London, May 1: London, May 1 (AP) Manchester City moved within three points of reclaiming the Premier League title by beating Crystal Palace 2-0 on Saturday thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Ferran Torres, players at the opposite ends of their careers at the club.
Aguero, who is leaving City at the end of the season after 10 years, scored his record-extending 258th goal for the club by controlling a pass from Benjamin Mendy and powering a shot off his laces into the roof of the net in the 57th minute.
Just 84 seconds later, Torres scored the 10th goal of the 21-year-old Spain winger’s debut season at City by curling home a low, left-footed finish from the edge of the area.
It was a one-two blow by Pep Guardiola’s heavily rotated team due to the game coming between the two legs of the Champions League semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain which took a while to get going at Selhurst Park but has left City on the brink of the title.
It could even be clinched as early as Sunday, if second-place Manchester United loses at home to Liverpool.
If United wins or draws at Old Trafford, the next opportunity to secure a third league crown in four years will come next Saturday when City hosts Chelsea.
The depth of Guardiola’s resources was highlighted by the fact that he rested most of his key players for the Palace game Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Ruben Dias, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden were among the unused substitutes but could still name a front four of Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Torres.
It was the latest leg of Aguero’s farewell tour and he moved onto 182 Premier League goals, five behind third-place Andy Cole on the all-time list, with his first ever at Selhurst Park.
Torres’ goal was City’s 700th in Guardiola’s 288-game tenure. (AP)
Leicester’s Champions League charge suffered a minor setback after they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in the Premier League with 10-man Southampton.
Jonny Evans’ 68th-minute header earned the third-placed Foxes a point on the south coast following James Ward-Prowse’s penalty opener for the battling hosts, DPA reports.
The Saints played 80 minutes with a man down after Jannik Vestergaard was sent off for bringing down Jamie Vardy on the edge of the hosts’ 18-yard box.
Southampton were without injured top scorer Danny Ings, who may miss the remainder of the season with a hamstring issue suffered in last week’s loss at Tottenham.
James Ward-Prowse confidently dispatched the ball into the bottom-left corner from the spot after his clever free-kick led to Kelechi Iheanacho blocking Stuart Armstrong’s powerful effort with an outstretched arm.
Falling behind kicked Leicester into life and they soon levelled. Iheanacho made amends for his earlier error by delivering an inviting inswinging cross from the left, allowing defender Evans to nod his second goal in three games beyond McCarthy.
Southampton have recorded fewer points than any other Premier League club during a difficult 2021, but prevented a 13th defeat from 16 outings. (IANS)
