Leicester win to mark late owner's birthday
LONDON: Manchester City cruised back to the top of the Premier League as relegation-bound Fulham were swatted aside by the champions 2-0 at Craven Cottage yesterday. Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero ensured the game was won in the first 27 minutes, but the final margin of victory could have been far greater had City chosen to click through the gears.
Pep Guardiola's men now lead Liverpool by a point with seven games remaining for both sides, but Jurgen Klopp's side can retake top spot with victory over third-placed Tottenham today. Fulham, by contrast, remain 13 points adrift of safety with just 18 left to play for.
City remain on course for an unprecedented quadruple of Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup, which they retained last month. A potential 14 games now stand between them and history, but there will be far tougher tests in wait than a dispirited and dishevelled Fulham, who played a huge part in their downfall.
Sixty points now separate the sides at opposing ends of the table and the hosts' inability to play simple passes highlighted why they are set for the drop after just one season back in the top flight.
Aguero had already seen an effort cleared off the line before Silva opened the scoring just five minutes in. Kevin de Bruyne, on his return from a month-long injury absence, intercepted a loose pass deep inside the Fulham half and fed Aguero, who in turn played the ball to Silva to curl into the far corner on his favoured left foot.
De Bruyne should have scored for just the second time in an injury-plagued Premier League season when he fired too close to Sergio Rico with just the Fulham goalkeeper to beat, while the Spaniard also parried Ilkay Gundogan's effort from the edge of the box. A second City goal seemed only a matter of time, though, and again Fulham made it easy for their visitors by coughing up possession close to their own goal.
This time the roles were reversed as Silva slipped in Aguero who expertly found the top corner for his 29th goal of the season. So calamitous was Fulham's retention of the ball that every completed pass was met with loud cheers from the home fans at stages in the first-half.
However, the hosts nearly had an unlikely route back into the game when Joe Bryan's shot flashed across Ederson's goal just before the break. City were happy to canter through the second period without expending too much energy with eight games in a 25-day period to come in April. Kyle Walker came closest to adding to their advantage with a thumping shot off the outside of the post.
Meanwhile, Leicester City marked an emotional day for the club on what would have been the birthday of their late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha by beating Bournemouth 2-0 at home in the Premier League yesterday.
Goals from captain Wes Morgan, only playing because of Harry Maguire's suspension, and Jamie Vardy inspired the Foxes as they continued their bright start under new manager Brendan Rodgers with a third straight league win.
Central defender Morgan scored in consecutive games for the first time in his Leicester career, although there may have been a touch of fortune about his deflection which went in off the post from Ben Chilwell's 11th minute shot.
An entertaining match saw both teams' top strikers, Vardy and Callum Wilson, miss chances but Leicester, increasingly dominant, deserved the spoils when Vardy headed home his fifth goal in five games eight minutes from time.
It felt a fitting way for Leicester fans to honour Srivaddhanaprabha, their much-loved Thai owner who died in a helicopter accident after a game in October, on what would have been his 61st birthday.
Before the game, his image flashed up on the big screen at the King Power Stadium along with the words 'Always in our hearts' and Srivaddhanaprabha's son, club chairman Aiyawatt, was introduced to the crowd. In the 61st minute of the match, the fans also rose to applaud his memory, singing 'Vichai had a dream.' - Agencies