31 August 2015
Manchester City 2-0 Watford
Manchester City maintained their perfect start to this season's 2015/16 Premiership campaign with a home victory over Watford on Saturday afternoon.
The Premier League new boys made life difficult for the hosts in the opening stages, as their defensive organisation ensured that the sides entered half-time on level terms.
However, City, the Bianconeri's first Champions League Group D opponents on Tuesday 15 September, would only need 88 seconds of the second period to break down the Hornets’ resistance, as Raheem Sterling turned in Bacary Sagna’s cross to score his first City goal since joining from Liverpool for 68 million euros during this summer’s transfer window.
Nine minutes later Fernandinho fired home David Silva’s pass to double the margin of victory. The strike was the Brazilian midfielder’s second of the season after also netting the third of his side’s triumph over Chelsea two weeks earlier.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men were always comfortable with their two-goal lead, as the visitors failed to muster a single shot on target.
The result means that City stay top of the pile on 12 points after four Premier League matches, while they also maintain a perfect defensive record of not conceding once so far this campaign.
Werder Bremen 2-1 Monchengladbach
Borussia Monchengladbach are still searching for their first points of the season after losing 2-1 away to Werder Bremen on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts got their noses in front through Aron Johansson’s spot-kick in the 39th minute, but this year’s Champions League debutants found an equaliser on the stroke of half-time, when summer signing Lars Stindl turned in Thorgan Hazard’s ball to open his account for his new club since joining from Hannover in the summer.
However, Bremen took only eight minutes to restore their lead through Jannik Vestergaard and the north-German outfit could have doubled the goal margin when Felix Kroos missed a penalty with two minutes remaining.
Just moments before the visitors were reduced to 10 men after defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka was sent off for a second bookable offence.
The result leaves Lucien Favre’s men bottom of the Bundesliga table after three consecutive defeats, their worst ever start to a German top flight campaign.
Sevilla 0-3 Atletico Madrid
Sevilla succumbed to a 3-0 defeat in their Sunday evening fixture at home to Atletico Madrid.
The home side enjoyed just as many shots on target as Diego Simeone’s men, but Unai Emery will be looking to improve his side’s cutting edge in the final third after seeing his charges fail to score for the second successive match of their La Liga campaign.
Koke gave Los Colchoneros a 35th minute lead after being set up by Antoine Griezmann. The hosts created a number of chances but were unable to convert any of them, defender Coke and winger Yevhen Konoplyanka seeing a pair of shots blocked respectively.
It would take the visitors until the 77th minute to double their lead, captain Gabi driving home from outside the box and Jackson Martinez added a third just seven minutes later with another long-range strike.
Sevilla drop to 14th in the table after just two games having registered a solitary point from their opening day draw away at Malaga.
