Edin Dzeko’s first goal for two months earned Manchester City a hard-fought 1-0 win at Wigan Athletic on Monday, which sent Roberto Mancini’s side three points clear at top of the Premier League.
The 25-year-old Bosnian’s sublime 22nd-minute header proved enough to sink the bottom club after Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi had threatened to frustrate the leaders.
Al Habsi produced a string of excellent saves both before and after Dzeko had netted his 14th goal for City this season.
Photo: Reuters
David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Dzeko were all denied by the Oman international, but City returned to winning ways to pull clear of nearest rivals Manchester United ahead of Sunday’s big home game with third-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
“I could have scored one or two more goals in the end, but I’m happy with the three points because it was a tough game and Wigan played very well,” Dzeko told Sky Sports. “I’m happy to score and help my team win. In football, sometimes you score and sometimes not, but I’m happy today.”
Having suffered back-to-back defeats in cup competitions, an away game against basement team Wigan provided City with the perfect opportunity to snap out of their winter blues.
The FA Cup elimination at the hands of Manchester United, as well as the League Cup first-leg home defeat to Liverpool, together with captain Vincent Kompany’s four-match suspension, had resulted in a poor start to the year for Mancini’s expensively assembled side, but they found relief at Wigan, whose record against the so-called big four is nothing short of diabolical.
Since winning promotion to the top flight in 2005, Wigan have lost all 14 league and cup games against Manchester United, while they have now gone 8 hours, 15 minutes without scoring against City.
Mancini was relieved to have stopped the rot.
“It was about the victory, not the performance tonight,” Mancini said. “It was really important to win tonight. We knew that was difficult because Wigan this month have played very well and Roberto Martinez is a fantastic manager.”
Martinez was annoyed by his team’s first-half performance, but buoyed by the spirit shown in the second period.
“The manner that we finished the game is probably what pleases me most,” said Martinez, whose side only escaped relegation on the final day of last season. “We probably had our worst first half this season, we were cagey, but in the second half we took control a bit more and I had the feeling in the last 20 minutes that there could be a chance coming our way.”
Wigan started brightly, with Scottish midfielder James McArthur seeing a third-minute shot deflected narrowly wide by James Milner, while the hosts were also denied a sixth-minute penalty.
Martin Atkinson has sent off six players this season, but the referee did not want to know when City’s England midfielder Gareth Barry appeared to lean into Jordi Gomez deep inside the visitors penalty area.
However, Wigan, like their season, quickly fizzled out and City, captained by Pablo Zabaleta on the Argentine’s 27th birthday, gradually began to take command.
The home side, who had conceded 11 times in their previous three league games, were undone by a simple set-piece midway through the first half as Dzeko found the net with a superb header after meeting Silva’s inch-perfect free-kick.
It was the former VfL Wolfsburg player’s first goal in 14 games for club and country, yet despite the quality of the finish, it was far too easy for City.
Wigan are now without a win in their last nine home attempts in the league, yet they can count themselves fortunate to have escaped a hiding.
Al Habsi produced a flying world-class save to deny Dzeko a second after 55 minutes, before the Oman international frustrated Silva moments later.
Then Aguero went on a sensational mazy run which had Wigan’s defense chasing shadows, but just when the former Atletico Madrid player looked set to walk the ball into the net, Dzeko spoiled it all by taking the ball off his toe, allowing Al Habsi to make an easy save.
“I was waiting for him to shoot,” Dzeko said. “In the end, the ball came to me and he wanted to shoot, and I wanted to shoot, but it doesn’t matter. We’re happy now.”
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
Dale Earnhardt Jr might already be NASCAR’s most popular crew chief. He is certainly an undefeated one. Pressed into unexpected service, Earnhardt on Saturday called the shots for 18-year-old prospect Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Chevrolet, as they landed in victory lane in the second-tier Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway. “It felt good to have some input and decisionmaking power,” Earnhardt said. “And then helping Connor understand what our plan was so he knew when to push and what he was expected to do.” Earnhardt — who won NASCAR’s most-popular driver award 15 times — made a pit stop from his
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
RSS