London: Pep Guardiola’s 49th birthday celebrations went flat as Fernandinho’s late own goal forced Manchester City to settle for a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace, while Chelsea’s top-four bid was dented by a surprise 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.
On a busy day of top-flight action, the pitchside VAR monitor was used in the Premier League for the first time at Norwich, with Tottenham forced to settle for a goalless stalemate at Watford and Arsenal held to a 1-1 draw by Sheffield United.
It was the drama at the Etihad Stadium that took the spotlight as Fernandinho’s last-gasp blunder left Guardiola in no mood to party after City’s faint hopes of retaining the title suffered another hammer blow. The champions trail Liverpool by 13 points ahead of the runaway leaders’ clash with rivals Manchester United on Sunday. Cenk Tosun marked his first league start since his loan move from Everton with his maiden goal for the Eagles, the Turkish striker netting a close-range strike from Martin Kelly’s flick in the 39th minute. Sergio Aguero appeared to have turned the game on its head in the 82nd minute when the Argentine striker bagged his 250th goal in 360 games for the club.
Aguero put City ahead in the 87th minute with a typically predatory header from Benjamin Mendy’s cross. Chelsea would have cemented their grip on fourth place with a win on Tyneside, but they were unable to muster the cutting edge required to break down stubborn Newcastle and fell to Isaac Hayden’s header with just 20 seconds left in stoppage-time, losing 1-0. (AFP)
