MANCHESTER CITY full advantage of Chelsea’s surprise slip-up with a 5-0 thrashing of a woeful Newcastle United in the day’s late kick-off.
The reigning champions received a welcome boost prior to kick-off at the Etihad Stadium as Jose Mourinho’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley after Nemanaja Matic was sent-off.
Vurnon Anita soon provided a further lift to City, clumsily conceding a penalty inside 30 seconds to hand Sergio Aguero the chance to open the scoring from the spot, and Newcastle’s defensive shortcomings were ruthlessly exposed thereafter, as Manuel Pellegrini’s men – with the influential Yaya Toure back in their ranks – ran riot.
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Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko added further goals in the opening quarter of the game, while David Silva scored twice in quick succession to make it 5-0 after just 53 minutes.
That gave Pellegrini the luxury of handing Aguero and Silva an early rest ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Barcelona, with Wilfried Bony introduced off the bench for his debut.
The hosts coasted through the remainder of the contest, against a side beaten 4-0 on their previous two league visits to the Etihad, and they now sit five points behind Chelsea with 12 rounds of matches remaining.
Messi and Barcelona missed the chance to put pressure on league leaders Real AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Meanwhile, City’s Champions League opponents, Barcelona, suffered a rare home defeat on Saturday as they lost 1-0 to Malaga.
Luis Enrique insisted that Dani Alves was not solely to blame despite the Brazilian defender making a costly error in the seventh minute of the match, under-hitting a back-pass to goalkeeper Claudio Bravo from which Juanmi scored the winning goal.
Barca enjoyed plenty of possession as they desperately tried to mount a comeback, but Javi Gracia’s men held on for their first win at Camp Nou since November 1999.
City welcome the La Liga giants to Eastlands on Tuesday for the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.
City warm-up for Barcelona showdown by carving Newcastle apart
MANCHESTER CITY full advantage of Chelsea’s surprise slip-up with a 5-0 thrashing of a woeful Newcastle United in the day’s late kick-off.
The reigning champions received a welcome boost prior to kick-off at the Etihad Stadium as Jose Mourinho’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley after Nemanaja Matic was sent-off.
Vurnon Anita soon provided a further lift to City, clumsily conceding a penalty inside 30 seconds to hand Sergio Aguero the chance to open the scoring from the spot, and Newcastle’s defensive shortcomings were ruthlessly exposed thereafter, as Manuel Pellegrini’s men – with the influential Yaya Toure back in their ranks – ran riot.
Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko added further goals in the opening quarter of the game, while David Silva scored twice in quick succession to make it 5-0 after just 53 minutes.
That gave Pellegrini the luxury of handing Aguero and Silva an early rest ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Barcelona, with Wilfried Bony introduced off the bench for his debut.
The hosts coasted through the remainder of the contest, against a side beaten 4-0 on their previous two league visits to the Etihad, and they now sit five points behind Chelsea with 12 rounds of matches remaining.
Meanwhile, City’s Champions League opponents, Barcelona, suffered a rare home defeat on Saturday as they lost 1-0 to Malaga.
Luis Enrique insisted that Dani Alves was not solely to blame despite the Brazilian defender making a costly error in the seventh minute of the match, under-hitting a back-pass to goalkeeper Claudio Bravo from which Juanmi scored the winning goal.
Barca enjoyed plenty of possession as they desperately tried to mount a comeback, but Javi Gracia’s men held on for their first win at Camp Nou since November 1999.
City welcome the La Liga giants to Eastlands on Tuesday for the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.
Arsenal take advantage of United’s slip-up to move third
Swansea complete the double over Manchester United
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