Benteke hands Liverpool victory over Leicester
De Bruyne stars, Kompany injured as Man City stroll
Liverpool 1
Leicester 0
Christian Benteke’s second-half strike made all the difference as Liverpool beat Premier League leaders Leicester City in a 1-0 victory at Anfield yesterday.
This was Leicester’s second visit to Merseyside inside a week after last Saturday’s 32 victory over Everton but they went home empty-handed this time around following an encounter that Liverpool dominated.
Liverpool went into this contest having picked up a solitary point from their last three matches and manager Jurgen Klopp was only too aware that a victory was needed if their resurgence since the German’s arrival was to continue.
In a bright opening period, Liverpool went closest after just three minutes when Philippe Coutinho’s curling effort from 25 yards just drifted wide of Kasper Schmeichel’s far post.
Although Liverpool could not break down Leicester’s defence early on, they appeared the more composed side as Coutinho and Emre Can pulled the strings going forward.
However, Leicester’s resolute defence has been a highlight of their season and Wes Morgan and Robert Huth, back in the side after a hamstring problem, both remained strong at the back.
After 15 minutes, Coutinho again had a decent opportunity but blasted over following impressive work from Divock Origi while Adam Lallana then thrashed wide just 60 seconds later as Liverpool surged forward.
Can was the next Liverpool player to threaten as Schmeichel had to be at his best to keep out his low curling effort before Origi also went close at the near post.
BEST CHANCE
Leicester barely had any possession and could not unleash Premier League top-scorer Jamie Vardy on the home side to any effect while Riyad Mahrez and Shinji Okazaki were equally as quiet.
Liverpool’s quest for goals was not helped, however, when Origi had to come off with seven minutes of the first half remaining but the fact that £32.5m striker Benteke replaced him underlined the strength in depth Klopp has at his disposal.
Leicester’s best chance in the opening 45 minutes fell towards half-time as Mahrez’s trickery led him inside the Liverpool box but Simon
Man City 4
Sunderland 1
Mignolet-back in the side after missing last weekend’s 3-0 loss to Watford-did well to turn the shot over the crossbar.
In the second half, Benteke continued to be a nuisance to Huth and Morgan while Can and Coutinho also probed the away team”s defence until, finally, Benteke gave Liverpool the lead after 63 minutes.
Roberto Firmino’s low cross from the left was met by Benteke first time and he slid his effort past Schmeichel.
Leicester desperately pushed for an equaliser and Liverpool had Mignolet to thank for a brilliant point-blank save from Nathan Dyer with 16 minutes remaining.
Anfield became increasingly nervy as the end approached yet both teams, to their credit, continued to push forward whenever they could. Can smashed one effort high into the Kop from outside the box while Mahrez continued to run hard for Leicester in a bid to break down Liverpool at the back.
As the end approached, a long throw by Christian Fuchs caused confusion in the Liverpool box but Mignolet recovered well but that was as close as Leicester got.
Henderson then squandered one glorious chance late on as he opted to pass rather than shoot with the Leicester goal at his mercy before Benteke did the same in the dying seconds and although that enraged Anfield, Liverpool’s fans ultimately went home happy. — AFP
Kevin De Bruyne starred with a goal and two assists as Manchester City closed to within three points of Premier League leaders Leicester City by overwhelming Sunderland 4-1 yesterday.
Three first-half goals put Manuel Pellegrini’s side on course for the win at the Etihad Stadium, but it was overshadowed by an injury to Vincent Kompany. City’s captain, returning as a second-half substitute after eight matches out with a calf injury, lasted only eight minutes before he had to come off.
Raheem Sterling, Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony all scored in the first 25 minutes for Pellegrini’s team, with De Bruyne adding a further goal in the second half. Bony then missed a penalty after Fabio Borini had pulled a goal back for Sunderland.
Pellegrini opted for a two-man attack, with Sterling working in partnership with Bony. The former Liverpool forward’s first contribution was to pick up a yellow card for diving as he attempted unsuccessfully to convince the officials that he had been barged over by Sunderland right-back Billy Jones.
But the England international gave City the advantage moments later when he sneaked in behind Jones at the far post to head in De Bruyne’s cross.
City extended that lead moments later, with Toure collecting David Silva’s short square pass and turning away from a weak Jordi Gomez challenge before planting a low shot into the net from 20 yards.
Danny Graham headed wide a great chance to pull Sunderland back into the match minutes later, having found space to connect with Borini’s diagonal chip.
But City responded to that escape by scoring again, Bony climbing to head in De Bruyne’s free-kick from 12 yards.
EXQUISITE BACK-HEEL
Goalkeeper Vito Mannone was far too slow to get down as the ball bounced inside his left-hand post. Sunderland’s defence were fortunate not to concede a fourth in the 25th minute, when Eliaquim Mangala chested the ball wide after Bony had flicked on a free-kick with the visitors in disarray.
Sunderland struggled to create chances, lone striker Steven Fletcher lifting an angled shot over the bar after getting in front of Mangala to reach Patrick van Aanholt’s leftwing cross, before Borini saw a shot beaten out at the near post by Joe Hart.
In between those two openings, though, they almost conceded a fourth goal, with Silva making a 30-yard forward burst before driving a shot just wide.
Sterling, meanwhile, was unfortunate to be judged offside as he slotted a shot into the net following a De Bruyne break. City continued to carve open their opponents after halftime, with Mannone diving to his right to push away a shot from Silva, who had been played in by an exquisite De Bruyne backheel.— AFP