Two second half goals from Erling Haaland fired Manchester City to the top of the Premier League table on Saturday lunchtime thanks to a 2-0 win over Everton at the Etihad Stadium.
The Sky Blues have displayed the swagger of champions in recent weeks but they laboured for much of this game against a well organised Everton side.
The Sky Blues knocked the ball out with ease, but they only mustered three shots on target, and the first, by Haaland, was a 71st-minute rocket that left Jordan Pickford grasping at thin air.
Pep Guardiola’s side was superior throughout, with over 71 per cent possession and 18 shots to five, but the cutting edge was lacking for three quarters of the game. Haaland got on the end of a weak Everton clearance and lashed the ball into the net for his first goal since November.
He was frustrated during his absence through injury, but the big Norwegian released any remaining angst when he scored the second, brushing off a Toffees defender and beating Pickford again in a one-on-one.
So City’s title march is on target, but they finish the weekend in second place as Liverpool responded in their 3 p.m. Saturday kick-off.
No Salah no problem for Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds went back to the top of the table thanks to an entertaining 3-1 victory over Burnley. Liverpool were red hot favourites to dispatch the Clarets as they started another game without their talisman; but the three men who started up front each made a big case for an extended run in the side.
A record league attendance for Liverpool at Anfield of 59,896 watched as Diogo Jota headed in a first half opener when Burnley keeper James Trafford failed to claim a corner.
The Clarets drew level by the break when Dara O Shea’ scored with a superb header, but Liverpool pulled away in the second half. Luis Diaz restored the Reds’ lead early in the second half, though there was a lengthy VAR review as it looked like a Burnley player had been fouled in the build-up.
But there was no controversy about the decisive third goal when Darwin Nunez, the man who has hit the woodwork more times than he has scored this season, planted his header home to lift the roof off the Anfield Stadium. At 2-1, David Fofana had two great chances to level for the Clarets, but he was denied by Reds keeper Caiomhin Kelleher.
The Premier League 2024 betting odds say Liverpool are the team that will push Manchester City the hardest, and if they keep this form up, it will be a fantastic race.
Spurs have found a stomach
For years, no decades, Tottenham Hotspur have been known as a side which can play some fine football, but has a nasty habit of choking when the going gets tough, famously when they stumbled in the final run in to the 2016 title race as Leicester City won the Premier League.
Spurs look a little different this season. Under inspirational head coach Ange Postecoglou, they are playing some scintillating football, but against Brighton on Saturday, they showed they have the nerves to cope under pressure.
After Pascal Gross had given the Seagulls a first-half lead from the penalty spot, Spurs fought back in the second half, and a goal from Pape Sarr inspired a late comeback, with Brennan Johnson scoring a dramatic late winner in the 96th minute.
The win lifted Tottenham up into the top four, and the SBOTOP odds reckon they can stay there, particularly if they continue to show the fight that gave them a 2-1 victory over Brighton.
The Blades are still battling
Before his side’s trip to Luton, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder said his team would keep fighting even if they lost to the Hatters and fell ten points from safety. But the Yorkshire battlers picked up all three points with a gutsy showing, which gave them a much-needed 1-3 victory.
The visitors raced into a two-goal lead thanks to a goal from Cameron Archer and a penalty converted by James McAtee. Luton halved the deficit when Carlton Morris scored his penalty, but as Luton pushed for a leveller, Vinicius Souza scored Sheffield’s third on the break.
The Blades stay bottom but have kept their survival hopes alive, while Luton’s charge away from trouble has come to an abrupt halt.
The pick of the other Premier League 2024 results was a five-goal thriller as Newcastle United beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 to lift the Magpies up to seventh and leave Forest looking nervously over their shoulders.
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