Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse, left, shoots past Aston Villa defender Nathan Baker to score the opening goal during Tuesday’s match in Birmingham, England.(Photo: Andrew Yates, AFP/Getty Images)
LONDON (AP) — Manchester City missed a chance to put the pressure on Manchester United at the top of Premier League by drawing 0-0 at bottom-place Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday.
The inability to break through a compact QPR side means the champions are four points behind United, which can surge seven points clear by beating Southampton on Wednesday.
“We are disappointed for this result,” City manager Roberto Mancini said. “We had our chances to win, and we dominated the game, but QPR defended very well, got players behind the ball. We lost two points, for sure.”
QPR remains bottom, but is now three points behind Reading and four adrift of Aston Villa.
Newcastle climbed four points clear of Aston Villa after goals from Papiss Cisse and Yohan Cabaye clinched a 2-1 win at Villa Park that plunged the hosts into the drop zone.
Wigan moved out of the relegation places on goal difference after drawing 2-2 at Stoke, while Swansea drew 0-0 with Sunderland in a meeting of mid-table teams.
At a rain-swept Loftus Road, two of the seven places on the QPR bench were filled by goalkeepers: Rob Green and Brian Murphy, who has made just one appearance for the club.
It was a clear message from manager Harry Redknapp to chairman Tony Fernandes about just how desperate he is for new signings before the transfer window closes on Thursday night.
The third goalkeeper in the matchday squad, Julio Cesar, came under pressure from the start. But in front of him, the defense remained disciplined to thwart waves of attacks.
Cesar was beaten in the 20th minute, but Pablo Zabeleta’s diving header crashed against the crossbar and Sergio Aguero missed the target when the rebound reached him.
City was getting closer, with Javi Garcia curling just wide of Cesar’s right post, but goalkeeper Joe Hart also had to be alert to deny Adel Taarabt with a fine save.
That block, though, was bettered at the other end by Cesar, who tipped Gareth Barry’s effort wide.
The target evaded City after the break, with Aguero firing wide, substitute Edin Dzeko heading over and David Silva’s fierce strike after a one-two with Carlos Tevez kept out by Cesar.
City was denied a penalty when Scott Sinclair went down under a challenge from Nedum Onuoha, who appeared to get the ball first.
“It’s a bonus point — they rip teams to pieces home and away,” Redknapp said. “We will take a point off them any day.”
At Villa Park, Newcastle finally halted a run of 17 games without a victory on the road in all competitions this season.
Cisse put Newcastle ahead in the 19th minute, latching onto a pass from new signing Moussa Sissoko and dispatching a low shot past goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
“We have worked really hard on integrating the new players,” Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said. “They are not here to save us, they are here to help us.”
Newcastle went further ahead in the 31st after Villa captain Ron Vlaar headed a clearance straight to Cabaye, who unleashed a shot on the bounce from just outside the area past the diving Guzan.
Villa couldn’t mount a comeback despite Christian Benteke netting a penalty early in the second half after Mathieu Debuchy fouled Gabriel Agbonlahor.
“We paid the price for starting too slowly,” Villa manager Paul Lambert said. “We just never got going in the first half. The second half, that’s the way to play football.”
At the Britannia Stadium, Stoke was cruising after Ryan Shawcross hooked in the opener in the 23rd and Peter Crouch pounced at the start of the second half to score his first goal since September after Charlie Adam’s shot was parried by Ali Al Habsi.
But Stoke was denied its first win in five league matches. James McArthur began the fightback in the 50th and Franco Di Santo volleyed in the equalizer in the 61st.
Lazio beats Juventus to reach Italian Cup final
ROME (AP) — Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 to reach the Italian Cup final on 3-2 aggregate.
Lazio was headed to the championship on the strength of Alvaro Gonzalez’s header in the 53rd minute off a cross from Cristian Ledesma. Arturo Vidal tied the score in the second minute of six minutes of stoppage time, and Sergio Floccari’s goal on a header a minute later put the hosts back ahead.
Claudio Marchisio should have sent Juventus into the final on the away goals rule but he fired wide, right in front of an empty net after Federico Marchetti had pulled off a desperate save to parry Sebastian Giovinco’s shot at point-blank range.
“We are satisfied with the result, it was a crazy game at the end, but we had the right determination to take home the result,” Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic said. “We deserve this joy and must always play at this level, as a great team cannot afford dips in intensity during a season.
“The squad is really growing and tonight’s performance proved it against a strong side like Juventus.”
In the other semifinal, Roma leads Inter Milan 2-1 heading into the second leg in April, at Stadio Olimpico.
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