Manchester City sees off Bournemouth to extend home run
First-half goals from David Silva and Gabriel Jesus guided Manchester City to a 2-1 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Published : Jul 16, 2020 02:07 IST
David Silva and Gabriel Jesus scored first-half goals as Manchester City claimed a 2-1 Premier League victory over relegation-threatened Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Second-placed City broke the deadlock inside six minutes as Spanish midfielder Silva curled a sublime free kick into the top corner for his second set-piece goal in three league appearances. Bournemouth went close to an equaliser from a free kick of its own but Junior Stanislas' effort was saved by City keeper Ederson who pushed it onto the post.
City doubled its advantage when Jesus slalomed past two defenders to score from close range, with Silva collecting his 10th assist of the league campaign. Bournemouth avoided further damage in the second half when the VAR overturned a City penalty awarded for a tackle by defender Steve Cook on Brazilian striker Jesus.
Substitute David Brooks gave Bournemouth a lifeline with an 88th-minute goal after Callum Wilson found the Welsh midfielder to slot home from close range. The duo went close to an equaliser in the closing stages but City held on to secure its sixth home league win in a row.
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“It was difficult but our opponent played really well, they were really good and they pushed us a lot,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “Their needs are higher than ours but we played our game.”
Eddie Howe's Bournemouth recorded 14 attempts on goal but poor finishing left them in 18th place, three points adrift of the safety zone with two games remaining.
“We gave it everything tonight and real credit to the players to keep on going until the final whistle,” Howe said.
“When you create those moments - and you don't get many against this quality of team - you need to take them. We need to match the performance level here and maybe surpass that against Southampton, that is all we should focus on now.”
City has secured second place behind champion Liverpool and next faces Arsenal on Saturday in the FA Cup semifinals.
In another evening game, Harry Kane went past 200 career club goals with a second-half double as Tottenham Hotspur won 3-1 at Newcastle United in the Premier League on Wednesday to boost its European qualification hopes.
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Minutes after Matt Ritchie's piledriver had drawn the host level, Kane's clinical header on the hour put the visitor back in front, taking him to another landmark. Kane sealed the points in the last minute with another header to take his career tally to 201.
Son Heung-min had given Tottenham the lead in the 27th minute with his 11th league goal of the campaign. Tottenham rose to seventh on 55 points with two games remaining, one point behind sixth-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race for a Europa League spot.
Kane's 201 club goals have come in 350 appearances in all competitions with 185 of them for Tottenham. It was also a milestone of sorts for Spurs manager Jose Mourinho who claimed a first league win at Newcastle.
Meanwhile, a stoppage-time penalty from Chris Wood gave Burnley a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves after the visitor had led through a superb Raul Jimenez strike.
The result was a major blow to Wolves' chances of making the Champions League, leaving it in sixth place with 56 points, three behind Leicester City and Manchester United who occupy fourth and fifth spots respectively.
Burnley has now only lost once in its last 14 league games but after its impressive draw against champion Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, Sean Dyche's side was far from its best.