Manchester City chalked up yet another victory to maintain their stranglehold of the Premier League title race but pursuers Manchester United and Leicester City both secured important wins to enhance their top-four bids on Sunday.Raheem Sterling’s header after 75 seconds was enough for City to win 1-0 at Arsenal — a result much more comfortable than the narrow scoreline suggests.
It was their 13th Premier League win in a row, and 18th in all competitions, equalled a club-record 11 successive away wins and kept them 10 points ahead of the pack at the top.
“There are 39 points to play for and we need the victories to be champions and we will try in the next games,” said City boss Pep Guardiola, bidding for his third title in four seasons. “We only think of the next game, this is the only secret.”
United and Leicester are both on 49 points with United in second place on goal difference after they secured a 3-1 home victory over struggling Newcastle United in Sunday’s late game.
Marcus Rashford fired a lacklustre United ahead out of the blue in the 30th minute but Allan Saint-Maximin’s volley got Newcastle back on level terms.
Daniel James put United back into the lead after the break before Bruno Fernandes sealed the points with a penalty.
It’s always difficult after an away game in Europe,” manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of United’s flat start against Newcastle. “It took us until halftime to get going.”
Leicester had earlier gone second by beating Aston Villa 2-1 thanks to first-half goals by James Maddison and Harvey Barnes.
Villa suffered a blow with playmaker and captain Jack Grealish ruled out with a leg injury but pushed Leicester hard after the break with Bertrand Traore halving the deficit. Leicester did enough though to please manager Brendan Rodgers.
“I thought some of our football and the speed of our game was really, really good. We didn’t have too many concerns defensively,” Rodgers said.
With Chelsea being held on Saturday by Southampton and champions Liverpool crumbling to a first home defeat by Everton for 23 years, West Ham United took the chance to move into the top four with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
It is the first time since 1986 that the Hammers are as high as fourth after at least 25 games of a top-flight campaign and hopes of European football are soaring in London’s East End.
Michail Antonio gave West Ham an early lead and Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard doubled their advantage just after the interval before Lucas Moura’s header made it a nervy final 25 minutes for the hosts.
“The players have been finding ways to wrestle points off the opposition,” said West Ham manager David Moyes, whose side have won seven of their last nine league games.
“They have done a brilliant job. You need a bit of luck along the way but we had all the right things.”
For Tottenham, a season that promised a title challenge when they topped the standings in December is disintegrating after a fifth defeat in six league games heaped pressure on manager Jose Mourinho who suggested a top-four finish was now very difficult, considering they are ninth, nine points behind West Ham.
“I wouldn’t say crisis. I’d say a really bad run of results. We are losing too many matches,” Mourinho said.
Everton enjoyed their first Premier League win at Liverpool since 1999 with a 2-0 victory at Anfield condemning Juergen Klopp’s fading champions to a fourth straight home defeat.
The win moved seventh-placed Everton, who had not won in 20 attempts in the league against their Merseyside rivals, level with Liverpool on 40 points.
Brazilian Richarlison put Carlo Ancelotti’s side ahead in the third minute with a cool finish after a delightful through ball from James Rodriguez.
An 83rd minute penalty from substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson, after Dominic Calvert-Lewin was ruled to have been brought down by Trent Alexander-Arnold, made sure of the win for Everton.
Liverpool have not lost four home matches in a row in the league since 1923.
Burnley were held to a 0-0 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Saturday, despite the visitors being reduced to 10 men for an hour.
Burnley’s task looked to have become easier when West Brom’s Semi Ajayi was sent off on the half-hour mark, his handball deemed to have denied the hosts a goalscoring opportunity.
Despite enjoying plenty of possession, however, Burnley created very little in attack, disappointingly mustering just one shot on target all match.
Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw away to struggling Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday after the hosts midfielder Takumi Minamino scored with their only attack of the first half and Mason Mount levelled with a penalty after the break.Saints had lost six league games in a row before the visit of the Londoners – who were looking for their fifth straight win under new coach Thomas Tuchel – and they spent long periods of the game trying to get hold of the ball.A freakish own goal by goalkeeper Illan Meslier gave Wolverhampton Wanderers a 1-0 home win over Leeds United in the Premier League on Friday and enabled them to leapfrog their opponents in the standings.
Ademola Lookman’s second-half goal earned Fulham a precious 1-0 victory over bottom club Sheffield United to edge them closer to escaping the Premier League relegation zone on Saturday.
Scott Parker’s side huffed and puffed for more than an hour at Craven Cottage until Lookman fired a shot past Sheffield United keeper Aaron Ramsdale in the 61st minute.
Fulham keeper Alphonse Areola was forced into a brave late block to preserve Fulham’s lead and they hung on to record a second win in three games.
Brighton defender Joel Veltman says the manner of their Premier League defeat by Crystal Palace felt like “a robbery” that has pushed them towards the “danger zone”.
The Netherlands international swept in an equaliser for the Seagulls after Jean-Philippe Mateta had earlier backheeled Palace in front from their first real attack.
But while Graham Potter’s side dominated possession and had 25 shots on goal, a remarkable conclusion saw Christian Benteke volley a dramatic winner for Palace deep into added time with only their second shot on target.
The result sees Palace move up to 13th with Brighton in 16th, just four points above a resurgent Fulham in 18th and at risk of being drawn into a relegation battle.
“It is unbelievable. They are getting away with it,” said Veltman. “It feels like a robbery of our points. The chances we didn’t finish and they had half a chance and Benteke scored. We have to score more.
“Because of this result we are getting in the danger zone. We have to react and West Brom away is a very important game.”
