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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 5, 2014
Late City goals cut Chelsea advantage, Liverpool win By Tom Hayward
LONDON, (Reuters) - Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero struck late as Premier League champions Manchester City climbed within two points of table-topping Chelsea thanks to a patient 2-0 victory at a resolute Aston Villa yesterday. Toure curled home a beautifully placed low shot in the 82nd minute before Aguero thundered in a second six minutes later after the visitors spurned a host of chances in what had been a dominant yet wasteful display. City climbed to second with 14 points, one point ahead of third-placed Southampton and two behind Chelsea who host Arsenal in a London derby today. Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson scored as Liverpool registered their first league win since August by grinding out a hard-fought 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Anfield. Papiss Cisse struck twice to ease the growing pressure on under-fire New-
attacks, chances were in regular supply, though their Bosnia forward Edin Dzeko was guilty of wasting three clear opportunities in the opening period. The second half began at a frantic paste with Aguero hitting the post before Kieran Richardson was let down by a poor touch as he raced clear at the opposite end.
CREATIVE MAESTRO With creative maestro David Silva dictating City’s
As a goalless draw beckoned Toure, criticised in recent months for a series of anonymous performances, was granted space on the edge of the area and dispatched a precise shot. Aguero doubled the lead minutes later with a powerful shot from the edge of the area as City recorded their first league clean sheet since the opening day of the campaign. “It is a fantastic win. Full credit to Villa for the way they played but in the second half we did the job,” Toure told Sky Sports. “The most important thing for me is to try my best. I need to work harder and continue
India selectors have gambled on teenage chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav. for Kolkata Knight Riders sacrifices they made to make in the CLT20 that looks to me a cricketer,” Kuldeep told have earned him his national PTI. “I was disheartened and completely broken when the spot. His unorthodox style of UP management didn’t find bowling, coupled with an me good enough to play ability to bowl the wrong Ranji Trophy. My parents and child‘un have helped him keep his place in the Knight hood coach consoled me a Riders side so far despite lot at that time. I started the presence of the senior working harder and today, pair of Sunil Narine and I am in the Indian team.” In Ashwin’s absence Piyush Chawla. from the national team, “Today is the day when my parents have been re- Kuldeep will have to contest warded for the amount of for the second spinner’s spot
with leg-spinner Mishra, who missed the England series with an injury. While the spin department had a reshuffle, there was little change in other areas of the squad, with no major surprises in the batting or the fast bowling. M Vijay, who flew to England as a replacement when Rohit Sharma got injured, remains in the side with Rohit still out injured. India play the first of five ODIs against West Indies on October 8, in Kochi. Squad for first three ODIs MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, M Vijay, Kuldeep Yadav Out: R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sanju Samson, Karn Sharma In: Kuldeep Yadav, Amit Mishra.
Liverpool’s Adam Lallana celebrates after scoring the opening goal during their English Premier League soccer match against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield in Liverpool, northern England, yesterday. castle United manager Alan Pardew in a 2-2 draw against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium. Sunderland beat Stoke City 3-1 for their first league win of the season, Hull City beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to condemn Neil Warnock to his first league defeat since
returning to the south London club and Ross Wallace scored deep into stoppage time as Burnley grabbed a 2-2 draw against Leicester City.
going and the most important thing for me and the team is to repeat what we did last year. LACKLUSTRE DISPLAY Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers dropped Mario Balotelli after being critical of the Italy striker’s shortage of goals following a lacklustre 1-0 Champions League loss at FC Basel in midweek. A reinvigorated West Brom were rarely troubled before England international Lallana gave the hosts the lead on the stroke of halftime. The 26-year-old exchanged passes with England team mate Henderson before dispatching a sharp finish low into the bottom corner for his first Liverpool goal. West Brom started the second half brightly and restored parity after 56 min-
utes through Saido Berahino’s fifth league goal of the season. The 21-year-old coolly converted his penalty after he was felled by Dejan Lovren, despite the infringement appearing to occur outside the area. The visitors continued to take the game to Liverpool but fell behind again after Henderson collected Raheem Sterling’s pass and finished smartly. “It was vital (we won). We needed to find a way to win today against a side that is really high on confidence,” Rodgers told Sky Sports. “An excellent result on the back of a disappointing European result. Their penalty was outside the box but the players showed their character and resilience to keep going and find a winner. It was an outstanding win for us.”
Pakistan’s Hafeez out of Australia Ashwin rested, Kuldeep picked in through injury India’s ODI squad to face Windies ODIs KARACHI,
INDIA’s selectors have gambled on teenage chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who has had an impressive Champions League T20 campaign, in the 14-man squad for the first three ODIs against West Indies. The major changes in the squad came in the spin department, with lead spinner R Ashwin rested, Amit Mishra returning and legspinner Karn Sharma missing out. Uncapped teenage wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson who was part of the limited-overs squad in England has been left out, as have allrounder Stuart Binny and quick bowler Dhawal Kulkarni. The India call-up marks a stunning rise for Kuldeep, who is yet to play a domestic one-dayer and whose entire senior experience consists of 8 Twenty20 matches. He was part of India’s squad for the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, but it was his six wickets at an economy rate of 6.62
(Reuters) - Pakistan all rounder Muhammad Hafeez has been ruled out of the limited-overs series against Australia due to a hand injury he sustained during a practice game. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Hafeez required five stitches after he split the webbing between the thumb and index finger of his left hand on Friday. “The physio has suggested a minimum of two weeks rest which rules him out of the one-day series,” a spokesman said. “The tour management committee has decided to send Hafeez back to Pakistan since there was no point in retaining him on the tour.” The selectors announced that uncapped opener Sami Aslam and left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar will replace Hafeez in the squad for todays one-off Twenty20 and the subsequent three one-day internationals against Australia in the UAE.
Muhammad Hafeez