Antonee Robinson & Tim Ream taste victory with Fulham, while Lyndon Gooch provides the assist to give Sunderland the game-winner in weekend English action.
Manchester City 5 – 0 Norwich City
Zack Steffen’s Manchester City continued to pile on the misery for Josh Sargent’s Norwich City after the reigning Premier League Champions shut them out and put five into the back of the Canaries net. Steffen watched on from the bench while Sargent was able to make an appearance in the second half, coming on at the 77th-minute mark to try to make a spark. The game was already well within the Manchurians’ grasp however with a 4-0 lead. A 5th one came in the 84th minute.
Norwich GK Tim Krul was credited with the opener after just seven minutes on the clock before new boy Jack Grealish doubled the advantage in the 22nd minute. Norwich was able to go into the halftime break at only 2-0 down, but Aymeric Laparte got the hosts back on track in the 64th minute. Raheem Sterling added a fourth in the 71st minute before Riyad Mahrez finished the scoring in the 84th minute.
Up next Norwich plays Bournemouth on Tuesday, while Guardiola’s gang take on winless Arsenal on Saturday.
Fulham 2 – 0 Hull City
Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream’s Fulham secured a comfortable victory at home over Hull City. The action was front-loaded, and the center back Captain Ream’s day ended early as he took a blow after falling heavily on his back and had to be substituted in the 22nd minute. Immediately following, Fulham got the game opener through Aleksandar Mitrovic’s glancing header off of a corner.
It wasn’t all roses and sunshine as fellow defender Kenny Tete was forced off due to an injury in the 32nd minute. Robinson however was on the scene to take the lead, providing a driven cross to Fabio Carvalho who was able to poke it home. Carvalho was then later forced to be substituted as the game finished 2-0.
Fulham will look to continue their winning ways when they take on Birmingham on Tuesday in the Carabao League Cup.
Sunderland 1 – 0 AFC Wimbledon
Lyndon Gooch started and went 90 minutes for Sunderland in their 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon. The defender got things underway with a shot on frame in the fourth minute but picked up a booking in the 18th minute after back-to-back fouls. Gooch finished the first half with another shot and his cross to Daniel Neil was headed over the crossbar.
Sunderland started the second half on the front foot again, with Gooch providing two more deliveries that were unable to be converted. The first being a shot from Ross Stewart in the 48th minute and the second from Elliott Embleton in the 55th minute. The pressure ended up paying off after Carl Winchester scored the decisive goal after a corner kick fell to him and he was able to tuck it home.
Sunderland will take part in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night when they go up against Blackpool.
Notes:
American-born Folarin Balogun was a 79th-minute sub for Arsenal in their 2-0 loss at home to Chelsea. Romelu Lukaku and Reece James provided the two goals for Chelsea in the first half but their American, Christian Pulisic missed out due to a positive COVID test.
Arsenal will take on West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday, while Chelsea plays Saturday against Liverpool.
Cameron Carter-Vickers did not feature for Tottenham in their 1-0 win away at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He’ll hope to make an appearance when Spurs go into Europa Conference League action on Thursday against Pacos Ferreira. They’ll then return to league action over the weekend when they welcome new boys Watford.
Duane Holmes was an unused substitute in Huddersfield Town’s 2-1 victory over Sheffield United. Huddersfield returns to action on Tuesday night when they go up against Everton in the Carabao Cup.
