New Year’s Day brought yet another round of action in the English Premiership, and Barça’s Champions League opponents Manchester City welcomed in 2015 with a 3-2 win over Sunderland. Yaya Touré, Jovetic and Lampard all found the target in a manic 16-minute period in which all five goals were scored.
But there was better news still to come for Manuel Pelligrini’s side. Later on in afternoon, Tottenham blitzed Chelsea 5-3 at White Hart Lane, meaning City now share the lead in the table.
The game got off to a slow start, with Gus Poyet opting for a defensive approach whereby Sunderland smothered everything Man City threw at them. An uneventful first 45 minutes ended without score.
But while the first half was dull, the second was packed with drama. After 57 minutes, former FCB man Yaya Touré fired home the opening goal from outside the area. Nine minutes later Jovetic extended that lead with a deft back-heel.
The goals drew Sunderland into action, and in the space of just three minutes they were back level. Rodwell got the first from a corner, and then Johnson added a penalty, with City’s Navas hitting the post in between. But the frenzy wasn’t over. Two minutes after seeing their lead dissipate to nothing, the sky blues were back in command when substitute Lampard headed home to make it 3-2. That lead would almost certainly have been extended had Sunderland keeper Pantilimon not been in such fine form.
The win, coupled with Chelsea’s dramatic defeat, leaves both Man City and the Londoners tied on 46 points at the top of the Premier League.
