LONDON — Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero sent Manchester City back to the top of the English Premier League after being gifted goals by Fulham to seal a 2-0 victory on Saturday.
City moved a point ahead of Liverpool, which hosts Tottenham on Sunday but will have played a game more than Pep Guardiola’s defending champions.
It is little wonder Fulham is next-from-last and facing relegation given the sloppiness of the defending before both City goals.
A misplaced, casual clearance by Timothy Fosu-Mensah in the fifth minute was seized on by Kevin de Bruyne. Aguero received the ball from the Belgian and he teed up Bernardo Silva to strike low into the net.
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Fulham was so ineffective on the ball that, when the hosts finally strung passes together in the 15th minute, there were ironic cheers around Craven Cottage.
It was a brief intermission from the City supremacy.
Fulham defender Joe Bryan even helped City with its second goal in the 27th.
Bryan’s slack attempt to pass the ball back to Calum Chambers was intercepted and Bernardo Silva squared to Aguero, who struck past goalkeeper Sergio Rico for his 19th league goal.
With a comfortable lead and little threat from Fulham, City could afford its finishing being wayward after the break when Aguero came off injured.
"He says he felt something, but hopefully he’s not injured," Guardiola said. "He decided on not continuing. Hopefully it will not be a big issue."
Next up is another game against relegation-threatened opposition, with Cardiff going to City on Wednesday.
Among its remaining seven games, City still has to play a resurgent Manchester United and third-placed Tottenham.
"Seven games left for the Premier League, and it’s easy — we have to win every game to be champions," Guardiola said. "We have a tough, tough opponent (Liverpool). But that’s the challenge."
Fulham is 13 points from safety with 18 points to play for.
Another good start for Solskjaer as Man United beats Watford
MANCHESTER, England — Goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial secured a scrappy 2-1 home win for Manchester United against Watford in the Premier League on Saturday as the Red Devils leapfrogged Arsenal into the last Champions League spot.
As Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrated his first match in charge as permanent manager, the win lifted United to fourth in the standings, one point above the Gunners. Arsenal has a match in hand.
On a sunny afternoon at Old Trafford, United did not impress. Rashford concluded one of his team’s few chances at the end of a rapid counterattack to give the hosts the lead in the 28th minute. Watford continued to impress after the interval but Martial doubled United’s lead from close range in the 72nd.
Abdoulaye Doucoure pulled one back with a last-minute effort.
Solksjaer, a former United striker, was named the club’s permanent manager on Thursday, having replaced the fired Jose Mourinho on an interim basis in December. Under the Norwegian coach, United has lost only once in 14 league games.
Burnley stays above drop zone by beating Wolves
BURNLEY, England — Burnley boosted its hopes of avoiding relegation from the English Premier League by beating Wolves 2-0 on Saturday to end a run of four straight defeats.
Burnley still hovered just above the drop zone after its first top-flight win over Wolves since 1963.
Conor Coady’s third own goal of the season launched Burnely within two minutes, and teenager Dwight McNeil showed composure to fire into the bottom right corner and put the result beyond doubt in the 77th. It was one of Burnley’s few chances in the second half.
The win helped Sean Dyche celebrate his 300th match in charge of Burnley.
Saints beat Brighton to boost survival hopes
BRIGHTON, England — Southampton enjoyed a double boost on Saturday by taking a significant step toward English Premier League survival with a 1-0 win over Brighton, and increasing the relegation concerns of its south coast rival.
Saints captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg earned the visitors victory at Amex Stadium by scoring his first goal since December.
Southampton winger Nathan Redmond’s driving run and perfectly weighted pass slipped Hojbjerg in on goal and he produced a composed poke past Mathew Ryan and into the bottom right corner in the 53rd minute.
Brighton almost levelled when right back Martin Montoya crashed a shot against the crossbar from the edge of the box with 18 minutes to go. Chris Hughton’s side, which grabbed a last-gasp equalizer at St Mary’s in September, was unable to salvage a draw.
The result moved Southampton level on points with the Seagulls, five above the drop zone ahead of 18th-placed Cardiff’s clash with Chelsea on Sunday.
Leicester beats Bournemouth amid fresh tributes to Vichai
LEICESTER, England — Brendan Rodgers celebrated a third victory in four games at the start of his managerial reign as Leicester beat Bournemouth 2-0 in the English Premier League on a day of fresh tributes to the club’s former owner.
With Harry Maguire suspended, 35-year-old captain Wes Morgan started and scored in the 11th minute on Saturday.
Jamie Vardy added a second in the 82nd, beating Asmir Begovic to Youri Tielemans’ cross to head the ball into an empty net.
The 61st minute was an emotional moment inside the stadium as Leicester fans united to applaud the memory of former chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who would have celebrated his 61st birthday in the coming days.
Vichai died, along with four others, in a helicopter crash just outside King Power Stadium in October.
Leicester is eighth in the league and Bournemouth is 12th.
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