Month: February 2021

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JACK GREALISH EYEING TOP FOUR FINISH FOR VILLA

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has targeted at least a top-10 finish in the Premier League this season.

Villa, who play at home against Leicester on Sunday, are currently eighth and Grealish admits that is more than he had hoped for after last season’s relegation scare.

“It’s been a better season than we expected. In our heads, we’re all looking at finishing as high as possible,” the England midfielder told Villa’s official website.

“Whether that be 10th, ninth, eighth, seventh – that’s where we should be aiming now in my opinion.

“We’re in a good place, we still have a few games in hand, but we have a few sticky games coming up now, which will obviously be tough.”

Following Sunday’s clash with Leicester, Villa head to Leeds and then take on Wolves at Villa Park.

“Leicester are one of the most in-form teams in the league at the moment and they’ve got great players all over the pitch,” Grealish said.

“We know how much of a tough game that will be, but we just need to take it one game at a time.”

Villa narrowly avoided an instant return to the Sky Bet Championship last season, finishing one place and a point above the bottom three.

But they made a flying start to the current campaign, winning their first four top-flight fixtures and have rarely been outside the top 10.

Grealish, who has scored six goals and made 12 assists, has been instrumental in Villa’s progress under boss Dean Smith and he wishes a full house at Villa Park on matchday had been there to see it.

“With us having one of the best seasons we’ve had for a while, it would have been lovely if the fans were here this season,” he added.

“There are plenty of players that are playing week-in-week-out and have never played at Villa Park with it half full, never mind when it’s packed out.

“I’ve told them all a fair bit about what it’s like, saying ‘wait and see what it’s like when it’s fully packed out’. Hopefully that can happen soon.”

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EUROPA LEAGUE: UNITED THRASH REAL SOCIEDAD, GARETH BALE STARS IN TOTTENHAM WIN

Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Manchester United romped to a 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad in their Europa League last-32 first leg on Thursday, while Gareth Bale impressed for Tottenham in a 4-1 thrashing of Austrian side Wolfsberg. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United are all but into the last 16, with four ‘away’ goals to take into the return game in a week’s time, after the first leg was played in Turin due to coronavirus travel restrictions. “We know 4-0 is a good result but we have to be aware of what they can do,” Fernandes told BT Sport. “My target is to score the most goals I can, that is my position. The only target is to win trophies.”

The Premier League outfit grabbed the lead in the 27th minute when Fernandes pounced on a defensive mix-up to slot in from Marcus Rashford’s clipped pass.

Solskjaer’s men doubled their advantage 12 minutes into the second period as Fernandes stroked home his 21st goal of the season.

The effort was initially ruled out for offside before the linesman’s decision was overruled by VAR.

United continued to play at a pace Sociedad could not deal with and Rashford finally got his goal in the 65th minute following a blistering counter-attack started by goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

The tie was surely put to bed in the final minute of normal time as Daniel James raced clear and fired into the bottom corner.

BALE STARS
Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett had said on Wednesday the Wales winger was “towards the end of his career”, after Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho had questioned the player’s Instagram post suggesting he was in good health despite being unavailable for Spurs’ FA Cup defeat at Everton last week.

But Bale notched his first Tottenham assist since April 2013 to tee up Son Heung-min for the opening goal in Budapest against Wolfsberg, before drilling in the second before the half-hour mark.

A wonderful individual strike from Lucas Moura extended Spurs’ first-half lead, and although Michael Liendl pulled one back for the Austrians with a second-half penalty, the English club have one foot in the next round after Carlos Vinicius’ 88th-minute goal.

“I have a really close relationship with him (Bale),” said Son. “I’m very happy he’s getting game time and scored a goal and got an assist. I really enjoy playing with him.”

Mourinho has never lost a knockout tie in the competition, which he won with Porto in 2003 and Man United in 2017.

AC MILAN, ARSENAL HELD

AC Milan, who have not reached the quarter-finals of any European competition since the 2011-12 Champions League, had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Red Star Belgrade.

