LONDON (AFP) – Manchester
City provisionally trimmed
Manchester United’s lead at
the top of the Premier
League table to three points
with a 3-1 win at Newcastle
United on Saturday.
City lost 3-2 to their cross-
town rivals in a fiery
Manchester derby last
weekend but the champions
showed no ill-effects in the
early stages at St James’ Park
and took the lead in the 10th
minute with a beautifully
crafted goal.
Stand-in captain Yaya Toure
split the home defence with
a delicately weighted pass
down the inside-right
channel and Samir Nasri
showed excellent awareness
to roll the ball square for
Sergio Aguero to tap into an
empty net.
Javi Garcia claimed City’s
second in the 39th minute
with a header from a left-
wing corner, although
Newcastle full-back Davide
Santon made a complete
hash of his attempt to clear
the ball.
Newcastle hit back six
minutes into the second half,
Demba Ba beating City
goalkeeper Joe Hart to Fabio
Coloccini’s hooked cross to
head home, but Toure
touched in Pablo Zabaleta’s
78th-minute centre to make
the points safe.
“The performance against
(Manchester) United was
fantastic,” said City manager
Roberto Mancini.
“We were disappointed by
the result but today was
difficult because after the
defeat against United, we
needed to restart quickly.
“We had a very difficult game
against Newcastle but I think
the guys today were really,
really good.
“It could have been six or
seven — I don’t know how
many chances we missed.”
Manchester United can
restore their six-point
advantage if they win at
home to Sunderland later on
Saturday.
Liverpool will go in search of
a third consecutive victory at
home to Aston Villa, having
closed to within four points
of the Champions League
places following last
weekend’s 3-2 win at West
Ham United.
Fourth-place Everton visit
Stoke City and Norwich City
host Wigan Athletic, while
bottom club Queens Park
Rangers’ quest for a first win
of the campaign continues at
home to Fulham.
