Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/811845
maltatoday SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 Sport 52 FOOTBALL Kompany on target as City beat lightweight Southampton VINCENT Kompany scored his first goal in 20 months in only his second start on his latest come- back from injury as Manchester City moved up to third in the Premier League table with a 3-0 win at Southampton. Saints were able to repel Pep Guardiola's Champions League chasers until Kompany headed home from David Silva's cross in the 55th minute, his first goal since August 2015. Leroy Sane grabbed a second in the 77th minute moments before Sergio Aguero chipped in with his 29th goal of the season - and 11th in 11 games - to seal a com- fortable victory. Tottenham show no signs of slowing down in their relentless pursuit of leaders Chelsea after Bournemouth became the lat- est team to be defeated at White Hart Lane. A 4-0 dismantling of the Cher- ries was Spurs' 12th successive victory at home as they closed the gap on leaders Chelsea to four points ahead of the Blues' show- down with Manchester United on Sunday. There was further reason for cheer for the north London club as Harry Kane made a goal-scor- ing return on his first start after missing the last five weeks with an ankle injury. It was Mousa Dembele who opened the scoring in the 16th minute after firing home from a corner before Son Heung-min doubled Spurs' lead shortly af- terwards, driving through Artur Boruc's legs after a f lick on from Kane. The England striker then took centre stage three minutes af- ter the re-start as he made it 20 league goals for the third season in a row. The much-maligned Vincent Janssen came off the bench to score his first Premier League goal from open play to complete the rout in added-on time as Spurs claimed their seventh con- secutive top-f light win for the first time since May 1967. At the other end of the table, Fabio Borini's last-minute goal gave rock-bottom Sunderland what could prove to be a precious point in their battle to beat the drop following a 2-2 draw against 10-man West Ham. The home side fell behind as early as the fifth minute when Andre Ayew got the finishing touch to Andy Carroll's cross- shot but Wahbi Khazri scored direct from a corner midway through the first half to level matters. It was Sunderland's first goal in 11 hours and 41 minutes but it seemed Khazri's moment of magic would count for nothing as James Collins' glancing header two minutes into the second half put the Hammers back in front. But the Black Cats snatched a point late on, reward for their second-half endeavour, thanks to substitute Borini while there was further drama at the finish as Hammers defender Sam Byram was sent off for a second book- able offence. Sunderland are now nine points adrift of safety with six games re- maining after Etienne Capoue's goal saw Swansea lose at Watford 1-0 and Hull were beaten 3-1 by Stoke. The Tigers would have had hope of increasing their two-point ad- vantage over the bottom three when Harry Maguire cancelled out Marko Arnautovic's early opener at the bet365 Stadium. But substitute Peter Crouch's header and Xherdan Shaqiri's 30-yard rocket steered the Pot- ters to all three points. Crystal Palace put further day- light between themselves and the relegation zone after coming from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw against Leicester. Goals from Robert Huth and Jamie Vardy put the Foxes in charge but Yohan Cabaye and Christian Benteke ensured a share of the spoils as Palace moved seven points clear of the drop zone. Burnley remain without an away victory in the league this season after losing 3-1 at Everton. Phil Jagielka's second-half open- er was quickly cancelled out by Sam Vokes' penalty but the Tof- fees regained control - albeit in fortuitous circumstances - when Ben Mee put into his own net, Ross Barkley claiming the goal, before Romelu Lukaku made sure of the three points that takes them up to fifth in the standings.