Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/767466
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 28 DECEMBER 2016 20 TOURE, frozen out by Pep Guar- diola earlier in the season and seem- ingly heading towards an inglori- ous City exit, has gone from being neglected to almost undroppable in the space of six weeks. Surprisingly brought back from the cold by Guardiola after the reso- lution of a row with his agent in No- vember, Toure has regained his old place at the heart of City's midfield engine room. He delivered his latest impressive display as City overcame Hull 3-0 at the KCOM Stadium on Boxing Day to stay seven points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea. The 33-year-old said: "I look like a kid, just enjoying playing football and helping my team-mates and the fans. It's very important to me. "I'm used to winning Premier Leagues, and I think it's second two times, and I want to win another. "I know it's going to be tough but we have to keep going because Chel- sea are very good this year." City could not afford to drop points after Chelsea won earlier in the day. They made hard work of the task against a resilient Hull, who de- fied their status as the league's bot- tom side, but eventually prevailed in the latter stages. Toure broke the deadlock with a 72nd-minute penalty after Andy Robertson felled Raheem Sterling. Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho quick- ly added a second and the visitors gained a flattering third in injury time when Curtis Davies turned a Sterling cross into his own net. Kevin De Bruyne earlier hit the post but Hull successfully absorbed a lot of pressure and went close to taking the lead themselves when Michael Dawson forced Bacary Sa- gna to clear off the line. Hull have won just one league game since August but Toure does not think they should lose heart. He said: "That's why it's the tough- est league in the world, because when you see how they played, they made it very difficult. "They don't deserve to be at the bottom. All teams that come here are going to suffer. Sometimes when you lose a game, mentally you are not right, but I think after one game they are going to be all right. "We changed the tactic just to find the space. They still made it tough but after the very good action of Raheem Sterling we got the penalty and it gave us a lift. It was very good. For the race for the title it is very im- portant to win games." City next face another of their ti- tle rivals in Liverpool at Anfield on New Year's Eve. Toure said: "For me it's almost a 'fi- nal' of the Premier League because I think it's going to be a similar kind of football. I think for the fans it's go- ing to be fantastic." City manager Guardiola last week hinted that if he does any business during the upcoming transfer win- dow, it could be in the full-back po- sitions. The club have now added to the intrigue by allowing 19-year-old right-back Pablo Maffeo, who has made three appearances this season, to rejoin Girona on loan for the re- mainder of the season. Hull's season remains a struggle and the Tigers are now four points off safety. Manager Mike Phelan remains optimistic but hopes January might give him the opportunity to make some additions to his squad. Phelan said: "The way we've gone about our business in the last three or four games has been terrific, but we need to freshen it up and add a bit more energy because when you play against the top teams and play well, as we did for 65 minutes, the energy gets sapped." Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Toure enjoying return to action Yaya Toure scores Manchester City's first goal against Hull City from the penalty spot on Boxin Day Yaya Toure says the excitement of rejoining Manchester City's title challenge has made him feel like a child again Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo voted European Sportsperson of the Year ahead of Andy Murray CRISTIANO Ronaldo has beaten Andy Murray and Katinka Hosszu to the prize of European Sportsperson of the Year in a vote by 27 news agencies across the world. The award, which is dished out by Polish news agency PAP every year, asks 27 inter- national agencies to vote for their star of the sporting world. And Ronaldo has come out on top for 2016 after a year that saw him win the Champions League with Real Madrid and the European Championship with Portu- gal. Tennis star Andy Murray, who won Wimbledon and Olympic gold in a year that saw him top the world rankings, was voted second. Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu, who bagged three golds and a silver at the Rio Olympics (setting a new world record and Olympic record in the process) was voted third. But Ronaldo's year, which saw him score 55 competitive goals on the way to claiming a fourth Ballon d'Or award, was enough to see him top the tree.