Sterling cashes in for City; Spurs’ slide continues
Raheem Sterling’s second-half hat-trick helped Manchester City build a four-point lead atop the English Premier League yesterday as Tottenham’s second-half collapse put them in danger of not even finishing in the top four.
City upped the pressure on second-placed Liverpool by beating Watford 3-1 thanks to Sterling’s goal spurt after the break.
After the England winger benefited from a disputed offside decision to open the scoring, he completed his hat-trick in just 13 more minutes at Etihad Stadium.
That means Liverpool had to beat Burnley at home this morning to cut City’s lead back to just one point, with another eight games remaining.
Tottenham were just two points behind City and still in the title race at the start of February, but find themselves in a tight scrap just to hold on to a Champions League spot after falling to a third loss in four games. Spurs were stunned at relegationthreatened Southampton 2-1 after wasting a first-half lead, meaning their grip on a top-four place is suddenly extremely fragile.
Tottenham are just three points ahead of fourth-placed Manchester United, who played this morning, with the Gunners just a further point back. Sixthplaced Chelsea, meanwhile, are five points behind Spurs with two games in hand.
Southampton’s win meant the fight to avoid the last relegation spot also tightened. The gap between 13th and 18th place is just six points after Cardiff, Newcastle and Brighton also earned crucial victories, while Fulham and Huddersfield both look doomed after losing again.
Last-placed Huddersfield lost at home to Bournemouth 2-0 and are now 16 points from safety, while Fulham remain just three points ahead in 19th after losing 3-1 at Leicester.
Cardiff’s hopes of staying up were boosted by a 2-0 win over West Ham. Junior Hoilett and Victor Camarasa scoring to end a run of three successive defeats..
Two other teams in the relegation zone also earned crucial wins.
Newcastle rallied from two goals down to beat Everton 3-2, putting Rafa Benitez’s team six points above the relegation zone. Brighton also boosted their own hopes by beating Crystal Palace 2-1, putting them level on points with Roy Hodgson’s team.