Milan, who face Inter in a top-of-the-table Serie A derby on Sunday, were pegged back as Milan Pavkov netted a dramatic 93rd-minute leveller for Red Star, who played the closing stages with 10 men.

Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka continued his excellent season as his sixth goal of the campaign cancelled out Pizzi’s penalty in a 1-1 draw against Benfica at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

“I feel like I’m improving every game. I’m trying to impress, trying to learn,” said Saka. “I just want to keep progressing.”

Ligue 1 leaders Lille conceded twice in the final three minutes to lose 2-1 at home to Ajax.

Timothy Weah, son of former Ballon d’Or winner George, put the French team ahead with 18 minutes to play, but Dusan Tadic’s penalty and a goal from teenager Brian Brobbey put the Dutch champions on top after the first leg.

“It’s good that I scored but I’m not happy because we didn’t win,” Weah told RMC Sport.

Leicester, sitting third in the Premier League, were held to a goalless draw at Slavia Prague, but there was plenty of excitement elsewhere.

Bayer Leverkusen fought back from three goals down only to lose 4-3 to Young Boys in Bern, while Olympiakos beat PSV Eindhoven 4-2 in Piraeus

Borna Barisic netted two penalties, including the winning goal in the last minute, as Steven Gerrard’s Rangers snatched a thrilling 4-3 victory at Royal Antwerp.

Molde came back from 3-1 down to draw with Hoffenheim, while Edin Dzeko’s early goal helped Roma to a 2-0 win at 10-man Braga and Napoli lost 2-0 to Granada.

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WILFRED ZAHA TO STOP BENDING THE KNEE BEFORE CRYSTAL PALACE GAMES, SAYS MESSAGE HAS BEEN LOST.

Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha says he will stop taking a knee before Premier League matches as part of English football’s anti-racism campaign because he believes the meaning of the ‘degrading’ gesture has been lost.

Players have been taking a knee since July, initially in support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement before the Premier League and English Football League linked the gesture to their own anti-racism campaigns.

“I feel like taking a knee is degrading. Growing up, my parents let me know that I should just be proud to be Black, no matter what. I just think we should stand tall,” Zaha told the Financial Times’ Business of Football summit on Thursday.

“Taking the knee now… The meaning behind the whole thing is becoming something that we just do now. That’s not enough, I’m not going to take the knee.

“I’m not going to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the back of my shirt, because it feels like it’s a target. We’re trying to say we are equal but these things are not working anyway.”

Last week, Championship side Brentford said their players would no longer take a knee before matches and will find other ways to support racial equality, but would back other clubs that continue to kneel before games.

“Now I don’t really tend to speak on racism aspects because I’m not here just to tick boxes,” Zaha added. “Unless there’s change, don’t ask me about it. Unless action is going to happen I don’t want to hear about it.”

Premier League players have also been racially abused online, prompting English football bodies to put pressure on social media companies to tackle the problem.

Manchester United’s Axel Tuanzebe, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, Chelsea’s Reece James, Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, West Bromwich Albion’s Romaine Sawyers and Southampton’s Alex Jankewitz have all been victims in recent weeks.

“Increasingly this type of abuse towards Black players is becoming normalised,” Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said at the summit, adding that the London club provides support to their players and reports abuse to the police.

“We can’t do this alone. How do you explain to a Black footballer that pirated content is taken down in minutes but not racist abuse?”

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LACK OF ANFIELD FANS HURTING LIVERPOOL BAD – DJIBRIL CISSE

Djibril Cisse believes the lack of fans in the stadium is hurting Liverpool during their current struggles as they prepare for a Merseyside derby behind closed doors.

Liverpool have slipped to sixth in the Premier League and go into Saturday’s match against Everton desperate to avoid a fourth-consecutive Anfield defeat – unthinkable during a 68-game unbeaten home run that was ended by Burnley last month.

Empty stands have certainly played a role but former Liverpool striker Cisse believes the absence of fans will be felt most keenly on derby day.

