Manchester City went top of the Premier League after securing a controversial 2-0 win at Newcastle United on Sunday with an early Edin Dzeko goal and a stoppage time effort from Alvaro Negredo.
Newcastle were incensed that a stunning volley from Ivorian international
midfielder Cheick Tiote was disallowed by referee Mike Jones after 34 minutes when the hosts trailed 1-0.
Tiote smashed the ball home with a swerving 20-metre left-foot shot, but, as the Newcastle players were celebrating, the referee consulted with his linesman and disallowed the goal.
They decided that Yoan Gouffran, who was standing in an offside position three yards from goal, was interfering with play and blocking goalkeeper Joe Hart’s line of vision.
Tiote, who has only scored one goal for Newcastle in 104 appearances, told the BBC: “I think it was a goal and I don’t know why the referee didn’t accept it.
“We asked the referee to explain why he didn’t give the goal, but he didn’t say anything so we had to get on with it.”
United manager Alan Pardew told Sky Sports he also did not know why the goal was disallowed as he felt Hart’s vision was not impaired.
“The referee has not been clear in his answers. I don’t understand it. Even if Man City’s defenders were on the edge of the box and we’d have had four offside, its such a clean hit it was going in the top corner so there was no way Gouffran was in Joe’s view.
“Unfortunately that was a massive call and he has denied it on a tiny technicality here which I think was wrong. It had an impact because we were so frustrated and could not have played any better.”
PERFECT RUN
Dzeko swept City into the lead after eight minutes, timing his run perfectly to meet a cross from Aleksandr Kolarov to plant the ball past Tim Krul.
Their second came in the final seconds when Negredo beat the offside trap and scored at the second attempt after his first effort was blocked by Krul for City’s 94th goal of the season in all competitions.
“It was a very difficult game and it’s a very big result as we know it’s a tough place to come and win,” Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini told the BBC.
“It was an offside goal as they were interfering with Joe Hart and the referee made that call,” he added of Tiote’s strike.
City moved on to 47 points from 21 matches, one ahead of Chelsea. Arsenal, who started the weekend top, will go back to the summit if they win at Aston Villa on Monday.
The one blot for City was seeing Frenchman Samir Nasri carried off on a stretcher in the later stages with what appeared to be a serious knee injury after a clattering from defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa who was booked for the challenge.
“I think the tackle on Nasri should have been a red card,” added Pellegrini.
It was City’s 10th successive win over Newcastle in all competitions and the third time they have beaten them this season after a 4-0 win at the Etihad on the opening day of the season and a 2-0 win at St James’ Park in the Capital One (League) Cup in October.
The Magpies have now lost three successive league games and are eighth in the table with 33 points.
In the day’s other match,
Luis Suarez scored twice as Liverpool recorded their first victory at Stoke in the Premier League to keep in sight of leaders Manchester City.
They took a 2-0 lead in the first half following an own goal from Ryan Shawcross and a strike from Suarez.
Stoke hit back through a Peter Crouch header and a superb Charlie Adam shot.
Steven Gerrard made it 3-2 from the spot and Suarez fired in an angled shot before Jon Walters’s strike, but Daniel Sturridge sealed the win late on.
That last goal came with three minutes of the 90 remaining, which still was enough time for Crouch to head against the post and for Simon Mignolet to produce an outstanding save to prevent Gerrard from finding his own net.
In total, there were 13 efforts on goal from each side and eight goals at the Britannia Stadium, which had previously witnessed only seven goals against Stoke in the league this season.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will be bemoaning his side’s defending, as will opposite number Mark Hughes, but will be thrilled by the reunion of Sturridge and Suarez in attack.
Loose Liverpool
Liverpool have conceded at least two goals in seven of their last eight Premier League away games
The England international, who had not played because of an ankle injury since 23 November, came on in the 66th minute and five minutes later provided the assist for Suarez’s second. And with three minutes remaining, the Uruguay forward found his partner, who then scored the fifth as the Reds moved to within five points of the leaders.
Liverpool began brilliantly and were in cruise control up until six minutes before the break. Shawcross inadvertently found the net after Aly Cissokho’s drive took a huge deflection off his leg, before Suarez capitalised on errors from Marc Wilson and the goalscorer to slot in the second.
Stoke’s riposte to going two goals down was commendable. They reduced the arrears when Austrian winger Marko Arnautovic, in the team for the ineligible Oussama Assaidi, flung in a ball from the left which Crouch guided into Mignolet’s bottom right.
They then levelled in spectacular style when another ex-Red, Adam, drove forward, after losing his footing, and launched a ferocious shot from 20 yards that easily beat the Belgium keeper.
However, Liverpool were back in front six minutes after the restart.
Once again it was a defensive mistake and once again it was Wilson. The Republic of Ireland defender, in an attempt to find a team-mate, played the ball to the effervescent Raheem Sterling. The Liverpool winger sped into the area before he was pushed over by Wilson, who was trying to atone for his initial mistake.
Captain Gerrard, who was playing in a holding midfielder role on his 650th appearance for the club, slotted in his spot-kick to Jack Butland’s left.
And Liverpool twisted the knife once more when substitute Sturridge jinked one way then the other before playing in Suarez, who smacked an angled drive that nestled in the bottom left.
It should have been game over, but there was still time for one more Stoke response when Walters was quick to pick up the loose ball in the area before firing in past the reach of Mignolet.
With Stoke pouring forward in search of an equaliser, they were left exposed at the back allowing Suarez to break and find Sturridge.
The ex-Chelsea player’s initial strike was saved by Butland, but he stayed alert to pick up the follow-up, juggle the ball and fire in at the far post.
League Table
| Played | Goal Difference | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View full table | ||||
| Moving up 1 | Man City | 21 | 36 | 47 |
| Moving down 2 | Chelsea | 21 | 21 | 46 |
| Moving down 3 | Arsenal | 20 | 21 | 45 |
| Moving up 4 | Liverpool | 21 | 25 | 42 |
| Moving down 5 | Everton | 21 | 15 | 41 |
| Moving down 6 | Tottenham | 21 | 1 | 40 |
| No Movement 7 | Man Utd | 21 | 11 | 37 |
| No Movement 8 | Newcastle | 21 | 2 | 33 |
| No Movement 9 | Southampton | 21 | 4 | 30 |
| No Movement 10 | Hull | 21 | -5 | 23 |
| No Movement 11 | Aston Villa | 20 | -6 | 23 |
| No Movement 12 | Stoke | 21 | -13 | 22 |
| No Movement 13 | Swansea | 21 | -4 | 21 |
| No Movement 14 | West Brom | 21 | -5 | 21 |
| No Movement 15 | Norwich | 21 | -18 | 20 |
| No Movement 16 | Fulham | 21 | -24 | 19 |
| No Movement 17 | West Ham | 21 | -9 | 18 |
| No Movement 18 | Cardiff | 21 | -19 | 18 |
| No Movement 19 | Sunderland | 21 | -15 | 17 |
| No Movement 20 | Crystal Palace | 21 | -18 | 17 |
Reuters