Newcastle, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Manchester City opened defense of its Premier League title on Sunday with a 2-0 win at Newcastle through goals from David Silva and Sergio Aguero.
Silva found the net after 39 minutes to put City in front, while Aguero came off the bench in the second half to score in stoppage time, putting the result away.
Edin Dzeko had an early chance snuffed out by some quick reactions from Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul, but Dzeko had a hand in Silva's goal six minutes before halftime.
Yaya Toure played a ball over the top that Dzeko tracked down inside the penalty area. The Bosnia international then slipped a backheel into the path of Silva, who beat Krul with a low shot to put the visitors in front.
Dzeko went close with a header in the 65th from a chipped pass by Stevan Jovetic, while Toure drilled a free kick just over the crossbar from a dangerous area.
One of the few chances for Newcastle came in the 84th minute when substitute Ayoze Perez worked his way into the City penalty area and had his shot deflected just wide of the right post.
Aguero entered the match in the 83rd and had a quick impact as he put the game away in stoppage time by driving into the box on the left and shooting the ball toward the near post, where Krul parried the effort back into his path, allowing Aguero to score inside the far post.
Liverpool 2, Southampton 1
Liverpool, England - Liverpool got its season off on the right foot on Sunday as a 79th-minute goal from Daniel Sturridge lifted the club to a 2-1 win over Southampton at Anfield.
Raheem Sterling put the hosts in front in the 23rd minute, but the Saints responded through Nathaniel Clyne in the second half to level the contest before Sturridge clinched three points with his goal 11 minutes from time.
With Liverpool having sold last season's leading scorer, Luis Suarez, over the summer, players like Sterling will need to step up and help fill the void, and the young Englishman did that midway through the first half.
A well-weighted through ball from Jordan Henderson released Sterling and he scored with a tidy first-time effort that rolled inside the right post.
Southampton leveled the contest in the 56th when a clever backheel from Dusan Tadic allowed Clyne to get into the penalty area and lash a shot high into the net past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Sterling set up the winning goal when his header inside the box was steered home by the leg of Sturridge, but Liverpool had to survive a late scare to claim the win.
Morgan Schneiderlin got into a dangerous position inside the area and fired a shot that Mignolet tipped onto the crossbar in the 88th minute, while Shane Long headed the rebound wide from seven yards.