Sterling strikes twice as City hit Saints for six

MANCHESTER, England - Raheem Sterling struck twice as Premier League leaders Manchester City crushed Southampton 6-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, the fourth time they have scored five or more goals in the 11 games so far this season.

The defending champions were 4-1 up by half-time and the result could have been even worse for Mark Hughes on his return to his former club.

Sterling was outstanding, a constant threat down the flank, and he was delighted that his side took advantage of second-placed Liverpool's draw at Arsenal on Saturday.

"I thought it was a great team performance, not just with the ball. We were brilliant at times today," said the former Liverpool forward.

"I am grateful for the position I am in, learning and trying to get better. It is great times at the moment.

"After Liverpool dropped points it was important that we won," he added.

City, who now have a two-point lead over Liverpool, took just six minutes to open the scoring. David Silva fed Leroy Sane on the left and the German’s low cross was turned by Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt into his own net.

Six minutes later and City were 2-0 up after Bernardo Silva fed Sterling on the right and the England winger’s low cross was slotted home from close range by Sergio Aguero, the Argentine’s 17th goal in his last 13 home games.

The game was virtually over by the 18th minute when Sterling’s cross from the right eventually found David Silva whose left-foot drive flew past the helpless Alex McCarthy.

Southampton got a little encouragement when Danny Ings was brought down by City keeper Ederson and rose to convert the spot kick in the 30th minute but on the stroke of half-time City restored their three-goal advantage when Aguero passed to Sterling inside the box and he took his time before firing home.

Sterling struck again to make it 5-1, drilling into the bottom corner after being slipped in by the unselfish Aguero and Sane completed the rout in stoppage time.

Southampton are in 16th place, two places above the relegation zone with a solitary win this campaign and manager Hughes was left to rue the disastrous start to the game.

"Opening period is always important in any game and we didn't really acquit ourselves well. City will always ask questions and have a lot of talent, power and pace. They create two versus ones in good areas.

"You need to be more aggressive than we were able to show. We found ourselves 3-0 down and to all extents and purposes the game is gone," said the Welshman.

"I was more pleased second half that we showed some pride. The scoreline is maybe a bit of a harsh state from our point of view. But you have to hold your hands up, City are a very good team."

(Reporting by Simon Evans; editing by Clare Fallon)

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Chelsea beat Saints to set up FA Cup final against Man Utd

LONDON - A flash of attacking brilliance from Olivier Giroud and an emphatic header from substitute Alvaro Morata earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over struggling Southampton at Wembley on Sunday and an FA Cup final date with Manchester United next month.

Giroud muscled and dribbled past three defenders and flailing keeper Alex McCarthy seconds into the second half to poke the ball home from a pass by the ever-busy Eden Hazard.

"I love to play here (Wembley) and I have been unbeaten here so hopefully for the final we are going to keep it up," Giroud, whose Arsenal side beat Chelsea in the final last year, told BT sport.

Morata, who came on for Giroud, made it two in the 82nd minute, nodding Cesar Azpilicueta's cross into the net.

Relegation-threatened Southampton were outplayed for most of the match, but defended manfully during a dour first half, during which Chelsea forward Willian hit the crossbar.

The Saints were forced to move out of their half after Giroud's goal and came close to equalising in the 72nd minute when Chelsea keeper Willy Caballero's save kept out Nathan Redmond's rasping shot.

They also had a possible goal not given when Charlie Austin was judged to have fouled the keeper. Austin then hit the post in the dying minutes of the game.

Chelsea will meet Jose Mourinho's United at Wembley on May 19 after the Manchester side beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the first semi-final on Saturday.

The clash will have added spice because of the tension between former Chelsea boss Mourinho and current coach Antonio Conte.

Hazard, who has played under both managers, said: "We gave everything, we played very good football especially in the second half and controlled the game.

"Now we go to the final and for the championship (Premier League) again and then we can think about the final against Manchester United."

Chelsea are fifth in the league but Hazard said they had not given up hope of making the top four and getting a Champions League spot as well as winning the FA Cup.

(Reporting by Clare Lovell; editing by Clare Fallon)

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Sterling stunner keeps City clear, chasers all win

LONDON - Just when the chasing pack thought the Manchester City juggernaut was suffering a misfire Raheem Sterling scored a stunning stoppage-time winner to give the Premier League leaders a 2-1 victory over Southampton on Wednesday.

