Man City closes in on EPL title with 3-1 win over Spurs
London, April 15 (IANS) Manchester City put some recent disappointments behind them at Wembley Stadium here, rolling past Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 to edge closer to a third English Premier League title.
After last week’s surprising defeat at home to crosstown rival Manchester United and two losses this month to Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals, the Citizens were eager to get back on track, reports Efe.
Pep Guardiola put his A team on the field on Saturday night, with David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus all inserted into the line-up.
Only the injured Sergio “Kun” Aguero was missing among the regular starters.
The visitors notched a pair of goals in a span of three minutes of the first half, the first coming in the 22nd minute when Gabriel Jesus scored past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris after receiving a pass from Kompany.
The second came after Manchester City was awarded a controversial penalty on Lloris’ takedown of Sterling in the area; Gundogan then proceeded to do the honors from the 12-yard mark.
Tottenham pulled one back, however, three minutes before halftime with a little bit of luck.
On the play, defender Aymeric Laporte’s attempt to clear a pass from Harry Kane bounced off Christian Erikson’s shins and across the goal line.
Tottenham came out aggressively in the second half in search of the equalizer but instead Sterling gave the visitors an insurance goal in the 72nd minute when he pounced on a ball in the area after Lloris had stopped a shot by Gabriel Jesus.
With the win, Manchester City boosted its Premier League points tally to 87 points, 16 more than second-placed Manchester City.
The squad could clinch the title as early as Sunday, if United loses to last-placed West Bromwich Albion.
But even if United keeps winning, the Citizens can clinch the championship with a victory over Swansea City on April 22.
The Spurs are in fourth place with 67 points and remain on course for a berth in the Champions League with five games remaining in the season.