MANCHESTER CITY THREE POINTS CLEAR AT THE TOP OF PREMIER LEAGUE AFTER 5-0 TRASHING OF NEWCASTLE.
Raheem Sterling’s double helped Manchester City move three points clear at the top of the Premier League (PL), as an emphatic 5-0 victory condemned Newcastle United to a 13th straight defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
City returned home licking the wounds of a chaotic Champions League exit but brushed off a European hangover with a scintillating display against Newcastle. Early on, Eddie Howe’s side were a threat on the break and might have gone in front in the Manchester sun had Chris Wood not seen his early header easily saved. Kicked into gear, City responded and soon took control of the match. They saw Aymeric Laporte put a whipped corner over the bar from close range, before any simmering nerves were eventually settled in the 20th minute. João Cancelo peeled off his marker at the back post and knocked a chipped cross from İlkay Gündoğan into the path of Sterling, who gratefully nodded home from inside the six-yard box.
There is no question that Newcastle are a different proposition nowadays, having recorded the most points of those outside the top two since splashing the cash at the turn of the year. When an equaliser from Wood was deemed offside, it only confirmed that City needed another goal to make sure of victory. Pep Guardiola’s side pushed forwards and after pushing Cancelo’s fierce effort wide, Martin Dúbravka later fumbled a volley from Gündoğan to allow Laporte to poke home and extend the lead before the break.
In the second half, Allan Saint-Maximin dragged his shot wide of the post, before City had a third when Rodri headed home. City’s 19th goal from set-pieces allowed them to play the rest of the match in cruise control, although they added fourth late on when substitute Phil Foden diverted Oleksandr Zinchenko’s scuffed shot into the net. The final act of Eddie Howe’s 100th defeat saw Sterling thrash home a fifth that could prove crucial to City, who put one hand on their fourth title under Guardiola with victory, and reinforced their superior goal difference to Liverpool.