“As a professional player, you have to take it as seriously as if the crowd was there,” Cisse told the PA news agency. “But as a human it takes something off because sometimes if you have bad momentum you need the crowd to cheer you up.

“I have played in empty stadiums and it is not the same. In a derby, you need the fire of the fans.”

Cisse experienced some of the biggest rivalries in Europe during his career – a Rome derby with Lazio, playing for Panathinaikos against Olympiakos, and facing Paris St Germain with Marseille – but said the Merseyside derby has a unique character.

“It is special because the two stadiums are so close, but what makes it even more special is because in the same family you will have some Liverpool fans and some Everton fans,” the Frenchman said.

“When you hear the word ‘derby’ you think of hate. Two clubs that hate each other, but that is not really the case. For us as players we still knew the importance of the game but it’s not the same as PSG-Marseille or Panathinaikos-Olympiakos.”

But a ‘friendly’ derby did not mean a less intense one.

“You can feel the difference during the whole week,” said Cisse, who scored a decisive third against Everton at Goodison Park in December 2005.

“The fans in the city make sure you know the game is really important for them.

“As a foreigner, when I arrived in Liverpool (in 2004) I heard about the derby but didn’t really know the meaning of the derby for the people.

“I was quite close to Stevie (Gerrard) and he told me about how important the game is so I was ready to give 100 per cent to make sure Liverpool was the team of the city.”

Cisse – part of Liverpool’s Champions League-winning squad of 2005 – is remembered by Liverpool fans as an exuberant character with a series of wild haircuts, the accidental lord of the manor who bought a house with a title in Cheshire, and a joker in the dressing room.

“It was a relaxed atmosphere,” he said of Rafael Benitez’s regime. “But we knew when it was game time, when it was training time. We knew the limit.

“Even in derby week it was really relaxed and friendly but we knew when we have to go to war, we go to war. We knew what we had to do.”

Cisse’s time on Merseyside was also marked by a broken leg which cost him five and a half months of his first season.

With injuries taking their toll on Liverpool again this year, Cisse said the impact was always felt well beyond the pitch.

“When it’s a leader of your defence – I’m thinking of Virgil Van Dijk – you can be a little worried,” he said. “Even if you trust all of the squad and the players going to replace him, it is still a big loss so you are worried.

“But you don’t really have time to think about it. You have to be ready and focused, and to help the new players who are going to replace them. They are under a lot of pressure because they have to perform and do as well, and it is not easy.”

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ASHLEY BARNES’ STRIKE DENY FULHAM BACK TO BACK WIN

Ashley Barnes’ second-half goal stopped Fulham from moving within four points of safety as Burnley earned a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor.

There were few clear-cut chances in the first half until James Tarkowski’s left-wing cross narrowly evaded Jay Rodriguez after a touch by Fulham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

Fulham went ahead on 49 minutes when Ola Aina chested in after Joachim Andersen’s flick-on from Ademola Lookman’s corner.

Burnley got back on level terms just three minutes later when Rodriguez picked out Barnes, who fired beyond Areola.

Josh Maja and Ruben Loftus-Cheek came closest to earning a second successive win for Fulham, who remain in 18th, six points adrift of 17th-placed Newcastle United.

Burnley move up to 15th on 27 points, eight above Fulham.

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EPL: MAN CITY THRASH EVERTON TO MOVE 10 POINTS CLEAR ATOP THE TABLE.

Manchester City moved 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League as second-half goals from Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva powered them to a 3-1 win at Everton.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side did manage to lay a glove at least as Richarlison cancelled out Phil Foden’s opener, only the second time in the last nine league games City have failed to keep a clean sheet, but there was no denying them a 17th straight win in all competitions.

And, as they became the first English top-flight side to start a calendar year with 10 consecutive league wins a row, it is harder to see who might deny Pep Guardiola a third Premier League title.

This match should have been played in December, postponed at short notice a little over six weeks ago due to a coronavirus outbreak within the City camp, but they look in rude health now

Though they travelled down the M62 without the in-form Ilkay Gundogan due to his groin injury, any sympathy for Guardiola lasted no longer than a glance at a substitutes bench including Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, and Fernandinho as City near full fitness.

