City take over at top of Premiership

Blackburn 2, Man City 3

Blackburn boss Graeme Souness brought Andy Cole and Steven Reid into the starting line-up, dropping Matt Jansen and David Thompson to the bench. Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan made just one change from the side who drew with Portsmouth, with Paul Bosvelt making his debut in place of Robbie Fowler, who had a rib injury.

Michael Tarnat scored his first goal for City on three minutes from a free-kick about 39 yards out.

Martin Taylor fouled Antoine Sibierski and Tarnat stepped up to hammer a quite astonishing free-kick which curved low into the net.

Two minutes before the break Cole had a 20-yard effort deflected wide, and from the resulting corner Trevor Sinclair headed into his own net. Sinclair was unmarked, Seaman was coming for the ball but the winger headed it neatly over his keeper to give Rovers the equaliser. Neither manager made a change at the break, and the second half began in the same scrappy fashion as the first period had ended.

Seaman was forced into a low save from Emerton after Distin had given the ball away carelessly before City produced the best move of the match so far. A slick move ended with Anelka feinting to shoot from the edge of the “D” and instead sliding a pass out to the unmarked Sibierski on the left. He could easily have scored, should definitely have hit the target, but did neither and Rovers breathed again. Their relief was shortlived however as Barton broke through two lacklustre challenges from Lorenzo Amoruso and Martin Taylor to find himself one-on-one with Friedel and finished calmly to the keeper’s left.

Souness must have been fuming but his rage would have been assuaged as as two minutes later, on the hour-mark, Blackburn equalised for a second time when Amoruso thumped home an emphatic header.

Anelka settled the game with three minutes to go, firing through Friedel’s legs from the narrowest of angles.

BLACKBURN: Friedel, Neill, Martin Taylor, Amoruso, Gresko, Emerton, Flitcroft, Tugay, Reid, Cole, Yorke.

MAN CITY: Seaman, Jihai, Sommeil, Distin, Tarnat, Wright-Phillips, Bosvelt, Barton, Sinclair, Sibierski, Anelka.

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire)