MANCHESTER, UK: Manchester City exacted some measure of revenge on Tottenham for their Champions League exit as Phil Foden’s first Premier League goal earned a 1-0 win to move them back top of the table on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s men edge one point ahead of Liverpool once more with four games of a titanic title race left for both sides.
For all their Champions League heroics to get to the semifinals this season, Tottenham still have much to do to qualify for the competition next season as they could easily end the Easter weekend outside the top four should Arsenal and Chelsea beat Crystal Palace and Burnley at home respectively.
City’s quest for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies was ended by defeat on away goals to Spurs on Wednesday, despite winning a thrilling quarter-final, second leg 4-3.
However, they remain on course for a first ever treble of domestic trophies in England as they survived a nervy finale thanks to another blistering start.
City have made a habit of firing out of the blocks this season and just like in midweek to kickstart a kamikaze encounter, they struck within five minutes.
Foden was making just his second Premier League start and immediately justified Guardiola’s faith in the 19-year-old by heading home Sergio Aguero’s nodded pass across goal from Bernardo Silva’s cross.
However, history could easily have repeated itself as after four goals were shared in the opening 11 minutes on Wednesday, Spurs had numerous chances to strike back.
Son Heung-min had already forced Ederson in a smart save from a narrow angle before City scored and the Brazilian goalkeeper had to rush from his goal once more to deny Christian Eriksen an equalizer on 15 minutes.
Two minutes later the Dane played provider with a glorious ball to free Son in behind the City defense.
However, the South Korean, who scored twice in midweek to end City’s European dreams for another season, was caught up just in time by Aymeric Laporte, who made a perfectly timed last-ditch tackle.
Despite Tottenham’s chances on the break, it was the hosts who were still dominating territory and possession with Bernardo Silva a constant threat.
The Portuguese’s outstanding season was rewarded as he was named alongside teammates Aguero and Raheem Sterling in the six-man shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award and Jan Vertonghen was fortunate to escape without conceding a penalty when he appeared to trip Silva inside the area.
Spurs were without captain Hugo Lloris through injury and his understudy Paulo Gazzaniga looked nervous early on, but the Argentine goalkeeper got down to save Silva’s next effort.
Guardiola’s decision to leave Kevin de Bruyne out for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final between the sides was doubly questioned after the Belgian bagged a brilliant hat-trick of assists in midweek.
However, Guardiola’s reasoning for being cautious with his playmaker after an injury-plagued season was understandable as De Bruyne limped off again just before the break and may well now miss the rest of the campaign.
Both sides suffered from their midweek exertions and the blazing sun as the second-half meandered along at a much more subdued pace.
Spurs had a big penalty appeal of their own turned down when Kyle Walker handled inside the area against his former club.
Sterling briefly thought he had completed a hat-trick in stoppage time on Wednesday with the goal that would have sent City through to the Champions League last four until VAR ruled the goal out for offside.
And the England international could not believe his misfortune once more when Gazzaniga stuck out an outstretched leg to prevent Sterling sealing a vital three points from Leroy Sane’s cut-back.
Instead, City had to suffer through the closing stages knowing one mistake could cost them the title.
But they held on as Spurs suffered an eighth straight away defeat to English opposition.
Man City gain Spurs revenge to remain in control of title race
Man City gain Spurs revenge to remain in control of title race
- Tottenham still have much to do to qualify for the competition next season
Late Guirassy winner for Dortmund trims Bayern’s lead atop Bundesliga
- A fifth consecutive league victory moved Niko Kovac’s side to 48 points
- The Guinean supplied a fine left-footed finish in the 87th minute to ensure it was a winning return
WOLFSBURG, Germany: A late Serous Guirassy winner settled a tense contest in Wolfsburg as Borussia Dortmund prevailed 2-1 on Saturday to provisionally cut Bayern Munich’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga to three points.
A fifth consecutive league victory moved Niko Kovac’s side to 48 points, within a victory of erstwhile runaway leaders Bayern, who can restore their six-point cushion with victory at in-form Hoffenheim on Sunday.
After a record-breaking start to the season, the champions are winless in their last two games, giving Dortmund the chance to dream of a first title since 2012 with 13 games to go.
It was not a vintage display by Dortmund, who suffered a blow pre-match with the news that captain Emre Can will be sidelined for another month.
But they ground out victory against a Wolfsburg team who have only won once since the turn of the year thanks to goals by Julian Brandt and Guirassy, each side of a Konstantinos Koulierakis leveller for the hosts.
Max Beier almost put Dortmund ahead in the first half but his effort was deflected by Denis Vavro’s last-ditch block onto the underside of the bar.
But the Wolves failed to heed that warning when a few minutes later Dortmund went ahead.
- Pivotal -
Julian Ryerson’s 38th-minute corner from the left found Brandt at the near post and the Germany international out-leaped substitute Jan Buerger to nod in.
Dortmund’s advantage was erased seven minutes into the second half when Koulierakis chose the perfect moment to score his first goal for Wolfsburg, powering in a header from close range.
With 15th-placed Wolfsburg only a few minutes away from securing a precious point, Dortmund produced a silky winner after Guirassy capped good play by Felix Nmecha and Fabio Silva.
The Guinean supplied a fine left-footed finish in the 87th minute to ensure it was a winning return to his former club for Dortmund coach Kovac.
This also proved a pivotal day in the battle for Bundesliga survival as well as the fight for the coveted top-four places.
St. Pauli, whose last win was before the winter break, hosted fourth-placed Stuttgart, who hadn’t lost in the league since a 5-0 home drubbing by Bayern on December 6.
Daniel Sinani’s clever dummy wrong-footed the Stuttgart defense and the loose ball was lashed in from the edge of the box by Manolis Saliakis for the opener on 35 minutes.
Things got even better for St. Pauli 10 minutes after the break when Sinani slotted home from the penalty spot to make it 2-0 after a VAR review confirmed a handball against Chris Fuehrich.
Stuttgart pulled one back through Jamie Leweling in the last minute but it was too little too late as goal-shy St. Pauli clawed themselves to within touching distance of the teams above them, despite remaining 17th.
St. Pauli’s city rivals Hamburg also picked up a precious three points, winning their first game on the road this season at 2-0 bottom-placed Heidenheim.
Mainz recorded yet another victory, this time a 2-0 win over Augsburg, in their remarkable turnaround under Swiss strategist Urs Fischer, who has guided Mainz from the bottom of the table to 13th in a matter of weeks.
Nadiem Amiri scored both goals from the spot, each side of the interval, to make it four wins in five ahead of a trip to Dortmund next weekend.
Werder Bremen were edged out by a sensational solitary strike by Freiburg’s Jan-Niklas Beste to extend their winless streak to 11 games.
Bremen’s losing run, the longest in the German top flight, resulted in coach Horst Steffen being relieved of his duties last week, with Daniel Thioune replacing him.