But it was not the usual accomplished start, with some sloppy passing allowing Everton early glimpses of goal, while Aymeric Laporte – preferred over John Stones – almost fluffed a clearance in front of goal with Richarlison closing in.

Gradually City tightened up their game as play shifted towards the other end, where Silva went down under a challenge from Michael Keane but saw his penalty shouts fall on deaf ears.

Everton had another problem though as Yerry Mina was slow to get up and the Colombian was replaced by Seamus Coleman.

The reshuffled back four was soon under scrutiny. Mason Holgate got a vital touch to stop Rodri’s pass reaching the run of Joao Cancelo before Keane’s header prevented Mahrez’s cross from finding Gabriel Jesus at the far post.

And the pressure told with 32 minutes gone. Following a corner, Everton could only half-clear Mahrez’s cross and the ball fell for Foden whose shot took a deflection off Coleman to beat Jordan Pickford on the England goalkeeper’s return to the side.

City might have been expected to take complete control but instead they conceded six minutes later.

Coleman played an altogether different role in this one, picking out the run of Lucas Digne who fired onto the post, with the ball bouncing out to hit Richarlison on the thigh and go in.

It was only the second Premier League goal City had conceded in 45 days, and given the other was a Mohamed Salah penalty across Stanley Park, the first from open play.

The second half would be a different matter as City moved through the gears. Jesus, who had seven goals in his previous five against Everton, squandered a glorious chance when played in by Kyle Walker while Rodri headed Foden’s corner narrowly wide.

But the second goal came in the 63rd minute and in fine fashion.

Silva slipped the ball into the path of Mahrez as he cut in from the right, and with a sweep of his left boot the Algerian bent the ball in off the far post.

Ancelotti responded by sending on James Rodriguez and Josh King but there would be no second slip from City.

Instead they pushed further clear, with Silva putting his name on the scoresheet in the 77th minute as he linked up with Walker before lashing in a shot from the edge of the area.

Guardiola chose this as the moment to give De Bruyne his first action in almost a month, with this City juggernaut showing no signs of slowing just yet.

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HAALAND DAZZLES AS DORTMUND BEAT SEVILLA IN UCL ROUND OF 16

Haaland produced another deadly display of finishing with a first-half brace as Dortmund came from behind to beat Sevilla 3-2 in Spain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Suso’s deflected strike gave last season’s Europa League winners an early lead behind closed doors at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, but Mahmoud Dahoud soon equalised before Haaland took over.

The Norway phenomenon put Dortmund in front in the 27th minute and then scored again two minutes before half-time, the goals taking him to 25 in 24 appearances this season in all competitions.

Still aged just 20, he has scored 18 times in just 13 Champions League appearances since the start of last season.

Substitute Luuk de Jong’s late reply gave Sevilla cause for hope heading into the return leg on March 9, but Dortmund remain favourites to progress to the quarter-finals.

“We didn’t deserve to lose, but in the end they had one of the best players in the world up front and he made the difference in three situations which could have been avoided,” said Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui.

Haaland, who also set up Dahoud’s equaliser, produced a performance, in the first half at least, which showcased his remarkable strength, hold-up play and pace as well as his brilliant finishing.

It was too much for a Sevilla side who had come into this tie with high hopes, having only been beaten by La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, away, in their previous 19 outings.

Lopetegui’s team had won their previous nine matches on the bounce and had kept seven straight clean sheets before the arrival of Dortmund and Haaland.

“This was one of our best performances of the season,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic, who replaced the sacked Lucien Favre after the group phase, told Sky.

“We are pleased with the result and proud to have beaten such a team.”

Sevilla have won the Europa League or its predecessor, the UEFA Cup, an incredible six times since 2005, but only once have they got past the last 16 of the Champions League, when they beat Manchester United in 2018 before losing to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

The quality of Haaland was the difference here as Dortmund, having sunk to sixth in the Bundesliga on a poor run of form, came to life on their return to the Champions League.

