Man City suffer fresh away loss at Sunderland
LONDON: Former Arsenal striker Ryan van Persie’s lone goal was enough for Manchester United to beat the Gunners 1-0 in an English Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Sunday.
A cross from Wayne Rooney saw the Dutchman perfectly placed to head the ball into the bottom corner of the net in the 27th minute.
With this victory, United have now moved to fifth place in the standings with 20 points; Arsenal remain at the top of the table with 25.
The league leaders huffed and puffed, claiming the majority of possession, but failed to create any real opportunities to score in what was a rather uninspiring performance, which led to only their second loss of the season.
Possibly Arsenal’s best chance came with less than 10 minutes left on the clock with the visitors weaving into the box twice, but they delayed pulling the trigger, with Olivier Giroud’s shot only yielding a corner from which nothing materialised.
Only a couple of minutes earlier Man United’s Chris Smalling was in the best possible position to head in the ball for a 2-0 lead, after a cross from van Persie, but he snuffed it wide.
In the other late match, mid-table club Swansea came back from two goals down to draw at home against Stoke City 3-3.
Stoke, now just out of the relegation zone on goal difference, scored two goals in the first 25 minutes, but the Welsh team came back through a brace by Wilfried Bony and one goal from Nathan Dyer, all in the second half.
However, Charlie Adam converted a stoppage time penalty after Swansea were guilty of a handball in the penalty area to make it 3-3.
Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini saw Manchester City’s troubles on the road continue as they slid to a surprise 1-0 defeat at struggling Sunderland, their fourth reverse in six EPL away games this season.
A first-half winner from former Man United defender Phil Bardsley underlined the stark contrast in fortunes enjoyed by City this term.
They boast a 100 percent record from their five home games, but have now taken just four points from a possible 18 on their travels, with Sunday’s loss meaning they missed an opportunity to climb into the top three; they are in eighth place, on 19 points, one spot ahead of Newcastle United.
In-form forward Sergio Aguero drew a first blank in seven games, but the Argentinian was not alone among those in blue to experience a day to forget, as Sunderland deservedly earned a victory to pull within three points of safety.
It was only their second league win of the season, but their third in four games in all competitions as they continue to show signs of life under new coach Gus Poyet.
In the other match of the day, Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul performed heroics at White Hart Lane as the Magpies beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 and left the north Londoners five points adrift of rivals Arsenal.
Brad Friedel had to make a couple of saves early on but was powerless to prevent the livewire Loic Remy firing Newcastle in front after 13 minutes on a crisp but sunny afternoon in north London.
Krul made a string of saves after the break, including somehow getting his hand to a deflected free kick by Gylfi Sigurdsson, with the rebound scrambled off the line by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
Using hands, arms, body and legs to keep the clean sheet, Krul made 14 saves in what was without question the performance of the afternoon as Newcastle moved into the top half of the league with 17 points from 11 games. (Agencies)
