City go five clear with win over Bournemouth
MANCHESTER: Relentless Manchester City made it six Premier League wins in a row with a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth yesterday, moving them five points clear of second-placed Liverpool at the top of the table. With Liverpool not in action until their Merseyside derby with Everton today, City were made to work unusually hard for their victory by a dogged and determined Bournemouth side. Bernardo Silva broke the deadlock to get City up and running in the 16th minute but the reigning Premier League champions took their foot off the gas after that early opener, with Callum Wilson levelling things up one minute before halftime.
That equaliser jolted City into life. They came out for the second half with added impetus and were soon back in front through Raheem Sterling-his seventh goal in seven games against Bournemouth.
City then turned on the style to complete the victory, with David Silva and Leroy Sane combining to create an easy chance for Ilkay Gundogan to finish-the 22nd goal City have scored during this winning league run of six.
With their unbeaten league run now at 20 games, stretching back to April, City are looking in imperious form, while a fourth consecutive league defeat for Bournemouth sees them drop to ninth.
In another match, striker Javier Hernandez made the most of a rare start for West Ham United by scoring two clinical goals which helped the east London side to a 3-0 Premier League win at Newcastle United yesterday. The result, wrapped up with a late goal from Felipe Anderson, lifted West Ham to 13th place on 15 points from 14 games and ended Newcastle’s three-match winning streak as the Magpies, who have 12 points, slipped to 14th.
West Ham’s fast breaks had toothless Newcastle reeling all afternoon and livewire Mexico international Hernandez fired them ahead in the 11th minute with a sweeping closerange finish after a fine cross by Robert Snodgrass.
Hernandez and strike partner Marko Arnautovic continued to torment their markers after the break and the Mexican missed a pair of gilt-edged chances before they combined to devastating effect for the second goal in the 63rd. Arnautovic superbly headed down a lofted West Ham clearance from their own half into Hernandez’s stride and the 30-year old made no mistake as he drove the ball past Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka inside the near post. Newcastle threw men forward in the closing stages but failed to create any chances and were caught cold again in stoppage time when Brazilian Felipe Anderson found time and space in the penalty area to bury his shot through Dubravka’s legs. — Reuters