With Manchester United having cut the gap to five points and Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool winning, any City stutter would have been cause for celebration. But Pep Guardiola's side thundered on with a club record 12th successive league victory.

Former Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu had cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne's opener in the 75th minute but six minutes into stoppage time Sterling, for the third match running, snatched City's winner, this time with a sublime curling shot.

Manager Antonio Conte was sent to the stands after a verbal meltdown at Stamford Bridge as his Chelsea side laboured to a 1-0 defeat of struggling Swansea City at Stamford Bridge. Antonio Rudiger's first Premier League goal sealed victory.

"I have apologised because I did the wrong thing," Conte said of his angry reaction to a fourth official when his side were denied a corner in the first half.

"I have been in to see them after the game. It's right to speak and apologise with them."

Arsenal struck three goals in four second-half minutes as they thrashed Huddersfield Town 5-0 with Mesut Ozil scoring one and supplying assists for Olivier Giroud, who scored a brace, and Alexis Sanchez.

Alexandre Lacazette's early goal had separated the sides before the interval although the French striker went off with a suspected groin injury and will probably miss Saturday's home clash against Manchester United. Arsenal have won 12 consecutive home matches.

Liverpool moved into fifth place with Mohamed Salah taking his tally for the season to a chart-topping 12 thanks to a double in a 3-0 victory at Stoke City.

After 14 games City have 40 points, with United on 32, Chelsea 29, Arsenal 28 and Liverpool 26.

   
HEADY SIXTH

Burnley rose to a heady sixth, ahead of a sliding Tottenham Hotspur, as Chris Wood and Robbie Brady scored in a 2-1 victory at Bournemouth - their fourth win in five league games.

"Where we are in the league, everyone will be surprised by that," Burnley boss Sean Dyche said.

Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick, the third with a wonder goal from inside his own half, as Everton thrashed West Ham United 4-0 on a horrible return to Goodison Park for David Moyes whose West Ham side remained in the bottom three.

Sam Allardyce, who will be named shortly as Everton's new manager, watched on from the stands as caretaker boss David Unsworth signed off with a victory that lifted Everton to 13th.

Whatever happens below them, City are looking unstoppable and with 40 points from 14 games and a goal difference of 35 they have recorded the best start in Premier League history.

They were not at their fluent best and Southampton came closest to scoring before the break with Wesley Hoedt striking the woodwork for the visitors.

But Sterling's effort sparked wild celebrations at the Etihad as the former Liverpool player struck yet another late goal to take his tally for the season to 13.

He has now earned City nine extra points this season with his timely interventions and his latest effort was arguably his best, picking out the top corner with an unstoppable effort.

"Raheem is a match-winner, I am so happy for him. He is special, it was an amazing goal. It is more than important, it is beautiful," Guardiola, whose side have dropped only two points this season, said.

City are now two wins away from matching Arsenal's record 14-match winning run in the Premier League.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Man City join Liverpool on top

LONDON - Yaya Toure returned to Manchester City's ranks on Saturday after a public apology to manager Pep Guardiola and scored twice in a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace that took them to the top of the Premier League alongside Liverpool.

While Liverpool's progress was checked by a goalless draw at Southampton, City clambered back level with the Anfield club on 27 points from 12 matches thanks to the double from old favourite Toure whose stand-off with Guardiola was quickly forgiven and forgotten.

On an afternoon when Jose Mourinho complained Manchester United were "the unluckiest team in the Premier League" after Arsenal snatched a 1-1 draw with an 89th-minute equalizer at Old Trafford, there was nothing fortunate about City's victory.

While resting key players before the Champions League clash with Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday, Guardiola brought Toure in for his first league appearance of the season after the midfielder's apology following comments the player's agent made about the club and manager.

The Ivorian repaid Guardiola's faith with a 39th-minute run and shot and, after Connor Wickham had equalized in the second half, netted an 83rd-minute winner.

After a three-month stand-off at the club, Toure sounded emotional as he spoke of being applauded back into the dressing room by team mates.

"They have always been brilliant with me, always supportive. I always want to be there to help them. I am professional, I always want to improve my game," he told the BBC.

"I was prepared mentally and I knew that one day my manager would need me."

