Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/744537
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2016 55 MANCHESTER City triumphed 4-0 at West Brom to make a swift return to the Premier League summit on Saturday after Ar- senal had brief ly taken over top spot with a 4-1 romp at Sunder- land. Sergio Aguero opened the scor- ing from a tight angle on 19 min- utes after being slipped in by Il- kay Gundogan, with the second a brilliant strike into the top corner nine minutes later. The Argentina forward was in- volved in the third goal after the interval, too, teeing up Gundogan, and the German sealed the rout with his second goal in the final minute to emphatically end man- ager Pep Guardiola's six-game winless run. Olivier Giroud's first goals of the season had earlier handed Arsenal victory and Sunderland a share of an unwanted Premier League re- cord in the lunchtime kick-off on Wearside. The France forward struck twice within five minutes of being intro- duced as a 69th-minute substitute to kill off hopes of a Black Cats' fightback after Jermain Defoe's penalty had cancelled out Alexis Sanchez's first-half opener. Sanchez helped himself to a sec- ond - the last three goals came inside a chaotic seven-minute period - to leave Sunderland with only two points from their first 10 league games, matching Man- chester City's low in 1995-96. Tottenham and Leicester battled out a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane, Ahmed Musa securing a point for the champions with a close-range tap-in from Jamie Vardy's pass soon after the restart. Vincent Janssen's penalty - awarded shortly before half-time after he was adjudged to have been fouled by Robert Huth - had opened the scoring for Spurs, who also hit the woodwork through Dele Alli and Jan Vertonghen. Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands after complaining at half- time of Manchester United's goal- less draw against Burnley at Old Trafford. United's cause was not helped by the dismissal of midfielder Ander Herrera for a second bookable of- fence midway through the second half, or the fine form of Clarets goalkeeper Tom Heaton. Liverpool again closed the gap on their title rivals with a 4-2 vic- tory over Crystal Palace at Sel- hurst Park. Despite their latest errors in defence gifting the hosts unnec- essary opportunities, they again proved they have one of Europe's finest attacks to go level on 23 points with their more established rivals at the top of the league, where only goal difference keeps them third. The defeat was Palace's third in succession, but mid-table repre- sents a promising position while their new-look team continues to gel. Goals conceded to Emre Can, Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Roberto Firmino could have been complemented by more as their visitors excelled. A goal in each half from Gaston Ramirez and Stewart Downing earned Middlesbrough a 2-0 suc- cess against Bournemouth at the Riverside. Watford nicked a valuable 1-0 win with a late goal against Hull, Daryl Janmaat's cross deflected in by Hull defender Michael Dawson seven minutes from time at Vicar- age Road. Sport FOOTBALL FORMULA 1 Guardiola's City and Arsenal hit four but no joy for Mourinho Manchester City's striker Sergio Aguero celebrates after scoring the opening goal Mercedes team member robbed at gunpoint A member of the world cham- pionship-winning Mercedes Formula One team was robbed at gunpoint when he arrived in Mexico for Sunday's grand prix, a team spokesman said. The robbery happened on Wednesday as the team mem- ber, who was not a high-rank- ing employee, was in a car tak- ing him to his hotel from the airport and both he and his driver had watches and wallets taken. Nobody was injured in the incident and the team member remained in Mexico for the race at the Hermanos Rodri- guez circuit. His name was not released. Street robberies are com- monplace in Mexico and also at the next race in Brazil, where team employees have been held up at gunpoint in the past as they travelled to and from the Interlagos cir- cuit. McLaren's Jenson Button was the victim of an attempted armed robbery in 2010, the year after he won the title, but his police driver smashed his way through traffic to escape when the gunmen were To- day's race in Mexico could be a title decider with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg 26 points clear of triple world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton with three races remaining. Mercedes have already clinched their third successive constructors' title.