De Bruyne sends City top, Vardy eyes record

Belgian winger Kevin De Bruyne scored once and created two goals as Manchester City overcame Southampton 3-1 on Saturday to provisionally reclaim first place in the Premier League table.

De Bruyne scored for the first time in six games to put City ahead at the Etihad Stadium and went on to create goals for Fabian Delph and Aleksandar Kolarov, with Shane Long replying for Southampton.

But victory came at the cost of an injury to Sergio Aguero, who hobbled off in the second half, and both Leicester City and Manchester United will have designs on supplanting City when they meet later on Saturday.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini had seen his side dismantled 4-1 by Liverpool on their previous outing and he was forced to do without injured goalkeeper Joe Hart, who was replaced by Willy Caballero.

But the hosts went in front in the ninth minute when Raheem Sterling robbed Maya Yoshida and crossed for De Bruyne to tap home from close range.
De Bruyne's corner in the 20th minute allowed Delph to crown his first league start for City with his first goal for the club, a 25-yard shot that deflected in off Virgil van Dijk.

Long reduced the arrears with a header from a Sadio Mane's cross early in the second half, but Kolarov restored City's two-goal cushion by lashing in from De Bruyne's dinked cross in the 70th minute.

Aguero had departed by that stage, having turned his ankle as he landed after challenging for a high ball, but on the plus side City were able to welcome back both Wilfried Bony and David Silva from injury.

City moved a point above Leicester, whose striker Jamie Vardy will set a new Premier League record of scoring in 11 consecutive games if he finds the net against third-place United at the King Power Stadium.

- Palace humble Newcastle -
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew oversaw a 5-1 victory for his side that sent his former employers Newcastle United into the relegation zone, increasing the pressure on his struggling successor Steve McClaren.

Papiss Cisse put Newcastle ahead with a 10th-minute header, but Palace hit back through Wilfried Zaha and braces from Yannick Bolasie and James McArthur.

Bournemouth moved above Newcastle, but remain in the bottom three, after a thrilling finale at Dean Court saw them fight back twice to hold Everton to a 3-3 draw.

After Ramiro Funes Mori and Romelu Lukaku put Everton in control, Bournemouth hit back to level through a spectacular 25-yard strike by Adam Smith and an 87th-minute effort from Junior Stanislas.

Ross Barkley looked to have given Everton victory when he restored their lead in the fifth minute of stoppage time, only for Stanislas to snatch an implausible equaliser with a cool header three minutes later.

Sunderland climbed out of the relegation places at Newcastle's expense with a 2-0 home win over Stoke City, Patrick van Aanholt and Duncan Watmore scoring late on after visiting captain Ryan Shawcross was sent off.

Aston Villa remain bottom and are now seven points from safety after a 3-2 home defeat by Watford left new manager Remi Garde without a win in three matches.

Villa captain Micah Richards cancelled out Odion Ighalo's 17th-minute opener for Watford, but an Alan Hutton own goal and a Troy Deeney header gave Watford the points. Jordan Ayew netted a late consolation for Villa.
Source: AFP