DRIVING RAIN

Liverpool's recent magisterial progress ended in driving rain at Southampton where, although they extended their unbeaten sequence to 10 games, the league's top scorers squandered a series of chances.

It left them still leading the way on the strength of having scored more goals than City but Chelsea, two points behind, have the chance to jump ahead of both if they win at Middlesbrough on Sunday.

Arsenal were grateful to extend their unbeaten streak to 17 games in all competitions after a last-gasp header from substitute Olivier Giroud earned them a barely deserved point at Manchester United.

Juan Mata had put United ahead in the second half of a game they dominated but Giroud's late rescue act left Mourinho cursing his luck, even if he had stretched his unbeaten league record against old foe Arsene Wenger to 12 matches.

"We are the unluckiest team in the Premier League," Mourinho said of his sixth-placed team. "I'm not going to say they (Arsenal) didn't want to win but they couldn't be the way they normally play football.

"They were the lucky ones and we were the unlucky ones but that's football."

The draw left Arsenal fourth on 25 points, the same as Chelsea. Tottenham Hotspur are one point adrift in fifth after Harry Kane netted twice in three dramatic late minutes to earn a pulsating 3-2 win over West Ham United at White Hart Lane.

The England striker hammered home the winner from the penalty spot in stoppage time as Spurs came roaring back from 2-1 down to protect their record as the only unbeaten team in the league.

At the other end of the table Victor Anichebe struck twice and Jermain Defoe netted his 150th Premier League goal as Sunderland clambered off the bottom with a 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Hull City.

Swansea City are now bottom, with American Bob Bradley still looking for his first win as manager, after Seamus Coleman equalised for hosts Everton in the 89th minute to secure a 1-1 draw.

Leicester City's difficult reign as champions continued as they went behind to an Etienne Capoue goal at Watford after 33 seconds and ended up losing 2-1, a defeat that left them two points above the relegation zone.

(Editing by Ed Osmond and Tony Jimenez)

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Misery for Manchester as United thrashed and City draw

LONDON, United Kingdom -- Manchester's two Premier League clubs managed just a point between them on Sunday as Manchester United suffered a chastening 4-0 defeat by Chelsea on manager Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge and leaders Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton.

Chelsea's Pedro Rodriguez opened the scoring after just 30 seconds and the Blues were on their way, with Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante adding to the agony for Mourinho, who won seven major titles in two spell as the London club's manager.

Victory saw Antonio Conte's side move up into fourth place, just a point behind the top three of City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

By contrast, defeat left United seventh and five points adrift of the top four finish they need to qualify for the Champions League after missing out on European club football's elite competition this season -- a failure that led the Old Trafford club to replace former manager Louis van Gaal with Mourinho.

"You come with a strategy. You cannot concede a goal in the way we did," Mourinho told Sky Sports. "We made incredible defensive mistakes, individual mistakes, and you pay for that."

After the final whistle, Mourinho whispered in the ear of Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.

Conte had urged home fans to make more noise after Kante made it 4-0 in the 70th minute.

But Mourinho refused to reveal what he had told the Italian, saying: "My words were with Antonio Conte were for him, not for you."

Conte was equally guarded, telling the BBC: "When there is a private conversation it is right to remain private, I have great respect for Jose, he is a great manager and he won a lot here."

As for the match itself Conte, in a separate interview with Sky Sports, said: "I am pleased with the performance, we started well, moved the ball quickly, created chances to score the goal."

At Eastlands, City suffered a fifth consecutive match without a victory although the point gained took Pep Guardiola's side back to the top of the table

Following their 4-0 midweek Champions League loss away to Barcelona, City were behind in the 27th minute when central defender John Stones's careless pass across the face of goal was seized on by Saints striker Nathan Redmond.

"I was anticipating it and it was just about keeping a cool head and putting the chance away," said Redmond.

The hosts were much improved in the second half and Kelechi Iheanacho equalised in the 55th minute when he finished a neat move involving Fernandinho and Leroy Sane from close range.

"The second half was much better," said Guardiola. "Of course our mistake is always complicated. The way I want to play is not to pass to their striker."

Southampton manager Claude Puel was pleased by the way his side recovered from their 1-0 Europa League loss away to Inter Milan.

"We played with just two days recovery after the Inter Milan match, which is difficult and we finished the game tired," said Puel. "It is a good point."

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