“We had a good plan. Edin has been good and I’ve been talking a lot with him. He said today would be my game and that I would get my chances and I did, so it was an important win,” Haaland told news men.

Yet the game had started well for Sevilla, with Suso opening the scoring in the seventh minute, his shot deflecting in off Mats Hummels.

Dortmund drew level in the 19th minute as Haaland showed terrific strength to hold the ball up on the right before coming infield and feeding Dahoud, who worked his way into position to fire a superb shot high into net from just outside the area.

It was the first goal Sevilla had conceded in more than 12 hours of football.

Eight minutes later they conceded again.

Haaland dropped deep, collecting possession near the halfway line, and then turned and charged towards goal, playing a pass to Jadon Sancho on the edge of the box and then continuing on to place the return ball past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

He struck again two minutes before half-time, slotting home first-time after Marco Reus had stolen the ball from the feet of Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez before bearing down on goal.

However, Sevilla dominated the second half as Dortmund sat back, and the hosts got a potentially crucial second goal six minutes from the end.

Oscar Rodriguez’s high, hanging free-kick was turned into the net by De Jong, giving them something to cling to.

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UCL: FC PORTO STUN JUVENTUS IN 2-1 WIN AT HOME.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s first game for Juventus in his native Portugal ended in 2-1 defeat as FC Porto out-played the Italians for much of Wednesday’s Champions League last-16, first leg tie.

Such was Juve’s lacklustre performance that coach Andrea Pirlo claimed his team handed victory to their hosts on “a silver platter”.

Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi put Porto ahead after just a minute at Estadio do Dragao following a Rodrigo Bentancur error.

And Mali striker Moussa Marega added a second straight after the break.

But Federico Chiesa pulled a goal back with eight minutes to go to keep Juventus afloat with the second leg in Turin on 9 March.

“The approach was wrong from the first minute,” said Pirlo.

“When you concede a goal like this it’s normal that fear sets in, you lack a bit of certainty.

“Porto are good at closing down and after that goal it was much more difficult. We served them the match they wanted on a silver platter.

“Fortunately we scored an important goal through Chiesa and now we will focus on the return leg.”

It was a below-par performance by Juventus,chasing their third Champions League title and first in 25 years.

Record Champions League goal scorer Ronaldo, 36, drew a blank against a side captained by his Portuguese international teammate Pepe, as the visitors struggled to recover from their early blunder.

“We studied Juventus well,” said defender Pepe who won three Champions League titles with Ronaldo at Real Madrid.

“We knew that we had to press hard to keep Juventus from playing. In these type of games it’s difficult to concede goals at home, but we played a great game.”

It was a shocking start for Juventus, with Wojciech Szczesny sending the ball out to Bentancur, who passed back to the Polish goalkeeper despite Taremi being just on front of goal.

The Iranian quickly pounced to prod past Szczesny for his first Champions League goal.

Porto pressed forward with Juventus almost conceding a second on 23 minutes as Szczesny cleared straight to Sergio Oliveira whose shot was deflected away from goal.

To add to Andrea Pirlo’s woes captain Giorgio Chiellini limped off 10 minutes later with defender Merih Demiral coming off the bench.

Pirlo had juggled Juve’s defence with Leonardo Bonucci out injured with Alex Sandro returning, playing alongside veteran Chiellini, Matthijs de Ligt and Danilo.

Juve had to wait until four minutes before the break for their first shot on goal with an Adrien Rabiot overhead kick cleared by Porto ‘keeper Agustin Marchesin, but the offside flag had already been raised.

The Italians suffered another terrible start to the second half with Marega picking up a Wilson Manafa cross to finish low past Szczesny.

Ronaldo had to wait until five minutes after the break to have a shot on goal. Weston McKennie nodded the ball into the path of the Portuguese star, whose weak effort was blocked.

However, Chiesa pulled Juventus back into the tie following a Rabiot run down the right with a pull back for the Italian to finish off into the corner of the net.

