Many a city wins a Premier League catch-up game without any major problems. A former Bundesliga star decides the game with his goal.
Apparently unimpressed by the recent European Cup suspension for the next two seasons, English champions Manchester City have won their Premier League catch-up game.
Team manager Pep Guardiola’s side beat relegation contenders West Ham United 2-0 (1-0) to consolidate their possibly worthless second place finish at the end of the season.
Liverpool FC are 22 points behind leaders Liverpool, with Jürgen Klopp’s Reds just five wins away from their first championship in 30 years.
Gündogan substituted
Spain’s Rodri (30) and former Bundesliga professional Kevin De Bruyne (62) scored the goals. German international Ilkay Gündogan was substituted in the final phase, Leroy Sane was not yet back in the squad after his cruciate ligament rupture.
Last Friday, the independent financial control body CFCB of the European Football Union (UEFA) excluded ManCity from the European Cup for the next two seasons for breaches of the Financial Fair Play regulations. The club was also sentenced to a fine of 30 million euros. The club is alleged to have overstated sponsorship income from the Arab owners in its balance sheet.
The club has already announced that it will appeal to the International Court of Justice for Sport (CAS). It was only on Wednesday that manager Ferran Soriano complained in the club media about the CFCB ruling. He hopes that the appeal before the CAS will be heard by summer. Immediately before the game against West Ham, Guardiola promised the club “100 per cent” support.