English Premier League – Match Recaps – 19 August 2012
Manchester City came from behind to beat Southampton and Chelsea won at Wigan Athletic in the the English Premier League on August 19, 2012.
Wigan Athletic 0-2 Chelsea
Chelsea scored two early goals and cruised to a victory in the opening round. The visitors started very quickly as Eden Hazard sent a great pass to Branislav Ivanovic who got behind the defense on a counterattack. Ivanovic dribble towards goal and slotted it just inside the near post to make it 1-0.
Hazard continued to be a major factor as he was tripped up in the box and awarded a penalty kick. Frank Lampard calmly converted the penalty kick as Chelsea led 2-0 after seven minutes. Wigan were aggressive throughout the match but Chelsea were organized defensively to keep the clean sheet.
| 1′ | 0 – 1 | Branislav Ivanovic | |
| 7′ | 0 – 2 | Frank Lampard (pen) |
Manchester City 3-2 Southampton
Manchester City needed two second half goals to rally for the three points against newly promoted Southampton. It was a similar match to City’s win against QPR last season as they took an early lead but would concede two answered goals. City should have led 2-0 by halftime but a missed David Silva penalty kick left the door open for Southampton. It was a tough match for Silva who had other great chances but wasn’t sharp.
Southampton took advantage of City’s missed opportunities with goals from Rickie Lambert and Steven Davis in the second half. Lambert’s was a great shot at the edge of the box while Davis’ goal was a result of a counterattack following a City corner kick.
City replied three minutes after the Davis goal with a 71st minute Edin Dzeko strike. A corner kick was not cleared by the defense and eventually fell to Dzeko who smashed it just inside the near post. The winning goal was scored by Samir Nasri who sent a volley into the upper corner to make it 3-2.
It was an up and down performance from City but the key thing is getting the three points. Southampton will take some positives from the match as they host Wigan next weekend.
| 17′ | David Silva (pen miss) | ||
| 39′ | Carlos Tévez | 1 – 0 | |
| 58′ | 1 – 1 | Rickie Lambert | |
| 68′ | 1 – 2 | Steven Davis | |
| 71′ | Edin Dzeko | 2 – 2 | |
| 79′ | Samir Nasri | 3 – 2 |
