Manchester City secured a morale-boosting 1-0 victory over local rivals United yesterday, with Sergio Aguero’s solitary strike proving enough to separate both sides. Pellegrini’s men started the game well, but United had their fair bit of domination as far as the ball possession is concerned. Chris Smalling was then sent off for two bookable offences within the space of few minutes, leaving United with 10 men for the entirety of the second half.
After the break, United fought hard to close the gap, but were denied by a well-guarded City side, as well as a solid performance in goal from Joe Hart. Di Maria and Wayne Rooney both went close though, they could not muster an end product to break the deadlock.
11 – Sergio Aguero has scored 11 goals in his last 12 Premier League appearances. Streak.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 2, 2014
Just after the hour mark, City got their break, as Aguero tapped in from close range to give City the lead. United then pushed on, despite Marcos Rojo being stretchered off with an injury (later on confirmed as dislocated shoulder), but despite their best efforts, City held on to secure valuable three points, and bragging rights in Manchester.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to defeat Aston Villa 2-1 at Villa Park in the latest kick off last night. Andreas Weimann opened the scoring for Villa in the first half, which was also their first goal in over 547 minutes. And Paul Lambert’s men looked value for their money for most parts of the game, keeping Spurs at bay to a certain extent.
9 – Harry Kane has scored nine goals in 13 appearances in all competitions this term. Machine.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 2, 2014
But Pocchetino’s men maintained their onslaught, and were eventually rewarded for it on the 84th minute, when Nacer Chadli scored to equalize and bring Spurs back into the tie. With six minutes plus added time left on the clock, both sides upped their tempo, though Villa were down to 10 men after Benteke was sent off prior to the goal.
But late on in the game, Spurs seized an impeccable victory, thanks to Harry Kane’s deflected free kick attempt, gifting them their first win in seven Premier League matches.
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