The Nation Newspaper

Tag: David Silva

  • Manchester City players dominate PFA Team of the Year

    Players from the Premier League champions-in-waiting Manchester City dominated the Professional Footballers’ Association’s ( PFA ) Team of the Year announced on Wednesday, occupying five out of 11 spots.

    City defenders Kyle Walker and Nicolas Otamendi, midfielders David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne as well as all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero were named in the side.

    Tottenham Hotspur had three players on the list, including England striker Harry Kane, who made the team for a third straight year along with Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

    Read Also: Champions League: Manchester City & Barcelona Out

    Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who has 40 goals across all competitions this season and was nominated for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, also made the team.

    Chelsea had a lone representative in defender Marcos Alonso.

    PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero.

    NAN

  • Late goal by Silva extends Manchester City’s winning run to 13 games

    Late goal by Silva extends Manchester City’s winning run to 13 games

    David Silva scored a late goal as runaway English Premier League leaders Manchester City restored their eight-point lead with a 2-1 victory against West Ham United on Sunday.

    Silva converted Kevin de Bruyne’s brilliant pass from close range in the 83rd minute as City maintained their blistering form this season and won their 13th successive EPL game.

    Nicolas Otamendi had converted substitute Gabriel Jesus’s cross in the 57th minute to equalise, after defender Angelo Ogbonna had headed West Ham into the lead.

    It was the most unlikely lead at the end of a first half in which the hosts dominated.

    City have not lost a game since April, and face second-place rivals Manchester United next Sunday.

    West Ham, who have won only twice all season, sit 19th — three points behind West Bromwich Albion in 17th.

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, in his post-match comment, said: “Today was different to (the late winning goal against) Southampton — I did not think that was going to happen.

    “But today, since after five minutes in the second half, I felt we were going to score. Our pace and pass were quicker and better. That is why we are so happy — every game is so tough and it is important to keep our momentum.

    “We started well but lost our patience and couldn’t find the players in position. They moved too much.

    “But you have ups and downs — what is important is that in the second half it was outstanding the way we played.

    “It means we have done 39 points in a row. That is a lot. You see how they run and how they fight, that’s why we are so proud again.

    “Before next week’s match against Manchester United, we have to travel to Ukraine and after that think about Old Trafford. We are going to try to be who we are,” he said.

    West Ham manager David Moyes, on his part, said: “I have to say it was a really good effort. We defended much better today.

    “We’ve worked a bit on it. We had one day where we could prepare.

    “We needed our goalkeeper to play well. He got both hands to most things. I thought most of it was outside the box. I have to say we did a really good job.

    “What a chance we had to make it 2-2 late on. My feeling was I thought we deserved it (to equalise).

    “You get results in different ways and it looked as though we might have got one today. Our effort today was top. For long parts of the game, we were in with a chance of getting a result.

    NAN

  • Man city move closer to top four finish

    Man city move closer to top four finish

     

    Manchester City took a step closer towards guaranteeing a top-four finish in the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Leicester City at Etihad Stadium, but were helped by a disallowed Riyad Mahrez penalty.

    Goals from David Silva and Gabriel Jesus were enough for Pep Guardiola’s side to make it back-to-back wins in the top flight, despite a fine strike from Shinji Okazaki for the visitors.

    Mahrez saw his converted second-half spot kick ruled out for touching the ball twice as Leicester pushed for an equaliser, but Manchester City held firm for an important, if not wholly convincing, victory.

    Leicester, who saw their title officially taken from them by Chelsea on Friday, won the reverse fixture in December 4-2 but found themselves behind in controversial fashion here.

    Silva’s second goal in as many games was allowed to stand despite uncertainty over whether Raheem Sterling had made contact with the ball from an offside position as it found the net.

    Jesus’ penalty doubled the lead before Okazaki halved the deficit shortly before the break, and although Mahrez thought he had levelled the scores in the final 15 minutes, his penalty was disallowed after he touched the ball twice.

    The victory moves Manchester City onto 72 points and above Liverpool into third in the table, with a six-point cushion between them and fifth-placed Arsenal .

  • Monchengladbach 1-1 Man City: Iheanacho benched as Citizen secure draw

    Monchengladbach 1-1 Man City: Iheanacho benched as Citizen secure draw

    Kelechi Iheanacho was benched as Manchester City sealed a place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a 1-1 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach at Borussia-Park this evening.

    Had Barcelona not defeated Celtic, Pep Guardiola’s men would have needed to beat Gladbach, but it turned out that the Spanish giants earned a 2-0 win Glasgow.

    In Germany, Raffael put the Bundesliga outfit ahead with a goal, but City found a lifeline when David Silva scored on the stroke of half-time.

    Both teams had a man sent off in the second half, with Gladbach captain Lars Stindl and City’s Fernandinho being shown second yellow cards by referee Cuneyt Cakir.

    The hosts had to wait patiently as City dominated possession in the first half, but they went ahead in the 23rd minute when Stindl left John Stones in a heap before cutting the ball back to the centre of the box to find Raffael, who hammered the ball into the back of the net.

    One minute later, City found an equaliser through Silva, who nudged the ball home from close range after De Bruyne fizzed the ball across goal after darting towards the byline. Both sides had opportunities towards the end of the game, but neither could find a winner as City booked their place in the knockout rounds, while Gladbach will be hoping for Europa League qualification. There is one more round of fixtures left in the group stage.