Hull, England (SportsNetwork.com) - After several weeks away from domestic play, Manchester City resumed its league campaign with an inspired 2-0 victory over Hull City on Saturday at the KC Stadium.
It's been a difficult week for the Citizens as they fell to Championship side Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup quarterfinals last weekend and then bowed out of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 on Wednesday at the hands of Barcelona.
The lack of league action had seen City slip to fourth place in the table and things went south early for Manuel Pellegrini's men when captain Vincent Kompany was sent off just 10 minutes in for hauling down Hull's Nikica Jelavic from behind.
Despite going down to 10 men early, City grabbed the lead four minutes later when David Silva ripped a beautiful, curling strike from distance that bent around the left post and into the top corner.
Hull City put in a solid performance in front of their home fans, keeping over 50 percent of possession and firing five attempts on target, but they could never do anything with possession and were burned for a second goal in stoppage time when Silva slid an inch-perfect through ball to Edin Dzeko, who made no mistake, firing it into the bottom left corner.
The result sees City jump into second place in the Premier League on 60 points, one clear of Liverpool and Arsenal, while Hull City remains in 13th place on 30 points.
Aston Villa 1, Chelsea 0
Birmingham, England - Fabian Delph's late goal dealt a blow to Chelsea's title hopes on Saturday as Aston Villa claimed a 1-0 win over the Blues at Villa Park.
It was a tight affair for most of the match, but the tide turned in Villa's favor in the 68th minute when Chelsea midfielder Willian was sent off, reducing the visitors to 10 men.
Playing with the extra man, Villa finally broke through as substitute Marc Albrighton got free down the left flank and sent a cross into the box where Delph was able to flick it past Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech to the far post.
The result sees Villa improve to 34 points, while Chelsea remain six points clear of second-place Manchester City.
Sunderland 0, Crystal Palace 0
Sunderland, England - In a battle with massive relegation implications, Sunderland and Crystal Palace played to a scoreless draw on Saturday at the Stadium of Light.
Both sides entered the match needing to take three points to improve their hopes for survival, but neither side could produce that one moment of quality needed to steal three points.
The result sees Crystal Palace gain an important point away from home to stay out of the drop zone with 28 points, while Sunderland remains in the bottom three on 25 points.
Everton 2, Cardiff City 1
Liverpool, England - Seamus Coleman scored deep into stoppage time to hand Everton a crucial 2-1 victory over Cardiff City at Goodison Park.
After a scoreless first half, the Toffees struck first in the 59th minute through Gerard Deulofeu, but Cardiff continued to battle and found an equalizer through Cala in the 68th minute.
But Coleman collected a loose ball in the penalty area in the third minute of stoppage time and looped it home to keep Everton's European dream alive.
Everton moves to within two points of fifth-place Tottenham-Hotspur, while Cardiff City remains in 19th place.
Fulham 1, Newcastle 0
London, England - Felix MaGath earned his first managerial win for Fulham on Saturday after the club came away with a 1-0 result over Newcastle United at Craven Cottage.
Both teams struggled to find form in a scoreless first half, but the Cottagers managed to find the breakthrough in the 68th minute when Ashkan Dejagah fired it home to hand an important three points to Fulham.
The win sees Fulham pull to within four points of getting out of the relegation zone, while Newcastle stays in ninth place.
Southampton 4, Norwich City 2
Southampton, England - Southampton bagged the first three goals of the day on Saturday en route to a comfortable 4-2 victory over Norwich City at St. Mary's Stadium.
Morgan Schneiderlin put the hosts in front after just five minutes and England international Rickie Lambert made it 2-0 for the Saints in the 57th minute before Jay Rodriguez scored in the 72nd minute for a 3-0 advantage.
Norwich made it game late on as Johan Elmander and Robert Snodgrass scored in the span of one minute, but Sam Gallagher put the result away with a goal deep in stoppage time.
Stoke City 3, West Ham 1
Stoke-on-Trent, England - Peter Odemwingie scored on either side of the intermission on Saturday as Stoke City claimed a 3-1 result over West Ham United at the Britannia Stadium.
Things started poorly for the Potters as Andy Carroll gave the Hammers the lead after just five minutes, but Odemwingie equalized for Stoke in the 32nd minute.
Stoke City then seized control of the match in the second half as Marko Arnautovic put the Potters in the lead in the 69th minute and Odemwingie completed his brace 10 minutes later to wrap up the points.
West Bromwich 2, Swansea City 1
Swansea, Wales - West Bromwich Albion netted twice in the second half to overturn a one-goal deficit and come away with a 2-1 result over Swansea City on Saturday at the Liberty Stadium.
The Swans got off the mark quickly as Roland Lamah opened the scoring after just two minutes and the club took the lead into the locker room.
But Swansea couldn't hold the lead in the second half as Stephane Sessegnon scored in the 52nd minute to equalize for West Brom, and Youssuf Mulumbu netted the winner for the Baggies five minutes from time to give manager Pepe Mel his first win with West Brom.
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