Man City crush Palace to go second

MANCHESTER, January 18

Manchester City steamed into second place in the Premier League with defender John Stones scoring an unlikely double in a 4-0 demolition of visiting Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Central defender Stones, closing in on 100 Premier League appearances for City, headed his first league goal for the club after a sublime cross by Kevin de Bruyne in the 26th minute. Ilkay Gundogan curled in a delightful second 11 minutes after the interval before Stones was in the right place to fire home a loose ball with his left foot in the 68th minute. Raheem Sterling crowned a superb second-half City display with an unstoppable free kick into the top corner late on.

The earlier 0-0 draw between leaders Manchester United and champions Liverpool was a pre-match boost for Pep Guardiola’s side and they capitalised with a fifth successive league win to move within two points of United and have a match in hand.

Juve lose to Inter

Milan: Juventus’ nine-year stranglehold on the Serie A title was at risk of unraveling after a 2-0 loss at Inter Milan. Juventus are in fifth place and seven points behind the leaders. — Agencies