LONDON (AP) ― Cardiff won for the first time in more than 50 years in the top tier of English soccer, jolting mighty Manchester City 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Fraizer Campbell scored twice to put the Welsh team past the 2012 champion, who has spent heavily during the offseason to win the title again.
“We’ll be the underdogs for a lot of the games this season but, as we showed, we’ve got great determination and hopefully that’ll see us through,” Campbell said.
Cardiff City’s Kim Bo-kyung (right) and Manchester City’s Fernandinho vie for the ball. (AFP-Yonhap News)
Signed for just $930,000 in January from Sunderland, Campbell helped Cardiff gain promotion and is now showing he can cut it in the Premier League again.
Cardiff is in the top division of English football for the first time since the 1961-62 season, gaining promotion in May to ensure there are two Welsh clubs in the Premier League for the first time.
As Cardiff was winning at home, Swansea lost 1-0 at Tottenham.
The blow of Gareth Bale’s impending departure to Real Madrid has been softened for manager Andre Villas-Boas by opening the season with back-to-back wins.
Roberto Soldado scored the winner from the penalty spot, just as he did in Tottenham’s league opener at Crystal Palace last Sunday.
The weekend’s blockbuster game doesn’t come until Monday night when champion Manchester United hosts Chelsea.
City has already experienced an early setback despite spending more than $140 million and replacing manager Roberto Mancini with Manuel Pellegrini after finishing without a trophy last season.
