May 09, (THEWILL) – Manchester City took advantage of Liverpool dropping points against Tottenham by beating Newcastle 5-0 on Sunday, putting them three points clear in the English Premier League title battle.
Before halftime, Raheem Sterling headed in a great City attack, and Aymeric Laporte bundled in another, as they finished the half on a strong fitting. Rodri increased the score by converting off Kevin De Bruyne’s corner, before substitute Phil Foden added a fourth, and Sterling completed his hat trick with one of the game’s final kicks.
Newcastle had a great chance to take the lead inside the first ten minutes when Allan Saint-Maximin found striker Chris Wood, but his header lacked force and was easily handled by Ederson.
City broke the deadlock when Ilkay Gundogan floated a pass into the box for Joao Cancelo to nudge across goal to Sterling, who arrived just in time to give City the lead.
Newcastle had a goal scored from a corner, when Wood quickly put the ball in the net for the visitors, but Joelinton was offside, and the goal was disallowed.
City went the other way for a 2-0 lead as Martin Dubravka spilled a Gundogan shot into Laporte’s path, allowing the Spain defender to tap in. Soon after, Rodri arrived at the near post to smash home De Bruyne’s header to compound the woes of the visitors.
Newcastle’s will to compete had been broken, and City added gloss to the scoreline with two late goals. City strolled in a fifth with Sterling finishing from close range after substitute Foden pushed in following good work from Jack Grealish and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Newcastle have now lost two games in a row after a four-game winning streak that lifted them out of the relegation zone, yet manager Eddie Howe remains hopeful of a top-ten finish.
City recaptured first place in the Premier League and now have three games to defend their crown, with a three-point lead over Liverpool. They will play Wolves on Wednesday, while Newcastle will face Arsenal on Monday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
