Two headed goals from set pieces by midfielder Tomas Soucek and defender Angelo Ogbonna helped West Ham United fight back from a goal down to beat Leeds United 2-1 in their Premier League clash at Elland Road on Friday.
West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski conceded a penalty in the second minute when he brought down Patrick Bamford and seemed to have redeemed himself by saving Mateusz Klich’s spot kick.
However, after a review by the video assistant referee (VAR) a retake was ordered due to Fabianski leaving his line, and Klich scored at the second attempt.
Chelsea’s 17-match unbeaten run came to an end with a 1-0 defeat at Everton, while the Manchester derby between United and City ended goalless in the Premier League on Saturday.
The results leave Tottenham Hotspur top of the table on 24 points level with Liverpool. Jose Mourinho’s Spurs visit Crystal Palace while Juergen Klopp’s champions are at Fulham on Sunday.
Chelsea hoped to grab first place, for 24 hours at least, but a first-half penalty by Iceland’s Gylfi Sigurdsson gave Everton victory on the return of 2,000 fans at Goodison Park.
The home side went ahead in the 22nd minute when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was brought down in the box by Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Sigurdsson stroked home the spot kick.
Chelsea’s Reece James hit a post with a low first-half drive while a Mason Mount free kick also hit the woodwork with 10 minutes left in the second half as the visitors’ normally potent attack misfired on Merseyside.
Everton moved up to seventh in the standings on 20 points while Chelsea remain third on 22 after 12 games.
The Manchester derby at an empty Old Trafford lacked its usual excitement with both sides cautious and few chances.
The only major incident saw United awarded a penalty in the 48th minute when Kyle Walker kicked Marcus Rashford’s foot in the box but the decision was overruled after VAR found the England striker had been in an offside position.
The nearest an unusually flat City came to scoring was a first half effort from Riyad Mahrez that was well saved by David De Gea, with Kevin De Bruyne unable to make the most of the loose ball.
After their Champions League exit at the hands of RB Leipzig on Tuesday, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needed to avoid the kind of result that might have raised serious questions about his role and was pleased with his team’s display.
“The glass is always half-full with me. That’s just the way you have to look at it. In my time against Man City, that’s the best performance we’ve had. Not the best result but it’s the best performance. I think so,” said the Norwegian.
VILLA PENALTY
A stoppage-time penalty by Anwar El-Ghazi gave Aston Villa victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers in a Midlands derby which saw both teams finish with 10 men.
Villa had Douglas Luiz sent off in the 85th minute and Wolves midfielder Joao Moutinho was dismissed shortly after the visitors scored against the run of play to register their fourth away win of the season.
Nelson Semedo hauled down John McGinn in the penalty area and El-Ghazi made no mistake with the spot-kick as he blasted the ball past keeper Rui Patricio.
Newcastle United shook off the effects of a COVID-19 outbreak at the club when Miguel Almiron netted the fastest Premier League goal this season and Dwight Gayle scored a late winner in a 2-1 home victory over West Bromwich Albion.
Almiron fired Newcastle ahead after 20 seconds when a mistake by defender Branislav Ivanovic allowed the hosts to counter-attack and Joelinton found the Paraguayan midfielder unmarked in the box as West Brom scrambled to recover.
The visitors equalised five minutes after the restart when Matt Phillips’s cross was met by Darnell Furlong who stretched to volley into the bottom corner.
Gayle grabbed the winner against his former club in the 82nd minute when he connected with fellow substitute Jacob Murphy’s cross and his bullet header crashed in off the bar.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season but Jeffrey Schlupp’s late equaliser left the leaders frustrated in a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Southampton striker Che Adams scored against his former club, and midfielders Stuart Armstrong and Nathan Redmond struck after the interval as they beat Premier League strugglers Sheffield United 3-0 at St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday to go third in the table.
Joint-leaders Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool both dropped points on a busy day of Premier League action as Leicester City and Southampton narrowed the gap in what is shaping up to be one of the most open title races for years on Sunday.
Arsenal look extremely unlikely to be part of it, however, as they lost 1-0 at home to Burnley — a fourth successive home league defeat for the first time since 1959 leaving the Gunners languishing down in 15th spot.
After Chelsea’s defeat by Everton on Saturday and a boring 0-0 draw in the Manchester derby, Tottenham had the chance to cement their place at the top of the table and looked set for a fifth away win of the season when Harry Kane put them ahead in the 23rd minute at Crystal Palace.
But Jeffrey Schlupp’s late equaliser and some inspired goalkeeping by Palace’s Vicente Guaita meant Tottenham had to be content with a 1-1 draw.
It gave Liverpool the chance at Fulham to leapfrog Spurs to the top of the table but they were way below their best as they were also held to a 1-1 draw by Scott Parker’s side.
Liverpool trailed to Bobby Decordova-Reid’s superb opener and needed fine saves by returning keeper Alisson to avoid further damage before Mohamed Salah’s late penalty meant they avoided defeat at a soggy Craven Cottage.
“I think in the first half an hour we could have lost the game, in the last 60 minutes we should have won it. In the end we get a point and that’s it,” manager Juergen Klopp said.
It left Tottenham and Liverpool both on 25 points from 12 games above Leicester on 24, Southampton on 23, Chelsea on 22, three clubs on 20 and Manchester City on 19, in ninth place with a game in hand over all the teams above them apart from Manchester United in eighth.
Six points separate the top nine, a stark contrast to last season when, after 12 games, Liverpool had 34 points and Bournemouth, in ninth spot, were 18 points behind.
Leicester appear to be mounting a serious challenge after a commanding 3-0 win at Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday — James Maddison scoring twice and Jamie Vardy once.
Southampton eased to a 3-0 win over Sheffield United as they welcomed 2,000 fans back to St Mary’s.
Only once have they managed more than 23 points from 12 games in the Premier League, in 2014 when they amassed 26.
Sheffield United are only the fourth side in English Football League history to have no more than one point from their opening 12 league games of a season, leaving manager Chris Wilder under mounting pressure.
“I have a shower every day, I wash my face, I look in the mirror and try to come in bright and positive. I try to do my work, always, to the best of my ability,” Wilder, who was given backing by the club’s Saudi owner, said.
Wilder is not the only manager in peril.
Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta watched his side lose 1-0 at home to Burnley with some of the 2,000 fans present leaving early and some staying to boo after another dispiriting display.
Granit Xhaka was sent off in the second half and things went from bad to worse as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored an own goal to condemn Arsenal to defeat.
Burnley’s first win at Arsenal since 1974 lifted them above Fulham and out of the relegation zone, to 17th with nine points.
