli out injured, Plea assumed the lead role for Lucien Favre’s unbeaten side and netted the opener on 12 minutes before adding a second from the penalty spot after Georges Mandjeck had equalised.
Substitute Habib Diallo made it 2-2 midway through the second half but Plea struck for a third time on 84 minutes before Wylan Cyprien wrapped
Those beliefs, however, must have been sorely tested in a first half in which his side failed to test Fraser Forster in the Southampton goal and fell behind to the visitors.
The Saints went ahead in the 27th minute following a disastrous back pass from England centre-half Stones, who nonchalantly laid the ball back into the City penalty area despite the presence of Redmond.
The forward retained his composure, beating returning skipper Vincent Kompany to the ball and rounding Claudio Bravo before converting into the open net.
“From watching them in preparation we knew they would give us chances, they only play three at the back,” Redmond told Sky Sports. “I was anticipating it and it was just about keeping a cool head and putting the chance away.”
The draw was enough to put City back
up the points in injury time.
It was a fifth successive win for Nice as they moved four points clear of second-place Monaco, while Metz have now conceded 14 goals in their last three home matches.
Earlier, on-loan duo Henri Saivet and Jordan Veretout scored their first Saint-Etienne goals since returning to France from Newcastle United and Aston Villa respectively in a 2-0 win away to Caen.
Monaco provisionally reclaimed second place on Friday with a 6-2 demolition of Montpellier at the Stade Louis II.
top of the Premier League on goal difference from Arsenal, with Liverpool third. All three are on 20 points.
But following Bravo’s costly defensive slip in the midweek Champions League defeat, it was another blow to Guardiola’s determination to play attractive, passing football at all costs and a handful of home supporters booed the team off at the interval.
For all their defensive problems, however, City were equally ineffective at the other end in the first half —- their best effort coming when Stones had a 31stminute effort ruled out for offside.
The defender appeared to have made amends for his earlier error when he headed home Kevin De Bruyne’s freekick only for referee Mark Clattenburg to rule it out — a decision which replays suggested was harsh.
An early David Silva cross was easily picked out by Forster, Ilkay Gundogan shot just wide from the edge of the area and Raheem Sterling drilled a shot way off target.