Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/244624
52 Sport maltatoday, SUNDAY, 19 JANUARY 2014 FOOTBALL Arsenal and Man City march on TWO goals in five second-half minutes from Santi Cazorla ensured Arsenal retained their grip on top spot in the Barclays Premier League. Following a wobble in December, Arsene Wenger's side have won their last five league matches, with Fulham their latest victims as the Cottagers were beaten 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium. In front of their own fans the Gunners typically dominated play, but had to wait until the 57th minute for Cazorla to sweep home the first of his brace with his right foot. Just past the hour mark and Spaniard Cazorla, with only two goals to his name ahead of this game, doubled his tally for the season, this time with a superb let-foot drive from outside the area. Manchester City remain hot on Arsenal's heels after another victory at the Etihad Stadium, this time despatching Cardiff 4-2. It took just 14 minutes for Edin Dzeko to open the scoring, a closerange left-foot shot making it 100 goals for Manuel Pellegrini's side in all competitions this season. Yet the hosts did not have it all their own way in the opening exchanges as Craig Noone hauled Cardiff level just before the halfhour mark. The visitors' joy, however, was shortlived as Jesus Navas fired the home side back in front in the 33rd minute. That was followed by a goal apiece from Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero in under three minutes in the second half before Fraizer Campbell netted a late consolation. Newcastle remain in the hunt for European football next season after a 3-1 victory over West Ham at Upton Park. Yohan Cabaye gave the Magpies a 16th-minute lead that was doubled in the 33rd when Loic Remy netted. The Hammers pulled one back on the stroke of half-time courtesy of Edin Dzeko scores Manchester City's 100th goal of the season against Cardiff an own goal by Michael Williamson, but Cabaye's fifth goal in his last seven matches late on sealed the home side's fate. At Selhurst Park, Tony Pulis was smiling as Crystal Palace beat former club Stoke 1-0. Pulis, who left Stoke last May before taking up the reins at Palace in November, saw Jason Puncheon strike the 51st-minute goal that has lifted his side off the foot of the table. Norwich defender Ryan Bennett scored his first goal for nine months as the Canaries defeated Hull 1-0 at Carrow Road. Despite club-record signing Nikica Jelavic playing for Hull, it was Bennett who broke the stalemate in the 87th minute with a fine header to a cross from Robert Snodgrass. Further misery followed for the visitors when Tom Huddlestone was dismissed two minutes later for his second bookable offence. In the early kick-off at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland came from two goals down to earn a point from a 2-2 draw with South- ampton. Jay Rodriguez arrowed home a stunning strike from 22 yards after just four minutes for the Saints before Dejan Lovren doubled the visitors' advantage on the volley just after the half hour. Crucially for Gus Poyet's side they managed to reduce the arrears a minute later courtesy of Fabio Borini's fourth goal for the club in his season-long loan from Liverpool. When Adam Johnson equalised with 19 minutes remaining the Roma and Juventus win ROMA kept their title hopes alive and well as they recorded a 3-0 win over basement side Livorno. Goals from Mattia Destro, Kevin Strootman and Adem Ljajic marked a dominant performance from the Giallorossi. Livorno, however, failed to get going at the Stadio Olimpico and remain four points from safety after a fifth successive defeat. Rudi Garcia rested the likes of Francesco Totti, Douglas Maicon and Radja Nainggolan, while Daniele De Rossi, Adem Ljajic and Leandro Castan returned from suspension. Livorno made their debut under new Coach Attilio Perotti, having sacked Davide Nicola after one point from eight games. This was his first Serie A game in a decade, as he had retired from management to become technical director. Perotti made some surprise changes, dropping Nicola favourites Andrea Luci and Emerson. In the other match, Juventus were forced to work very hard for a 12th consecutive victory, as Arturo Vidal's brace and a Paul Pogba curler beat Sampdoria 4-2. The Bianconeri rested Andrea Pirlo and Leonardo Bonucci ahead of Tuesday's Coppa Italia quarter-final against Roma. Sinisa Mihajlovic's Samp were back on track with a 3-0 win over Udinese and welcomed Pedro Obiang back from his ban, though Nenad Krsticic and Roberto Soriano were suspended. momentum was then with Sunderland, although they failed to force home a winner to lift them out of the bottom three. A rare Anfield off-day saw Liverpool drop two points in the race for Champions League places as Luis Suarez found his integrity called into question again in the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa. English Premier league Standings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Arsenal Manchester City Chelsea Liverpool Everton Tottenham H. Manchester U. Newcastle U. Southampton Aston Villa Hull City Norwich City Stoke City Swansea City West B. Albion Crystal Palace Fulham West Ham United Sunderland Cardiff City P 22 22 21 22 21 21 21 22 22 22 22 22 22 21 21 22 22 22 22 22 Pts 51 50 46 43 41 40 37 36 31 24 23 23 22 21 21 20 19 18 18 18 Italian Serie A Standings Kevin Strootman celebrates his goal for Roma 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Juventus Roma SSC Napoli Fiorentina Inter Hellas Verona Parma Torino Lazio Genoa AC Milan Sampdoria Cagliari Atalanta Udinese ChievoVerona Sassuolo Bologna Livorno Catania P 20 20 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 19 Pts 55 47 42 37 32 32 26 26 24 23 22 21 21 21 20 17 17 16 13 13