Manchester’s new King City stunning glory against United, Mesut Ozil Arsenal’s new gun, Liverpool stop by Saints.

Manchester City 4 Manchester United 1: The City of Manchester Blue again

Sergio Aguero got a brace for the Citizens and Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri also got on the scoresheet before Wayne Rooney got a late consolation for United.

Aguero got the opener after 16 minutes when Kolarov overlapped Samir Nasri down the right and crossed to the far post, where the Argentine smartly hooked the ball into the City net with a volley from almost behind him.

City were looking the stronger side with United struggling to get into the game, and the Citizens saw their lead doubled just before the break.

Alvaro Negredo got on the end of a Samir Nasri corner and nodded the ball down for Yaya Toure to bundle the ball over the line to further demoralise United heading into half-time.

The second half brought no reprieve for United though and Aguero had his second of the match just two minutes in.

Negredo turned Nemanja Vidic on the left side of the area and dinked a ball into the box where an untracked Aguero was waiting to slot home.

City’s fourth came just three minutes later with Marouane Fellaini unable to keep up with a breaking Jesus Navas, who then crossed to the back post for Nasri to confidently volley home after Vincent Kompany sucked in two United defenders.

United did have chances to start to reduce the deficit as the second half wore on with a Fellaini shot being saved by Hart, a Rooney free-kick failing to beat the wall and a Patrice Evra header from a corner hitting the post.

United did get a small consolation when Rooney netted direct from a free kick with three minutes remaining, but it could do little to counter the humiliating nature of the defeat.

The result leaves United eighth in the Premier League, with City moving to second, and David Moyes now has plenty of work to do ahead of the Red Devil’s midweek League Cup clash against Liverpool on Wednesday.

Manchester City vs Manchester United Match Stats

Manchester City: Hart 7, Zabaleta 7, Kompany 7, Nastasic 7, Kolarov 7, Jesus Navas 8 (Milner 71 6), Toure 8, Fernandinho 8, Nasri 9, Aguero 8 (Javi Garcia 86), Negredo 8 (Dzeko 75).

Subs not used: Richards, Lescott, Pantilimon, Jovetic.

Booked: Nastasic.

Goals: Aguero 16, Toure 45, Aguero 47, Nasri 50.

Manchester United: De Gea 5, Smalling 6, Ferdinand 6, Vidic 5, Evra 6, Carrick 6, Fellaini 5, Valencia 5, Rooney 6, Young 5 (Cleverley 51 6), Welbeck 6.

Subs not used: Evans, Hernandez, Nani, Kagawa, Buttner, Amos.

Booked: Rooney, Valencia.

Goal: Rooney 87

Referee: Howard Webb

Manchester City 4 Manchester United 1 Match Video

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Arsenal 3 Stoke City 1 : Wizard of Ozil Wengers new hope

Mesut Ozil, their most expensive acquisition, delivered two free-kicks and a corner from which the Gunners profited with a goal. And that made Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger chuckle.

Under Pulis, who was sacked in May, Stoke prided themselves on their physicality – and manifested it by scoring a huge proportion of their goals from set-pieces. They defended dead-ball plays with muscular determination, too.

So Wenger, who has praised the way new boss Mark Hughes has encouraged Stoke to play more football, could see the humour in the way the visitors were dismissed yesterday.

“Scoring from set-pieces was a big surprise,” he said.

Perhaps Ozil did not know about Stoke’s supposed aerial superiority. The German now has the most assists in the Premier League this season: four. And certainly his three major contributions at the Emirates oozed quality.

Only five minutes had gone when his free-kick sent goalkeeper Asmir Begovic sprawling full length to palm the ball away . Aaron Ramsey gleefully drilled the rebound back beyond him.

The Welshman had already scored more goals this season than ever before and this was his seventh of the campaign. There was a special sweetness for him because it was at Stoke, in February 2010, that Ryan Shawcross, booed throughout, was sent off for a poor challenge that broke Ramsey’s tibia and fibula.

Hughes wears a sharp suit instead of the Pulis tracksuit and cap. While Stoke’s replacement manager is not averse to a robust approach to the game, he has given Stoke licence to pass and play.

He lets them venture forward too, as full-back Geoff Cameron confirmed with a goal after 26 minutes. Marko Arnautovic escaped the attention of Per Mertesacker and rapped a shot against the foot of a post. Cameron was advanced enough to collect the loose ball and guide it home .

But Ozil had two more telling interventions left. First, after 37 minutes, his corner was flighted perfectly for Merte sacker to head goalwards. Arsenal’s other centre-back, Laurent Koscielny, tried to add a touch at the far post, missed, yet did enough to distract Begovic.

Then, with 18 minutes remaining, Ozil fashioned another invitingly flighted free-kick. The ball from the left found Bacary Sagna and the full-back’s header looped over Begovic and crushed Stoke’s hopes.

Arsenal fans serenaded Wenger and his players with choruses of “We are top of the league”.

A little over a month ago they were booing and passing motions of no confidence in the manager. When Arsenal lost their opening fixture, at home to Aston Villa, fans turned on Wenger. The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust said it would be “inappropriate” to offer him a new contract.

But that was when it looked as if the summer transfer window would be fruitless again. Ozil’s arrival on the last day, for a club record £42.5 million, changed the mood and has given the side something we did not know was missing.

Always neat in their build-ups, Arsenal are now more penetrative. Ozil somehow oils the wheels to make the machine slicker still. His passes are simple, but there is always a purpose to them. And, as Stoke learned to their cost, his dead-ball deliveries are, well, deadly.

But he’s German. His international manager Joachim Low was in the posh seats yesterday, running the rule over the man who helped run England ragged at the World Cup.

