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Rodri came up with another big goal for Manchester City, scoring in the 88th minute to secure the champions a 2-1 win at Sheffield United on Sunday and a third straight victory to open its Premier League title defence.
After Erling Haaland responded to missing a first-half penalty by breaking the deadlock in the 63rd, it looked like City would be dropping points in a game it dominated when a mistake by captain Kyle Walker gifted Jayden Bogle an unlikely 85th-minute equalizer.
Walker made amends by winning the ball back on the right wing and crossing to Phil Foden, whose miscontrol went straight to Rodri and the midfielder made no mistake with a fierce left-foot shot into the top corner.
Rodri was the scorer of City’s winner in the Champions League final last season and has already scored twice this campaign, having netted at Burnley in the opening round.
City is the only team with a maximum of nine points so far.
City, and specifically Haaland, endured a frustrating afternoon at Bramall Lane until the Norway striker’s opener, with a physical Sheffield United team defending deep and ruggedly.
A 36th-minute penalty — awarded for a handball against John Egan that blocked Julian Alvarez’s cut-back — was City’s first real chance and Haaland wasted it by dragging it against the post, with goalkeeper Wes Foderingham diving the other way.
The game continued to be one-sided in the second half, with Haaland shooting wide from Walker’s cross and then seeing a deft chip clawed away by Foderingham in the 61st.
City manager Pep Guardiola — watching the match in Barcelona as he recovers from back surgery — might have been feeling uncomfortable at that stage but Haaland delivered in the end like he usually does.
Jack Grealish stood up a cross from the left and Haaland nodded in at the back post, breathing a huge and ostentatious sigh of relief after doing so.
A City fan got onto the field and jumped on the back of Haaland after the goal, the striker’s third already this campaign after 36 in the league last season. Haaland laughed it off and the supporter was escorted away.
Walker, a former Sheffield United player, made a silly error for the equalizer by deciding to backheel the ball into play in his own area. He got it all wrong as the hosts regained possession and the ball found its way to Bogle, who drove a low finish across goalkeeper Ederson Moraes.
Rodri came to the rescue, though, and City has now beaten Burnley, Newcastle and Sheffield United so far to be assured of a two-point lead after three games.
Juanma Lillo took charge of City in the absence of Guardiola.
Aston Villa beat Burnley
Matty Cash’s first goals for Aston Villa in more than a year inspired the team to a 3-1 victory over Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday.
The right-back came into the starting side as the only unforced change from Villa’s 5-0 midweek win over Hibernian in the Europa Conference League playoffs and ensured there was no European hangover for Unai Emery’s team by scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes.
Lyle Foster gave Burnley hope with a goal two minutes into the second half, but Moussa Diaby — who set up one of Cash’s goals — restored Villa’s two-goal advantage just after the hour as the visitors ended a five-match winless league run on the road.
Burnley built its Championship title-winning campaign on the back of a 21-match unbeaten run at Turf Moor, but has started life back in the Premier League with back-to-back home defeats after losing to Manchester City in the opening round.
Cash, playing as a wing-back, needed only eight minutes to score, sliding in to poke home Ollie Watkins’ cross after John McGinn’s lofted ball over the top had left Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford caught in two minds.
It was the Poland international’s first goal since the final day of the 2021-22 season and there would soon be another with Cash at the heart of a slick passing move.
Cutting in from the right to collect Watkins’ pass, Cash laid the ball off for Diaby on the right side of the box and then charged into the centre to lash home the resulting cross.
Burnley looked rusty after the postponement of last weekend’s trip to Luton left the team with an enforced rest and was overrun defensively as the chances kept coming.
Cash tried a spectacular volley from Lucas Digne’s deep cross in the 35th minute but Hannes Delcroix, making his Burnley debut after arriving in midweek from Anderlecht, got in a block to send it over the crossbar.
Cash again linked up with Diaby, whose deflected cross found Watkins, but Trafford was in the right place to deny him from point-blank range.
Burnley had done little to threaten the goal of Robin Olsen, making his first Premier League start since New Year’s Day with Argentina international Emi Martinez sidelined by a calf strain, but things changed immediately at the start of the second half.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson, on as a substitute, headed a deep ball back into the box and Foster had the power to hold off Pau Torres and spin to fire beyond Olsen.
Burnley was suddenly on top. Sander Berge sent in a cross begging for a touch, then Zeki Amdouni caused panic between Torres and Olsen. More confusion between Olsen and Boubacar Kamara allowed Berge to run into the box, winning a corner from which Olsen did well to deny Delcroix a debut goal.
Having coped with the pressure, Villa hit Burnley on the break just after the hour. McGinn shrugged off a shirt pull from Ameen Al-Dakhil to play in Digne, who pulled the ball back for Diaby to find the bottom right corner. The goal survived a VAR check for offside.
Watkins should have made it four in the 67th minute when he beat Delcroix to a low cross but Trafford again denied him from close range.
Villa started the season with a 5-1 loss at Newcastle before responding by beating Everton 4-0.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)
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