Man City boost top five bid, Southampton snatch late leveller
LONDON: Manchester City bolstered their bid to qualify for the Champions League with a dramatic 2-0 win at Everton, while Southampton’s last-gasp equalizer at West Ham ensured they will not have sole possession of the lowest points total in Premier League history. City were heading toward a damaging draw before Nico O’Reilly’s 84th minute strike put them on course for a vital victory that was sealed by Mateo Kovacic’s goal in the final seconds. Pep Guardiola’s side climb to fourth place, four points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea, who face Fulham on Sunday in their game in hand. Fifth-placed Nottingham Forest, who travel to Tottenham on Monday, are one point adrift of City. At a stage of the season when they are usually embroiled in a battle to win the title, City — champions in six of the previous seven campaigns — have been reduced to scrapping for a Champions League berth after a dismal season. They remain on course to achieve their bare minimum target after a hard-fought success on Merseyside. In the 84th minute, Matheus Nunes’s low cross into the six-yard box was met by the 20-year-old O’Reilly, who got in front of Michael Keane to poke home from close range. O’Reilly has emerged as an unlikely hero for City after the Manchester-born midfielder scored last week in the win against Crystal Palace and netted twice against Plymouth in the FA Cup. Kovacic wrapped up City’s victory on their last visit to Goodison Park before Everton move to a new stadium next season. The Croatian guided Ilkay Gundogan’s pass into the bottom corner to give City a third win from their last four league games. “To win here at Goodison Park, where Liverpool and Arsenal couldn’t, is massively important,” Guardiola said. “Now it is in our hands.
