It was Stevan Jovetic who ensured that former club favourite Mario Balotelli’s return to England – in the red of Liverpool, was relegated to a sideshow, as the Barclays Premier League champions ruthlessly brushed aside the team that ran them so close last season. Liverpool’s new £16million striker – a worthy replacement for the departed Luis Suarez, watched from the directors’ box just hours after he finalised his move from AC Milan. On the pitch, Jotevic, yet another forward who had previously made the move from Italy, took centre-stage.
The Montenegro international, who endured a miserable maiden campaign dogged by illness and injury, scored City’s first two goals either side of half-time while Sergio Aguero added a third less than 20 seconds after coming off the bench to wrap up victory, before Pablo Zabaleta’s late own goal offered Liverpool some consolation.
City went top of the fledgling table thanks to a clinical cutting edge which Liverpool need to rediscover – presumably with Balotelli at the forefront – having lost the mercurial talents of Suarez. Liverpool head-off next to another difficult tie at red-hot Tottenham on Sunday, with a difficult task of turning around a season that seems to be slowly drifting out of reach so early. Tottenham were thrashed
5-0 in a similar fixture last season and would like to take advantage of The Super Reds’ latest loss to pile the misery on them. On the other hand, the champions are at home to Stoke City on Saturday, in a seemingly easy tie they should wrap-up in the first half.
Other favourites, Chelsea, visit Everton, with Jose Mourinho’s side seeking to cement a good run they began with two straight wins, as Arsenal, who rallied from 2-0 to level 2-2 with Everton, will be away to Leicester City on Sunday.
Manchester United are yet to pick up the full set of points this season and will hope to use Saturday’s away tie at Burnley as the pillar that brings them up. It will not be an easy one though for Luis van Gaal’s struggling side that drew 1-1 with Sunderland last weekend.
Other Fixtures
Saturday: Newcastle United vs Crystal Palace; Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion; QPR vs Sunderland; West Ham United vs Southampton
Sunday: Aston Villa vs Hull City;
Post published in: Football