London: Champions Manchester City suffered a stunning 1-0 home defeat to Stoke City on Saturday as their cast of attacking talents were blunted in a lifeless display that cost them their first dropped points of the season.
Mame Biram Diouf scored a superb individual goal to silence the City fans who have become used to seeing one-sided romps at their Etihad stadium, especially against the Premier League’s lesser lights.
It was an equally miserable day for City’s rivals Manchester United whose frustrations continued in a 0-0 draw at promoted Burnley with British-record signing Angel Di Maria unable to spark an improvement in their fortunes.
Di Maria, signed from Real Madrid for 59.7 million pounds ($99 million) on Tuesday, showed flashes of his talent in a 70-minute debut, but United still looked short of attacking ideas, claiming only their second point from their opening three league games.
Swansea City’s excellent start to the season continued as they swept aside West Bromwich Albion 3-0 to move top of the fledgling table with a maximum nine points from their opening three games as Southampton came from behind to beat West Ham United by a major 3-1.(Reuters)