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maltatoday, Sunday, 19 OctOber 2014 Sport 52 (+356) 800 737 70 Freephone: cabs t minivans t vip transport t luxury coaches t vintage buses 2138 9575 / 9921 5286 info@cabs.com.mt w w w . c a b s . c o m . m t Liverpool striker daniel Sturridge out for four weeks LiverpooL striker Daniel Sturridge is facing up to a further month out after suffering a calf strain in training. Sturridge, 25, had just recovered from a thigh strain sustained on england duty in September. He has played only three premier League games this season and may miss the next seven matches, in- cluding both Champions League meet- ings with real Madrid. Liverpool manager Brendan rodgers had hinted the england international could return to action in today's premier League game against Qpr after being on the sidelines since early September after picking up the thigh injury during an england training session. However, rodgers told the Liverpool echo that his striker is "looking at being out for two to four weeks." "it's a big blow as we were looking for- ward to welcoming Daniel back. He has worked tirelessly. "But we have other players training hard and working hard and we will turn to them. it's why we bulked up the squad in the summer." Sturridge, who scored 25 goals in all competitions last season, suffered an injury after england's 1-0 friendly win at home to Norway which led to a disa- greement between england manager roy Hodgson and rodgers, who said players with pace need extra time to re- cover. Hodgson questioned rodgers's claims after england's 1-0 euro 2016 qualifying victory in estonia on 12 october, before which Liverpool forward raheem Ster- ling complained of tiredness. england face Slovenia in a euro quali- fier at Wembley on 15 November, fol- lowed by a friendly against Scotland at Celtic park on 18 November. Sturridge has been ruled out for another two to four weeks after suffering a calf injury in training. Man City and Southampton bag impressive wins Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero scored four goals and missed a penalty as the Sky Blues saw off Tottenham in a thrilling match to keep the pressure on leaders Chelsea at the top of the premier League. Aguero's 13th minute opener was cancelled out by Christian eriksen's goal for Spurs, but the Argentinian succeeded with a penalty, missed one, completed his hat-trick from the spot and then made it 4-1 with 15 minutes to go. Tottenham were also awarded a penalty with the score excitingly poised at 2-1 but the usually reli- able roberto Soldado missed from 12 yards on what turned into a bad day for his side – City also had Frank Lampard stretchered off. Meanwhile, Chelsea survived the early dismissal of Cesar Azpilicueta to secure a 2-1 victory at Crystal pal- ace and re-establish their five-point lead at the premier League summit. Brazilian starlet oscar opened the scoring after only eight minutes of play with a sumptuous dipping free- kick from 30 yards, though the eagles didn't let their heads drop as they be- gan to search for the equaliser. The Blues then received a blow when full-back Azpilicueta deserv- edly saw straight red for a two footed studs-up tackle on Mile Jedinak, but the numbers were evened up just minutes later when Damien Delaney picked up a second yellow for a need- less foul on Loic remy. Chelsea continued to dominate and it was oscar who turned provid- er shortly after the break, setting up Spanish maestro Cesc Fabregas, who netted his first league goal for Chel- sea after a brilliant tika-taka style se- quence of passes around the box. Fraizer Campbell would spoil any Blues hopes of a clean sheet when he scored in the 90th minute for the hosts, but it proved only a consola- tion. But the biggest winners of the af- ternoon were third-placed South- ampton, who crushed Sunderland 8-0 at St Mary's in one of the most one-sided games in premier League history – only Manchester United's 9-0 victory over ipswich in 1995 pro- duced a bigger winning margin. Santiago vergini got the Saints off to a flying start with a spectacular own goal – not Sunderland's last of the day – and Graziano pelle helped himself to a couple of goals. Goals from Jack Cork, Dusan Tad- ic, victor Wanyama Sadio Mane and a Liam Bridcutt own goal completed the rout, which equalled Southamp- ton's biggest league victory. everton were also comfortable winners, with england defender phil Jagielka on the scoresheet again as they eased past Aston villa 3-0. ross Barkley returned to action after a long spell on the sidelines, setting up a goal for romelu Lukaku, and Seamus Coleman completed the scoring as roberto Martinez's side climbed away from the danger zone. elsewhere, Danny Welbeck was the saviour for Arsenal as his stoppage- time strike rescued a 2-2 draw with Hull City at the emirates Stadium. The Gunners took the lead through Alexis Sanchez on 13 minutes, but only claimed a share of the spoils in injury time when Danny Welbeck scored to deny the Tigers, who had taken the lead with goals from Mo Diame and Abel Hernandez. chelsea stay five points clear at the top of the Premier League as Manchester city and Southampton go goal crazy English Premiership Man City 4 - 1 Tottenham Arsenal 2 - 2 Hull Burnley 1 - 3 West Ham Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Chelsea Everton 3 - 0 Aston Villa Newcastle 1 - 0 Leicester Southampton 8 - 0 Sunderland Sunday QPR vs Liverpool 14:30 Monday West Brom vs Man Utd 21:00 TABLE P PTS Chelsea 8 22 Manchester City 8 17 Southampton 8 16 West Ham United 8 13 Manchester United 7 11 Arsenal 8 11 Swansea City 7 11 Tottenham Hotspur 8 11 Hull City 8 10 Liverpool 7 10 Aston Villa 8 10 Everton 8 9 Leicester City 8 9 West Bromwich Alb. 7 8 Stoke City 7 8 Crystal Palace 8 8 Sunderland 8 8 Newcastle United 8 7 Burnley 8 4 Queens Park Rang. 7 4