Liverpool's Luis Suarez (L) shoots and scores his second goal past Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland during their English Premier League match in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, Sunday. — Reuters LONDON — Manchester City went top of the Premier League after securing a controversial 2-0 win at Newcastle United Sunday with an early Edin Dzeko goal and a stoppage-time effort from Alvaro Negredo. Liverpool also won away with an astonishing 5-3 victory at Stoke City after the home side battled back from a two-goal deficit to level the match at 2-2 by halftime. The results lifted City to the top of the Premier League on 47 points, one ahead of Chelsea and two clear of Arsenal, which will return to the summit if it wins at Aston Villa Monday. Liverpool climbed above Everton and Tottenham Hotspur into fourth place on 42 points. The outcome could have been very different at St James' Park if a stunning 34th-minute volley from Newcastle's Cheick Tiote had not been disallowed after a contentious decision by referee Mike Jones. He ruled that Newcastle's Yoan Gouffran was offside and had unsighted City keeper Joe Hart, a claim hotly disputed by Newcastle boss Alan Pardew. One blot for City was a potentially serious knee injury suffered by France international Samir Nasri who was carried off on a stretcher late in the game. An eight-goal thriller at Stoke ended with Liverpool winning with two goals from Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, the top scorer in the Premier League this season who took his tally to 22 goals. An own goal from Ryan Shawcross, a penalty from Steven Gerrard on his 650th Liverpool appearance and a fine individual goal from substitute Daniel Sturridge on his return from injury completed Liverpool's scoring. Stoke's goals came from former Liverpool duo Peter Crouch and Charlie Adam, and Jon Walters. On Saturday, Manchester United returned to winning ways after three straight defeats with a 2-0 Premier League home victory over Swansea City, avenging last week's FA Cup loss to the Welsh club. Without strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, United labored before halftime but Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck scored early in the second period to calm any jitters and put a smile back on the face of manager David Moyes. United remained in seventh place with 37 points from 21 games. “In the end we got the result we deserved,” Moyes, who was charged with misconduct by the FA Friday for comments he made about officials after Tuesday's League Cup semifinal, first leg defeat at Sunderland, told Sky Sports. — Reuters
