MAN CITY CLOSES GAP: RUBEN DIAS, JOSKO GVARDIOL GOALS SINK SUNDERLAND 3-0
Manchester City's 3-0 win over Sunderland, featuring goals from Dias, Gvardiol, and Foden, puts them just two points behind Arsenal. Confidence is high before the Real Madrid clash.
Manchester City narrowed Arsenal's Premier League lead to two points with a solid 3-0 victory against Sunderland on Saturday.
Central defenders Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol put Pep Guardiola's team ahead with two quick goals before halftime at the Etihad Stadium.
Phil Foden sealed the win after 65 minutes, with his fifth goal in three games made possible by Rayan Cherki’s great play.
The Frenchman's excellent rabona cross set up Foden's header, which hit the bar before going in.
That moment took the wind out of Sunderland's sails. They ended the game with 10 players after substitute Luke O’Nien was sent off late in the match.
Before Foden's goal, Sunderland, who started the day in fifth place, looked like they might get back into the game. Instead, they were left regretting their slow start. City, after tough games against Leeds and Fulham recently, were happy to avoid another close call.
Now, they head to Real Madrid for their Champions League match on Wednesday feeling confident, knowing their title hopes are back on track.
The game started slowly, and City had to be patient to take advantage of Arsenal's loss to Aston Villa.
The first half-hour wasn't very exciting, although Enzo Le Fee came close for Sunderland with a shot from a distance. a distance.
City took control with goals from unexpected sources, Dias and Gvardiol.
Dias scored first with a powerful shot into the top corner from 25 yards in the 31st minute after moving up to support the attack.
Before Sunderland could regroup, City doubled their lead.
This time, Gvardiol scored, timing his jump perfectly to head in a Foden corner at the far post.
City almost scored a third early in the second half when Jeremy Doku dribbled through and hit a low shot against the post, and Foden's attempt on the rebound was blocked.
That close call seemed to wake Sunderland up, and Dias made a mistake moments later, giving Wilson Isidor a chance. Gianluigi Donnarumma reacted quickly to block the shot.
Sunderland came even closer when Granit Xhaka hit the post from a corner, but Erling Haaland was denied by a header off the line by Lutsharel Geertruida.
City increased their pressure, and Haaland, who barely touched the ball in the first half, started an attack with a run upfield.
He passed to Cherki, who reached the byline, cut back, and delivered a perfect assist for Foden to head in.
Cherki could have added a goal himself, but shot straight at Robin Roefs, who also tipped a shot from Doku over the bar.
Sunderland's day got worse when O’Nien, who had only come on in the 88th minute, was sent off for a bad foul on Matheus Nunes.
MANCHESTER CITY CONDEMN RACIST ABUSE OF STARS SEMENYO AND GUEHI
Following swift stadium action, Manchester City pledge full support to Semenyo and Guéhi amid shocking discriminatory abuse.
Manchester City didn’t hold back after Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi faced racist abuse during and after their wild 3-3 draw with Everton. The game itself was a rollercoaster; City managed to scrape a point thanks to Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku, who nailed a jaw-dropping equaliser in the 96th minute.
Doku actually got City off to a great start, putting them up before halftime. But Everton flipped the script after the break, scoring three and having everyone on edge with ten minutes left. City defender Guehi made a costly error on Everton’s first goal, his misjudged back pass handing the ball to Thierno Barry, who didn’t think twice about putting it away.
Since then, City put out a statement confirming that Guehi was targeted with disgusting racist messages online, while Semenyo, who played most of the match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, endured abuse in the stadium itself. City’s statement was straightforward: they’re outraged by the abuse and thanked Everton and the police for acting fast to identify the person responsible. They made it clear they're sticking by Guehi and Semenyo and won’t tolerate discrimination in football.
Right after the game, Guehi posted on social media, owning up to his mistake but keeping his head up. He thanked City fans and leaned on his faith, writing, “I need to do better, but we keep going & focused on the next. Thank you for your support as always! Thank you, Jesus!”
Racism in football keeps getting worse, on and off the pitch, and there’s a growing call for authorities to actually step up and fight discriminatory abuse wherever it shows up.
Both Guehi and Semenyo have made an immediate impact at City. Guehi came from Crystal Palace in January for £20 million, fitting right into Guardiola’s defence and looking sharp until Monday’s mishap. He’s already played 16 times for City. Semenyo arrived from Bournemouth for £64 million, has 22 appearances, and has made himself a regular threat, scoring eight goals with three assists, moving smoothly between central and wide positions.
They’re both expected to be in the lineup when City faces Brentford at home on Saturday as Guardiola’s team hangs onto their faint hopes of defending the title.
PEP GUARDIOLA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE RODRI’S RETURN FOR MONDAY’S PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH
Pep Guardiola provides the latest injury news on Rodri, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol ahead of a crucial title race clash at Everton.
Pep Guardiola has shared the latest on Manchester City's injury situation ahead of Monday’s Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
City is in good form right now. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, making it six wins in a row across all competitions.
But they’ve had to do it without Rodri. He's missed their last two matches, including a tight 1-0 win at Burnley, after hurting his groin against Arsenal a couple of weeks back. Guardiola recently told reporters that Rodri is getting better, but the team’s been cautious and isn’t rushing him back.
At his latest press conference on Friday, Guardiola said Rodri still hasn’t returned to training, so they’re just taking it day by day. There's hope, but Guardiola wouldn’t give any guarantees about Rodri’s chances of playing against Everton. "He’s getting better. Still, he didn't train with us, so we’ll see in the next few days,” he said. When pressed about his confidence, Pep just replied, “I am always confident.”
With Rodri still not training, it sounds like a last-minute decision on whether he’ll play. A start against Everton seems unlikely. That probably means Nico González, who scored the winner against Southampton, will keep his spot in midfield next to Bernardo Silva. Maybe Nico O’Reilly slides into central midfield, too, if he isn’t covering at left-back.
It’s not all good news in defence either. Ruben Dias is still out with the ankle injury that’s kept him sidelined for the last six games, and Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the tibial fracture he picked up in January. Both are working their way back, and Guardiola says they’re improving, but there’s no sign of a return just yet.
Turning to the Everton game, City could head into it trailing Arsenal by six points if the Gunners beat Fulham on Saturday. With the title race this tight, City can’t afford to slip up.
Guardiola knows Monday will be tough. “Everton have always been tough,” he said. “Old Everton was so cool and so British, and I loved to go there, but in the new stadium, they are defending really well, and it has always been tough." He’s not taking recent Everton results lightly, adding, 'They're fighting for a place in Europe. We won with two or three actions here, but we were not good at that moment. We can’t have any result but win, win, win.”
Everton won’t be easy, especially away, but City can at least take confidence from their strong record of 17 league games unbeaten against the Toffees. They won the reverse fixture 2-0, with Haaland scoring both goals. Still, Guardiola isn’t expecting it to be straightforward.
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