Manchester City recorded their biggest Premier League win in 11 months against Newcastle to reduce Chelsea’s lead at the top of the standings to five.
Well aware of Chelsea’s setback at home to Burnley earlier in the day, the Etihad Stadium outfit came up with an electrifying display to inundate Newcastle and revive their title hopes.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men signaled their goal-scoring prowess ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League round of 16 tie with Barcelona with a rampant home win, buoyed mainly by the return of midfielder Yaya Toure from the Africa Cup of Nations.
And with £25m striker Wilfried Bony on the bench, the duo of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko were spurred to furious action on the forward line; so intense that the Magpies couldn’t cope. Both strikers registered a goal apiece- either side of Samir Nasri’s effort- for the champions, who raced into a 3-0 lead inside the opening 21 minutes
But the goal-scoring affair was not exclusive to just attackers as Pellegrini’s men proved a stark contrast from the tardy side, which managed only a win in five league matches and lost out of the FA Cup while Toure was away in Equatorial Guinea.
In evidence, the four-time African Player of Year made more touches than any of his team-mates and was at the centre-stage of their free flowing one-touch passing game.
Silva rounded off the victory with two fine finishes, first calmly side-footing in after a Nasri assist and then smashing in from the edge of the box after Aguero chest down.
Bony was introduced for his debut with half an hour of play left, but the ex-Swansea man failed to mark the occasion with a goal, with goalkeeper Tim Krul’s outstretched leg denying his best shot when he was clean through.
The Magpies, under interim boss John Carver, have now managed just one win in eight games.
EPL Results
Chelsea 1-1 Burnley
Palace 1-2 Arsenal
Swansea 2-1 Man Utd
Sunderland 0-0 West Brom
Aston Villa 1-2 Stoke
Hull City 2-1 QPR
