City Berpeluang Raih Juara Liga Premier Inggris
City Move into Driving Seat in Thrilling EPL Title Race
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
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London (B2B) - Manchester City menempel ketat Chelsea dalam persaingan tiga besar Liga Utama Inggris setelah mengalahkan tuan rumah Crystal Palace 2-0 di Selhurst Park, Senin dinihari WIB.
Bermain di kandang lawan, City dengan cepat membuktikan ketangguhannya ketika Edin Dzeko mencetak gol pada empat menit pertama pertandingan, seperti dilansir Yahoo Sports.
Bola umpan silang Yaya Toure diselesaikan Dzeko dengan gemilang melalui sundulan kepala dan masuk ke sudut kiri bawah gawang Palace.
Namun gol cepat Dzeko tidak kunjung bertambah meskipun City beberapa kali mengancam gawang Palace melalui Aguero, Kompany, dan Yaya Toure.
Sementara tuan rumah Palace yang hanya sedikit berkutik, membahayakan gawang City melalui Jason Puncheon pada menit 17.
Gol kedua yang menghantar kemenangan 2-0 City, baru tercipta pada akhir babak pertama melalui tendangan kaki kiri Yaya Toure pada menit 43.
Sepanjang babak kedua, kedua tim tidak juga berhasil mengubah skor, meskipun masing-masing sudah berupaya keras.
Dengan kemenangan 2-0, Manchester City menguntit dekat penghuni tempat kedua klasemen Liga Utama Inggris, Chelsea, dengan poin 77.
Chelsea yang pada pertandingan sebelumnya mengalahkan pemuncak klasemen Liverpool 2-0, tetap berada di posisi kedua dengan nilai 78, hanya satu poin di atas City.
Liverpool, meskipun kalah di kandang dari Chelsea, tetap memimpin klasemen dengan torehan poin 80 yang dihasilkan dari 36 pertandingan.
Manchester City yang baru melakoni 35 pertandingan, unggul satu tabungan pertandingan dibanding dua pesaing utamanya--Liverpool dan Chelsea--masih punya peluang menggusur di antara dua tim itu apabila memenangi pertandingan-pertandingan selanjutnya, demikian mengutip data hasil pertandingan dari Premier League.
London - Manchester City took advantage of Liverpool´s slip to put the destiny of the Premier League title back in their own hands as Yaya Toure inspired a 2-0 victory against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Manuel Pellegrini´s side had received a huge boost when leaders Liverpool crashed to a 2-0 home defeat against Chelsea earlier in the day.
That result put a spring in City´s step and before the first half was over at Selhurst Park they had seized the unexpected opportunity to regain control of the title race thanks to Edin Dzeko´s opener and a sublime effort from Ivory Coast midfielder Toure.
City remain third but they are now only three points adrift of Liverpool, crucially with a game in hand and a vastly superior goal difference, and one behind second placed Chelsea.
After a potentially defining weekend in the title race, Pellegrini´s men know that, whatever Liverpool and Chelsea do in their last two matches, City will be crowned champions for the second time in three years if they win their final three fixtures at Everton next Saturday and then at home against Aston Villa and West Ham -- providing they maintain their goal difference advantage over Liverpool.
Pellegrini has had never much time for Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho after a series of spats during their time in Spain, but the City boss received a major favour from his old rival, to the delight of 2,500 City supporters watching the conclusion of the Blues´ win at Anfield just before kick-off on a big screen inside Selhurst Park.
Two weeks after seeming to have squandered the title initiative with a loss at Liverpool and a draw against Sunderland, City were back in charge of their own fate.
And just as significantly, they had already received another fillip with Toure returning to the starting line-up after a groin injury.
It was Toure who was the catalyst for fired-up City to take the lead in the fourth minute.
Pellegrini´s team had hemmed Palace back onto the edge of their own penalty area when Toure, given too much time on the ball, curled a perfect cross towards Dzeko.