“The goal will give us strength for the second leg, and it will certainly be another game,” said Chiesa.

It was the first goal conceded by Porto in the competition at home this season for the former two-time winners.

Ronaldo had penalty appeals waved away after going down under a Sanusi Zaidu challenge late as the hosts held on for their first win over Juventus in five meetings.

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LA LIGA LEADERS ATLETICO DROP POINTS AT LEVANTE AFTER ASTONISHING CORREA MISS

Diego Simeone’s men fell behind in an open contest as Enis Bardhi struck first for Levante in the 17th minute.

Marcos Llorente’s deflected strike drew Atletico level eight minutes before half-time but, following Correa’s astonishing miss in the second half, the visitors were left to settle for a point.

Their advantage over rivals Real Madrid stands at six points and Atletico still have a game in hand. Simeone, however, will likely be disappointed at this missed opportunity in a season where the title is theirs for the taking.

All that came of an energetic start from Atletico was a header from Luis Suarez that looped wide and they were soon punished for sloppy play in midfield.

After Atletico lost possession just inside their own half, Jorge de Frutos surged forward and slid an excellent pass into Bardhi to slot home.

The hosts saw chances to double the lead go begging as Roger Marti fired narrowly over the crossbar and Jose Luis Morales could only produce a tame effort at the end of a well-worked attack.

And they were made to pay as Saul Niguez forced Aitor Fernandez to turn behind for a corner, from which Llorente’s long-range effort was deflected past the goalkeeper by Rober Pier.

Two Fernandez saves in quick succession denied first Suarez and then Llorente to prevent Atletico completing the turnaround before half-time, though Correa should have done so shortly after the restart.

The goal was at his mercy after Fernandez made a fingertip save from Suarez, but Correa could only succeed in blazing high over the open goal.

Llorente went close to doubling his tally as Atletico ramped up the pressure, yet they failed to find the decisive goal and Levante hung on for a draw that will offer some hope to Madrid and Barcelona.

It is now 11 LaLiga games unbeaten for Atletico, but that will be cold comfort for Simeone, whose side had enough chances after going behind to claim victory and move eight points clear of Madrid.

Levante, who saw Carlos Clerc denied by Jan Oblak late on, remain comfortable in mid-table and were good value for a point.

The creator in chief for Atletico was undoubtedly Saul, who played five key passes during an impressive outing alongside goalscorer Llorente in midfield.

Correa’s miss was reflective of his overall performance, with none of his three shots in his 81 minutes on the pitch hitting the target

After making up a game in hand in Valencia, these two sides will do it all again at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.

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GUNDOGAN WILL BE BACK FOR ARSENAL – GUARDIOLA

Pep Guardiola insists in-form midfielder Ilkay Gundogan should be fit for Manchester City’s game at Arsenal on Sunday after the midfielder missed their win at Everton.

Gundogan, who has scored four goals in his last two league games against Tottenham and Liverpool, missed the 3-1 win at Goodison Park on Wednesday night with a slight groin injury.

City boss Guardiola revealed that the German’s absence from Wednesday’s matchday squad was precautionary and he looks set to return at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

‘He [Gundogan] is much, much better,’ Guardiola told the City club website after Wednesday’s win, their 17th straight victory in all competitions.

‘It is not a big issue, but to avoid risk today, we have given him a few more days to recover.

‘But for Arsenal and Borussia Monchengladbach he should be ready.

‘Of course Gundo is exceptional. We spoke about that. If you want to win titles and finals we need the whole squad.’

City face Borussia Monchengladbach next Wednesday in their Champions League last-16 first leg tie and will be boosted by the news of Gundogan’s fitness.

Playmaker Kevin De Bruyne also made his long-awaited return from injury on Wednesday night, as an 80th-minute substitute for Raheem Sterling.

Gundogan, meanwhile, is the most in-form player in the Premier League, having scored 11 goals in his last 12 league games.

City stretched their lead at the top of the table to 10 points as goals from Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva secured all three points against the Toffees