Man City back snapping at Liverpool’s heels
LONDON: Manchester City has moved back to second in the English Premier League, while Christian Pulisic made the most of a rare Chelsea start to bag a hattrick.
City overcame a sluggish first half to beat Aston Villa 30 yesterday and move above Leicester, which jumped it in the table with a 90 thrashing of Southampton on Saturday.
Pulisic, meanwhile, scored his first three Chelsea goals in a 42 victory at Burnley.
The win pulls Man City within three points of Liverpool, which was due to host Tottenham this morning, with Chelsea five points back of the leader in fourth.
City manager Pep Guardiola said his side played far better in the second half.
‘‘In the first half we played football but we did not play football in the way we should play,’’ he said.
‘‘In the second half we were better.
‘‘I don’t know if the early goal helped us do that but after that we played how we normally play.’’
After a frustrating first half, Sterling needed just 20 seconds after the restart to give City the lead at Etihad Stadium.
Silva doubled the lead in the 65th minute by getting the slightest of touches to Kevin De
Bruyne’s ball into the area and Guendogan followed with a halfvolley five minutes later.
City then finished with 10 men after Fernandinho was shown a second yellow card in the 87th minute.
Pulisic, who has struggled to earn a place in the team since signing from Borussia Dortmund this year, led the way as Chelsea made it seven straight wins overall.
He opened the scoring in the 21st minute after a long run from near midfield and completed his hattrick either side of halftime.
Willian added a fourth before late goals from Burnley’s Jay Rodriguez and Dwight McNeil flattered the scoreline.
Lucas Digne’s own goal in injury time gave Brighton a comeback 32 home win over Everton.
Dominic CalvertLewin put Everton 21 up in the 74th minute but Neil Maupay equalised with a penalty awarded by video review.
Digne then turned Leandro Trossard’s cross into his own net in the 94th minute to give the Seagulls the win.
Lys Mousset was the hero for the second straight game as Sheffield United drew 11 at West Ham.
Mousset came off the bench to cancel out Robert Snodgrass’s opener and lift promoted United to seventh.
Watford matched its club record of 10 games to start a season without winning after a goalless draw with Bournemouth. — DPA