Sunderland vs. Manchester City: Score, Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match

Manchester City scored a narrow 1-0 victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday to keep pace in the increasingly competitive Premier League championship race.

Sergio Aguero scored the only goal of the match early in the first half, and City managed to survive some attacking surges by the Black Cats to secure all three points. It's a significant result for the second-place club with Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur earning wins of their own as the battle at the top continues to heat up.

The match came one day after City confirmed former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola is going to replace Manuel Pellegrini after the season. The club's current boss hoped that would allow the squad to focus on chasing titles rather than all the outside talk, as noted by the BBC.

"I knew this a month ago. But I don't think it's good, this rumour and speculation about different things," Pellegrini said in a statement. "I would prefer to finish the speculation today. That's why I told the press, I told the players, and I spoke with the club two weeks ago saying that I would do it."

City set the pace of the match early with extended spells of possession. And just after the quarter-hour mark, they jumped out to the lead.   

A nice buildup that featured several small-area passes in quick succession eventually landed at the feet of Jesus Navas. The midfielder sent a hopeful driven cross through the box that somehow found its way through a maze of players to Aguero, who easily directed his effort past Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone.

Sky Sports Statto highlighted the dynamic striker's improved away form as of late:

Bleacher Report UK joked about the fantasy implications:

Sunderland finally started to settle into the match over the final 10 minutes of the opening half. While they weren't able to find an equaliser, they did find some openings in the City back line and forced 'keeper Joe Hart to preserve the lead.

George Caulkin of the Times noted the defensive lapses from Pellegrini's group:

The heavily involved Black Cats supporters were also a factor, as City Watch pointed out:

Sunderland continued to impress after the half-time break as they forced City to play a cautious brand of football to protect the one-goal lead. It led to a more physical encounter with players from both clubs getting feisty.

Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News spotlighted one of several clashes:

City's effort to see out the victory took a hit when Navas was forced to exit with around 15 minutes left. Sammy Lee of Goal noted it seemed like a hamstring issue:

The Black Cats did their best to keep pushing forward whenever given the opportunity, but they simply lacked the necessary finishing touch to find the equaliser and potentially more. On a different day, they could have earned a win from this match with a better effort in the attacking third.

Manchester City celebrated the win:

"

FT: @sunderlandafc 0-1 City

That's it! City hang on for a precious three points. What a battle that was! #mcfc pic.twitter.com/8tL3MUPfCi

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) February 2, 2016"

Squawka Football provided the final statistics:

Although every match at this point in the campaign is important, City face a potentially season-defining stretch over the next few weeks. First, they welcome surprise title contenders Leicester to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and that's followed by a home fixture against Tottenham next weekend.

How the Sky Blues respond to that challenge, especially after what's become an emotional week following the managerial announcement, will likely say a lot about how the rest of the term will go. Getting the victory over the Black Cats will send them into those matches on a high note.

Meanwhile, Sunderland must start to see a noticeable uptick in form if they are going to climb out of the relegation zone over the final few months. Next up is a clash on Saturday with a Liverpool side desperate for points as it tries to make a second-half charge up the table.

Post-Match Reaction

Pellegrini provided some insight about City's style of play during the second half, per City Watch:

Mark Booth of the club's official site passed along comments from Hart about trying to pay attention to the task at hand when so much is going on:

"

We're here to win titles, Manuel is here to win titles and that's what we're trying to do. We back him all the way and we love him as our manager. We appreciate we have a job to do this season, next season is next season—I thought Sunderland were fantastic tonight. If they carry on like that they'll have no problems at all.

"

Meanwhile, Ben Dinnery of ESPNFC noted the frank assessment from Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce: