LONDON: Manchester City ended their Chelsea hoodoo on Saturday, beating the European champions 1-0 while Bruno Fernandes missed a last-gasp penalty in Manchester United’s shock 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa.
Gabriel Jesus’ second-half strike proved decisive for Pep Guardiola’s men, who gained a measure of revenge for three consecutive defeats by Chelsea, including a painful loss in the Champions League final in Porto.
The win lifted the defending champions to 13 points alongside Liverpool, Chelsea and United, who conceded a late goal to Villa defender Kortney Hause before suffering the agony of the missed spot-kick.
Elsewhere, Jamie Vardy netted twice at the right end against Burnley after scoring an early own goal in a 2-2 draw for stuttering Leicester while Norwich slumped to their sixth consecutive league defeat.
Guardiola said this week that his side lacked a “weapon” to match Chelsea’s record signing Romelu Lukaku or United’s Cristiano Ronaldo to decide games inside the box.
But Jesus ultimately made the difference for City, who could have won more convincingly but for a combination of wasteful finishing and some impressive last-ditch defending.
The Brazilian forward got the break City deserved in the 53rd minute as his effort deflected off Jorginho to leave goalkeeper Edouard Mendy flat-footed.
The visitors had chances to double their lead, with Jack Grealish drawing a sharp save before Jesus was denied a second by Thiago Silva’s goal-line clearance while Thomas Tuchel’s team failed to muster a single shot on target.
“Sometimes we believe we need a proper striker to finish, but the important thing is the way we play,” Guardiola told the BBC.
“The most important thing is doing it as a team and as a unit. It’s like last season. Sergio (Aguero, who has left the club) was injured all year and we won the Premier League.”
Villa arrived at Old Trafford with a woeful record of one win in their previous 45 Premier League games against Manchester United, including 33 defeats.
The home side, boasting a star-studded attack including Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood had 28 shots in all but Villa missed some gilt-edged chances of their own.
Just when it appeared the game was drifting toward a draw, Villa’s Hause flicked a near-post header beyond David de Gea from a Douglas Luiz corner in the 88th minute.
Minutes later he went from hero to villain when he handled Fernandes’ cross but the United playmaker sent his spot-kick high over the bar — just the second time he has failed to score from a penalty in 23 attempts for the club.
It was a second home defeat of the week for United and a first in the Premier League this season, while they also lost Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw to injuries in front of watching England boss Gareth Southgate
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose side have lost three of their past four matches in all competitions criticized the way Fernandes was surrounded before his penalty.
“First of all the way they get round the penalty spot, get round Bruno and that, that’s not to my liking,” he said. “Bruno is usually very good in those positions and unfortunately he missed this one.
“It doesn’t get in Bruno’s head. He’s strong mentally and he’ll step forward again. The decision (on who takes penalties) is made before the game.”
Everton beat Norwich 2-0 while West Ham overcame struggling Leeds 2-1 with a late Michail Antonio goal. Watford had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Newcastle after having a late goal ruled out for offside.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are in action at Brentford in the late kick-off on Saturday, with a chance to go three points clear at the top of the table.
Man City end Chelsea hex as Man Utd pay penalty
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Man City end Chelsea hex as Man Utd pay penalty
- Gabriel Jesus' second-half strike proved decisive for Pep Guardiola's men
- Bruno Fernandes sent his spot-kick high over the bar, just the 2nd time he has failed to score from a penalty in 23 attempts for United
Real Madrid lose second straight and miss chance to close gap on Liga leader Barcelona
- Getafe held on to secure a historic win, its first at the Santiago Bernabeu since 2008, and a vital three points in its bid to stay in La Liga
MADRID: Real Madrid lost a second straight La Liga match when a stunning volley from Martín Satriano gave Getafe a shock 1-0 win at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Monday.
The result prevented the capital club from cutting the four-point gap to leader Barcelona.
Getafe had lost all eight of its previous league encounters with Real Madrid and early saves from goalkeeper David Soria kept it from falling behind.
Soria turned over a shot from Arda Güler midway through the first half, not long after frustrating Vinicius Junior when he was through on goal.
Madrid had more of the ball but lacked punch up front and it paid a price for its profligacy six minutes before halftime when Getafe took the lead.
A hopeful cross from the right was headed clear but it fell to the feet of Satriano, who volleyed into the roof of the net from 20 meters out.
It was the second goal in three games for the Uruguayan, who joined on loan from Lyon during the last transfer window.
Madrid continued to dominate possession in the second half and Antonio Rüdiger and substitute Rodrygo were among those who came close to grabbing an equalizer.
But it could not find a way past Getafe’s stuffy rearguard and an in-form Soria.
Madrid’s task became even harder when Franco Mastantuono was sent off for dissent in stoppage time and although the numbers were evened up in the last minute when Getafe’s Adrian Liso was also shown a red card it came too late to make any impact.
Getafe held on to secure a historic win, its first at the Santiago Bernabeu since 2008, and a vital three points in its bid to stay in La Liga.
“Coming here is always very difficult,” Getafe defender Kiko Femenía told broadcaster DAZN. “We have to congratulate the team, we did a superb job at the back and we scored when had the chance. We might even have scored more on the counterattack.”
They jumped three league places into 11th and were eight points above the relegation zone.
