City collapse, United a win away from glory

League leaders could seal Premier League crown against Aston Villa tonight .

LONDON:

Manchester City’s slim hopes of retaining the Premier League title were all but extinguished as they collapsed to a 3-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane yesterday.

Leading 1-0 through Samir Nasri’s early goal, City looked as though they would prolong the title race for another week at least but Tottenham produced a stunning burst of three goals in seven minutes to keep alive their hopes of a top-four finish.

With five games left, City are 13 points behind Manchester United, who will seal a 20th English title if they beat relegation-threatened Aston Villa at home tonight.

Clint Dempsey levelled for Spurs after 75 minutes before substitute Jermain Defoe curled a superb second four minutes later to turn the match on its head. Gareth Bale’s chip in the 82nd minute completed the comeback for the hosts.

Villa out to halt United’s title procession

Meanwhile, Villa will travel to Old Trafford buoyed by a run of form in which they have taken 10 points from a possible 15 and knowing that a surprise victory would have huge ramifications at the bottom of the table.



Villa have beaten Stoke City 3-1 and drawn 1-1 at home to Fulham in their last two outings and United manager Ferguson says their recent performances prove they have the stomach for the relegation fight.

“We expect a scrap,” he said. “The least you expect is for a team to fight for everything when they’re down there.

“Villa showed against Stoke that they have a bit of life about them and they should have won their game against Fulham last week. When I saw the structure of those teams, they looked really positive selections.

“A lot of teams in that situation may pick a team to get something out of the game. Paul Lambert picked a team to win. There is a distinction.”

Arteta injury sparks Arsenal concern

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger faces an anxious wait to discover whether Mikel Arteta sustained any damage in the challenge that earned Fulham’s Steve Sidwell a 12th-minute red card in the sides’ encounter at Craven Cottage.

Sidwell’s early dismissal helped Wenger’s side secure a 1-0 victory on Saturday. Arteta, Arsenal’s captain on the day, played on for the rest of the match, but Wenger fears the midfielder could yet suffer a reaction ahead of next weekend’s meeting with Manchester United.

“We will see if he is fine,” said Wenger. “He played the second half. I don’t know how much damage is done. It is a kick, a bad kick.

“I don’t know if he has twisted his ankle or not. In these kind of things, it is a question of a fraction of a second.

“You can just ease a little bit off. If you are fully on your foot at the moment you get it, you break your leg. If you ease a bit off, maybe that is why he got away with it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 22^nd, 2013.