Man City return to league summit after edging Villa whilst Baggies send Wolves into bottom three

Sunday’s Premier League fixtures resulted in action at both ends of the table. The early kick-off saw the small matter of a Black Country derby take place at Molineux as Wolves hosted West Brom, whilst the day’s late game saw title challengers Man City travel to Aston Villa.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-5 West Bromwich Albion

Peter Odemwingie’s hat-trick helped West Brom triumph in style over their neighbours Wolverhampton, with a 5-1 thumping.

Steven Fletcher equalised for Wolves after Odemwingie’s opener; however, two more from the Nigerian, as well as efforts from Jonas Olsson and Keith Andrews, saw the Baggies cruise home to victory.

Mick McCarthy’s men now find themselves in the relegation zone after the four goal deficit sees them drop below Blackburn Rovers on goal difference. Meanwhile, the Baggies pull out of the bottom five, and now sit eight points clear of the three sides on 21 points.

West Brom dominated for large periods, though the hosts did well to frustrate them early on, and just past the half hour mark, Odemwingie’s deflected effort saw them take a deserved lead.

In first-half injury time, Wanderers found themselves level. Fletcher combined with Sylvan Ebanks-Blake for the former Burnley striker to fire the ball past Ben Foster.

However in 25 second-half minutes, fortunes for the home side changed.

Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was to blame for the visitors’ second goal, which was eventually volleyed home by Olsson. Odemwingie’s smart reactions helped him grab his second.

Keith Andrews’ deflected 18-yard strike gave his team their fourth of the afternoon on 85 minutes, before Odemwingie popped up again two minutes from time to finish off a sweeping counter attack.

Aston Villa 0-1 Manchester City

Joleon Lescott scored the only goal of the game at Aston Villa to lift Manchester City back to the top of the league above rivals Manchester United.

The centre-back scored his fifth career goal against the team he supported as a child just after the hour mark, in a game where City were rarely threatened.

Villa did well to ride the storm of the visitors’ constant attacks in the first half, with Adam Johnson – who made a rare start under Roberto Mancini – going closest for Villa when his shot struck the post.

The Citizens did manage to find the goal they merited on 63 minutes: James Milner’s deep corner was kept alive by former Villain, Gareth Barry, whose header was swept home by a pouncing Lescott, diverting the ball past a hapless Shay Given.

Mancini’s side continued to threaten the home goal; however, they couldn’t find a winner, despite the efforts of Pablo Zabaleta and Nigel De Jong.

Alex McGleish’s men did finally show the ambition that was missing for much of the game in the final moments, and striker Darren Bent must have thought he had rescued a point for his team.

Bent’s acrobatics saw him send a volley towards goal, but Joe Hart’s fantastic reaction save kept City in front, and picked them up another crucial three points.

Derek Baker