Story highlights
Manchester City held 1-1 at Liverpool in the English Premier League
City striker Mario Balotelli sent off late in the second half
Draw leaves City five points clear of Manchester United at top
Bayern Munich suffer shock defeat in Bundesliga to Mainz
10-man Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Liverpool at Anfield Sunday but have a five-point lead the top of the English Premier League.
City were forced to play the closing moments a man short after second half substitute Mario Balotelli was shown red for a second bookable offence.
It nearly proved costly as Liverpool’s late substitute Andy Carroll saw his header brilliantly saved by City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
It preserved his side’s unbeaten start to the EPL season and they have 35 points from 13 games, leaving city rivals and defending champions Manchester United trailing in second spot.
Tottenham Hotspur, who won 3-1 at WBA Saturday, are seven points adrift but have played a game less.
Wales manager Gary Speed found dead at home
Vincent Kompany headed the leaders in front from a David Silva corner in the first half, but Liverpool were soon level as a Charlie Adam shot took a huge deflection off Joleon Lescott for an own-goal that left Hart wrong-footed.
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was delighted by his team’s performance as they stretched their unbeaten run to 10 games to stay in a challenging sixth spot.
“I don’t think you could have asked for much more in terms of effort and commitment from the players. I think they were fantastic,” he told Sky Sports.
Swansea and Aston Villa played to a goalless draw in Sunday’s other EPL game, both of which were overshadowed by the tragic death of Wales manager Gary Speed.
In Germany’s Bundesliga, there was a shock 3-2 defeat for Bayern Munich at Mainz Sunday, a result which leaves the Bavarian giants third in the table with reigning champions Borussia Dortmund on top.
A draw for Bayern would have seen them return to the summit but they were always struggling once Austrian midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz put Mainz ahead after 11 minutes.
Bayern defender Daniel van Buyten equalized on 56 minutes, but Mainz took a two-goal lead as Marco Caligiuri and defender Niko Bungert scored.
Van Buyten then grabbed his second, but Bayern could not salvage a point.
In Italy’s Serie A, Luc Castaignos scored a late winner as Inter Milan continued their revival with a 1-0 win at Siena.
Following their 2-1 home win over Cagliari last weekend, it lifted Claudio Ranieri’s men to 14 points, but just one win adrift from sixth-placed Roma.