None of Arsenal’s goals were scored by an Englishman and, although they were celebrating 100 years of residing in the London borough of Islington, it was not a local lad who stepped up when Theo Walcott had to be withdrawn from the starting line-up.

Instead, the stand-in was Serge Gnabry, an 18-year-old German whom Arsenal paid for when he was 15 and took delivery of from Stuttgart a year later.

Arsenal vs Stoke City Match Stats

Arsenal (4-3-2-1): Szczesny 6; Sagna 7, Mertesacker 7, Koscielny 7, Gibbs 7; Flamini 8, Wilshere 6 (Monreal 73), Ramsey 7; Gnabry 5 (Ryo 73), Ozil 8 (Arteta 81); Giroud 6.

Subs not used: Vermaelen, Viviano, Bendtner, Jenkinson

Stoke (4-3-2-1): Begovic 5; Cameron 6, Shawcross 6, Huth 6, Pieters  5 (Palacios 67); Wilson 6, N’Zonzi 6, Adam 6 (Ireland 59, 5); Walters 5, Arnautovic 6; Jones 6 (Pennant 75).

Subs not used: Whelan, Crouch, Etherington, Crouch, Sorensen

Referee: Mike Dean

Man of the match: Mesut Ozil

Arsenal 3 Stoke City 1 Match Video

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Liverpool 0 Southampton 1:Saints glory at Merseyside

St Mary’s in March was the scene of Liverpool’s last Premier League defeat, 13 games ago.

Since then it’s been a short but successful journey for Brendan Rodgers’ side. Seemingly out of nowhere Liverpool are back amongst football’s elite – or are they?

At least until this afternoon they will still look down on the rest from second in the Premier League, but the rarefied air threatens to be a brief affair.

Southampton’s bold, enterprising football – with a constant attacking quartet – exposed Liverpool’s current limitations. It’s safe to say that Anfield sides from the past who have started games on top of the league have carried more threat and thunder than the current one.

Last week Rodgers had conducted an inquest into why Liverpool displayed better form in the first half rather than after the break.

The latest inquiry will centre on a complete lack of energy and ideas.

“We never got going from the off. We were lethargic and short technically,” was his assessment.

“To lose a goal like we did was criminal. We were flat and now we need to go on another good run.”

At least he can call upon Luis Suarez, whose long, 10-game suspension has come to an end.

Rodgers added: “That is the big positive, that Luis is back. He will make a big difference. He’s a worker, he’s a fighter.” Under Rodgers this is still very much a work in progress – illustrated by the difficultly in imposing themselves on a Saints side who arrived on Merseyside having only won one of their previous 10 league games.

But there was no parking the bus. Mauricio Pochettino has instilled belief that his side, aided by a number of astute signings, can live with the big boys.

On this showing they will be troubling the top half of the table rather than the bottom.

From the off they worried the life out of Liverpool as they attacked the Kop and caused confusion in a Liverpool defence which contained four centre-backs.

Out of the blocks like lightning, an Adam Lallana cross allowed Rickie Lambert, released by Liverpool as a 15-year-old and England’s new unlikely target man, a sharp chance only for the effort to be hacked away.

Already by then Boruc had earned his keep with a stupendous leap and outstretched hand to keep out a goal bound Gerrard free-kick.

The Pole then went on to deny Victor Moses and push away another finely taken Gerrard free-kick.

The winning goal was a horror show for Liverpool, who somehow contrived to concede a corner through sloppiness from Martin Skrtel and Kolo Toure.

Daniel Agger joined the calamity culprits as he failed to block a Lallana corner, which allowed big Croatian defender Dejan Lovren to head in.

To their credit Saints, who had only scored four times in their previous nine matches, refused to take their foot off the gas with Lallana, Lambert, Pablo Osvaldo and Jay Rodriguez linking well on the break.

Even impressive left-back Luke Shaw got in on the act wriggling his way into the box only for Simon Mignolet to save, the Belgian also brilliantly pushing away the rebound off Mamadou Sakho.

Pochettino said: “Our performance was outstanding. We believe in the way we play and this win has reinforced this belief.

“Yes, Boruc was great but the rest of the side was also outstanding.”

Not that any of his players were allowed time to celebrate a memorable victory – not with Tuesday night’s League Cup game against Bristol City in mind.

The Saints boss added: “We won’t get carried away. The players will be back in training tomorrow at 10am.”

Liverpool, denied what would have been their 400th Premier League victory, came back down to earth with a big bump.

Liverpool vs Southampton Match Stats

Liverpool: Mignolet 7: Toure 5, Skrtel 5 (Alberto 72mins), Agger 5 (Enrique 56mins), Sakho 5: Gerrard 6, Lucas 6: Henderson 6, Aspas 5 (Sterling 46mins 5), Moses 7: Sturridge 5.

Subs not used: Jones, Ibe, Kelly, Wisdom.

Southampton: Boruc 8: Clyne 7, Lovren 7 Fonte 7, Shaw 7: Wanyama 7, Schneiderlin 7: Rodriguez (Cork 89mins), Lallana 8 (Ward-Prowse 75mins), Osvaldo 6; Lambert 6 (Davis 61mins 6).

Subs not used: Davies, Ramirez,  Chambers, Hooiveld.

Booked: Clyne.

Goals: Lovren 53.

Liverpool 0 Southampton 1 Match Video

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English Premier League Week 5 Other Results

Norwich City 0 Aston Villa 1

Newcastle 2 Hull City Tigers 3

West Brom 3 Sunderland 0

Liverpool 0 Southampton 1

West Ham 2 Everton 3

Chelsea 2 Fulham 0

Sunday, September 22

Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2

Arsenal 3 Stoke City 1

Cardiff City 0 Tottenham 1

Man City 4 Man United 1

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