[caption id="attachment_109971" align="alignleft" width="233"]
Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo (L) attempts to punch the ball out before Burnley’s Ben Mee scores during their English Premier League match in Manchester Monday. - AP[/caption]LONDON - Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho was sent off for the third time in his last six games but it did not stop it as Sergio Aguero came off the bench to score in a 2-1 Premier League home defeat of Burnley Monday.
City’s hopes of closing the gap on leader Chelsea took a knock in the 32nd minute when its Brazilian skipper Fernandinho got a straight red card for a reckless two-footed tackle on Icelandic midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson.
But Burnley, which has managed only one point on the road all season, was unable to assert itself and City moved comfortably ahead with Gael Clichy and substitute Aguero scoring within four minutes of each other after the break.
Ben Mee’s reply meant some late jitters for City but Pep Guardiola’s side was rarely troubled as it moved above Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal into third - seven points adrift of Chelsea and two behind Liverpool, which drew at Sunderland.
“Ask the referee - not me. We’ll play without Fernandinho,” Guardiola said when asked about the red card that means a four-game ban for the midfielder, who was also dismissed against Chelsea and Borussia Moenchengladbach this season.
“We try to play football. I can’t control the circumstances. We wanted to win ... When you play 10 against 11, sometimes you just defend but I wanted to make counter-attacks with Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero and we did it.”
Brighton back on top
Brighton stormed back to the top of the Championship with a 2-1 win at Fulham, overhauling a Newcastle side which crashed to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Monday.
Chris Hughton’s side was in danger of losing its 17-match unbeaten run when Lucas Piazon gave Fulham the lead 10 minutes into the second half at Craven Cottage.
Brighton goalkeeper David Stockdale had earlier denied his former club by saving a first-half penalty from Stefan Johansen.
But Brighton hit back with two goals in two minutes as Tomer Hemed leveled from the penalty spot before Lewis Dunk headed the 75th-minute winner.
The Seagulls are two points clear of Newcastle after Charlie Mulgrew fired struggling Blackburn to a 1-0 win at Ewood Park.
Reading remains third - only the top two automatically go into the Premier League - six points behind Newcastle, after it came from behind to win 3-2 at Bristol City.
Fourth-placed Huddersfield won 1-0 at Wigan and fifth-placed Leeds beat Rotherham 3-0.
Nelson Oliveira’s hat trick guided Norwich to an emphatic 3-0 win over Derby that eased the pressure on manager Alex Neil.
