Aguero leads way as City dig out victory
● City move up to third as Black Cats remain rooted to bottom place
Sergio Aguero struck for the fifth time in three games as Manchester City eased past relegation-haunted Sunderland and back into third place in the Premier League.
Aguero’s 42nd-minute strike handed City the lead and Leroy Sane added a second after the break to secure a 2-0 victory on a day when Pep Guardiola’s men were made to work harder than they might have anticipated to claim the points.
The win – their seventh in eight games in all competitions – leaves them eight points adrift of leaders Chelsea ahead of Wednesday night’s home clash with Stoke.
By contrast Sunderland, who have taken maximum points from just one of their last ten league fixtures, remain rooted to the foot of the table, although manager David Moyes may take a crumb of comfort from the fact that they more than matched City until the opening goal.
They ran out knowing they were deep in trouble after wins for Crystal Palace, Swansea and Leicester on Saturday had left them six points adrift of safety with just 12 games to go. Few would have given them
0 Leroy Sane seals Manchester City’s victory by scoring their second goal against Sunderland. much chance of addressing that situation against highflying City despite the visitors’ recent discomfort at the Stadium of Light, where they had lost on four successive occasions before the last two seasons.
However, it was the Black Cats who enjoyed the better of the first half and they could have been forgiven for feeling aggrieved as they left the pitch at the break.
Had they enjoyed better fortune, Jermain Defoe’s 20thminute shot on the turn from Fabio Borini’s astute pass might have gone in off the post rather than cannoned back off it, and the Italian might have been able to adjust quickly enough to head the rebound on target.
Full-back Billy Jones too could have made the breakthrough, but he headed a 36th-minute Adnan Januzaj corner straight at goalkeeper Willy Caballero and glanced another from Sebastian Larsson just wide three minutes later.
City had not managed a single effort on target by the time the clock ticked around to the 42nd minute, but it was then that they flexed their muscles.
Yaya Toure and David Silva combined to play Raheem Sterling into space down the right and his low cross clipped full-back Bryan Oviedo and allowed Aguero to lift the ball expertly over goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at his near post.
It was Sane who eased the visitors further ahead with 59 minutes gone.
The German did not have to break stride as he ran on to Silva’s perfectly-weighted pass and his left-foot finish off the inside of the far post was equally assured. Harry Kane admitted he should have notched a third hat-trick in four games after helping see off Everton 3-2 at White Hart Lane.
The Spurs and England striker, pictured, took his 2017 tally to 14 goals in 11 games after a brace against the Toffees, but failed to kill off the game before a late Everton fightback.
Romelu Lukaku finished clinically to pull one goal back before Dele Alli looked to have wrapped the win up, only for Enner Valencia to provide a late scare.
Kane admitted that while it was a good performance, he should have put Spurs out of sight.
“I wanted the match ball again,” he said.
“There was one in the first half I should have scored and one right at the end.
“I should have put my foot through it.
“I got two but should have had the match ball.”
He added: “We did so well to win the game and get 2-0 up. We should have been three or four up and [2-0] is always a dodgy scoreline.
“Obviously they scored and it was a nervy last ten minutes. I thought we deserved the win today and we’re very happy.”
Alli, who scored his 16th of the campaign, said: “They are a tough team to beat home and away.
“They hold a real threat but I thought we dominated the game until the last ten minutes where we got a bit shaky, but, all round, it was a good performance from us.
“I think it’s important we focus on ourselves and keep winning games.
“We can’t get carried away in the league.”
Everton manager Ronald Koeman admitted his side did not deserve to get anything out of the game, despite their late goals, and pinpointed the defensive mistakes in the defeat.
Kane slotted his second of the game after Joel Robles rolled the ball out to Morgan Schneiderlin, who was dispossessed after a misunderstanding with Ashley Williams.
“We did some mistakes and if you make those kind, like the second and third goals, it was too easy,” said Koeman.
“We did well. We had some good counterattacks but needed more composure on the ball. We had the chance to get a point but it was not deserved.”