Manchester City moved up to second in the Premier League after Fernandinho's 89th-minute strike handed them a dramatic 3-2 victory over ...
Manchester City moved up to second in the Premier League after Fernandinho's 89th-minute strike handed them a dramatic 3-2 victory over Aston Villa.
Manuel Pellegrini's men, who are now nine points clear of Liverpool in fourth, were handed the perfect start when Brad Guzan horribly miskicked Ron Vlaar's back pass straight to Sergio Aguero, who tapped home into an empty net from close range.
City doubled their advantage in the 66th minute when Aleksandar Kolarov took advantage of a poor Villa wall to bend a free-kick past Guzan but the visitors struck back almost immediately thanks to Tom Cleverley's strike.
Villa looked like grabbing a vital point in the fight for survival when Carlos Sanchez steered the ball home in the 85th minute - and they thought they should have had a penalty just minutes later when Christian Benteke was tripped in the penalty box by Joe Hart.
But City were rescued by a controversial offside flag and then Fernandinho popped up with just one minute of normal time remaining to fire a the late winner to send them nine points behind the leaders Chelsea, who play Arsenal on Sunday.
Liverpool’s lingering hopes of a top-four finish were dealt a serious blow as they were held to a goalless draw by West Brom at the Hawthorns.
The Reds dominated the match for long periods, but they were unable to find a way through the well-organised hosts and the draw left them six points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.
After an uneventful first half, West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill pulled off a superb double save to deny Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson.
Jordan Ibe also hit a deflected effort onto the top of the bar, while substitute Callum McManaman went closest for West Brom with a low shot which was blocked by Simon Mignolet.
Leicester moved out the Premier League's bottom three after a 1-0 win at fellow strugglers Burnley, to leave Sunderland in the relegation zone.
Jamie Vardy grabbed the only goal of the game on the hour mark at Turf Moor on Saturday, just seconds after Matt Taylor had missed a golden chance to put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot.
Leicester had to survive a late onslaught from the home side and only a stunning stop from Kasper Schmeichel - who beat out a deflection off Robert Huth - preserved their advantage.
And Hullimproved their survival chances with a deserved 2-0 victory over Crystal Palaceat Selhurst Park, with Dame N'Doye (51 and 90) ensuring all three points returned to East Yorkshire.
Sunderland's hopes of maintaining their top-flight status, looking more precarious by the week, suffered another blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
Connor Wickham gave the Black Cats the perfect start with a goal in the first minute but they ended the day in the bottom three after Charlie Adam pounced shortly before the half-hour mark.
Queens Park Rangers remain firmly in the drop zone after they were held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham United at Loftus Road.
Charlie Austin had the ideal opportunity to claim all three points but he hit the post with a 21st-minute penalty.
Newcastle'smiserable season goes from bad to worse after they suffered their seventh successive defeat, 3-2 at the hands of Garry Monk's Swansea at St James' Park.
Ayoze Perez (20) fired the Magpies in front but Nelson Oliveira (45) levelled on the stroke of half time before second-half goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jack Cork prompted a mass exodus from the home stands.
Siem De Jong, playing his first game for Newcastle since last August, grabbed an 87th-minute consolation for John Carver's side.
Earlier, Tottenham twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw at fellow-European hopefuls Southampton at St Mary's.
Goals in either half by Saints striker Graziano Pelle (29, 65) were cancelled out by Erik Lamela (43) and Nacer Chadli (70) to earn Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino a share of the spoils on his return to the south coast.
