Manchester City make it count with 3-0 win, over to Reds

Manchester, April 21

Manchester City scored three times in the second half to reclaim top spot in the Premier League with a 3-0 victory over Brighton.

The scoreline did not tell the full story of a nervy contest at Etihad Stadium in which the champions were frustrated by Brighton before the break.

It took deflected strikes from Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden for them to break through and the sense of relief that swept round the ground after an anxious opening period was tangible.

Bernardo Silva settled any nerves completely with a fine third goal for the hosts eight minutes from time as City regained their one-point lead.

Liverpool’s 4-0 hammering of Manchester United on Tuesday had put the pressure back on City in a thrilling title race.

In another match, Eddie Nketiah scored two goals against Chelsea in the Gunners’ 4-2 away win.

No stopping Madrid

Madrid: Not even an off-day for Karim Benzema was enough to keep Real Madrid from moving closer to clinching the Spanish league title.

Benzema missed two penalties seven minutes apart in the second half but Madrid went on to earn a 3-1 win at Osasuna Wednesday to open a 17-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid, who can no longer catch their rivals as both teams have five games left to play. Barcelona are 18 points back but have seven games to play, meaning they still have a theoretical chance to catch Madrid.

Juve in Italian Cup final

Turin: Federico Bernardeschi scored against his former club as Juventus beat Fiorentina 2-0 on Wednesday to set up an Italian Cup final against Inter Milan.

Aiming to defend their title, Juventus advanced on 3-0 aggregate. Defending Serie A champions Inter beat city rivals AC Milan 3-0 on Tuesday to advance. — AP

United get fifth manager in 9 years

Manchester: A model of stability in Alex Ferguson’s long trophy-filled tenure, Manchester United hired a fifth full-time manager in nine years since his retirement by bringing in Erik ten Hag from Ajax. Ten Hag’s arrival was announced by United today and the 52-year-old Dutchman will join at the end of the season to 2025. He’s tasked with awakening a fallen superpower in European soccer that is enduring its longest trophy drought in nearly 40 years. United has been led by interim managers Michael Carrick and currently Ralf Rangnick since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired in November. Adopting the attacking philosophy of the great Johan Cruyff, ten Hag succeeded in bringing the good times back to Ajax. AP