Football: Chelsea back to winning ways against Bournemouth

LONDON -- Chelsea manager Graham Potter praised the Blues' reaction to a poor run prior to the World Cup as they eased past Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday to end a five-game winless streak in the Premier League.

Kai Havertz and Mason Mount struck inside the first 24 minutes to get Chelsea back in the hunt for a place in next season's Champions League.

Victory took Chelsea up to eighth and within six points of the top four.

"You have to use breaks as best you can," Potter told Amazon Prime. "Evaluate and reassess and get injured players back. We used it as best we could even with players coming back at different times."

However, victory came at a cost as defender Reece James limped off on his return from the knee injury which kept him out of England’s World Cup campaign.

James cruised through the first half but called for a substitution early in the second and looked disconsolate as he pointed to his knee before going to ground.

"You can see his quality. It's a blow for us," added Potter. "I'm not sure on the state of the injury. It's too early to say."

Potter, aiming to avoid overseeing a fourth consecutive Chelsea league defeat for the first time since 1998, handed Denis Zakaria his Premier League debut.

The Swiss midfielder broke forward well to drive Chelsea up the pitch in the first half, while the effervescent attacking duo of Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic led the Bournemouth defence on a merry dance.

Sterling provided the opener with an incisive low cross to the back post where Havertz slid in to convert in the 16th minute.

Mount doubled the lead with a well-taken drive from the edge of the box as Chelsea stepped up another gear before Pulisic had another goal disallowed for a foul by Havertz in the build-up.

After three games in all competitions without scoring a goal, the Blues were determined to end their disappointing streak and get their season back on track.

Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers did well to deny James after a dynamic burst forward, then made an even better save to foil Sterling before the break to keep his team in the game.

Havertz fired wide and Mount forced Travers into a smart low stop as Chelsea tried to put the game out of sight.

In the end they didn't need to as Bournemouth failed to threaten other than Jaidon Anthony's late free-kick that was beaten away by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

"We won't be measured on games at Chelsea," said Bournemouth boss Gary O'Neil.

"You need everything to go for you. The response to being 2-0 down, they showed incredible belief we could get something from the game."

A fifth defeat in six league games leaves Bournemouth just three points above the relegation zone.

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Football: Arsenal five points clear after Man City stunned by Brentford

MANCHESTER -- Arsenal head into the World Cup break five points clear at the top of the Premier League after they beat Wolves 2-0 on Saturday as Manchester City suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat to Brentford.

Newcastle remain in third after inflicting Chelsea's third consecutive league defeat 1-0 at St. James' Park, while Tottenham scored twice in the final 10 minutes to win a 4-3 thriller against Leeds.

City had not lost at the Etihad since February, but were stunned by Ivan Toney's response to being left out of England's World Cup squad.

The Brentford captain headed in his 10th goal of the season to give the Bees an early lead, but City responded before half-time thanks to Phil Foden's sumptuous strike.

Pep Guardiola warned ahead of the game that his side might have one eye on the World Cup with 10 of the City starting XI heading to Qatar.

A lackluster City performance was punished in the eighth minute of time added on when Brentford cut open Guardiola's men on the counter-attack and Toney tapped in Josh Dasilva's cross.

"The better team won," conceded Guardiola. "We had a lot of problems and we could not press as they didn't allow us."

Thomas Frank hailed the result as perhaps Brentford's best ever as they moved up to 10th in the Premier League.

"Speaking to some people from the club, this is probably the single biggest ever result," said Frank. "Against one of the richest clubs in the world and we have one of the lowest budgets in the division."

Arsenal took full advantage to set up an intriguing title battle when the Premier League returns from a six-week hiatus on Boxing Day.

Martin Odegaard led by example for the Gunners as the Norwegian fired home twice from close range in the second half.

New Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui was in the crowd before officially taking charge on Monday and has work to do in the second half of the season with Wanderers now bottom of the table.

- Bentancur saves Spurs -

Tottenham once again had to come from behind after goals from the in-form Crysencio Summerville and Rodrigo either side of Harry Kane's equaliser put Leeds in front at half time.

Jesse Marsch's men won 4-3 against Bournemouth last weekend, but were this time on the receiving end of a thrilling comeback.

"I feel like someone has ripped my heart out," said Marsch.

Ben Davies' powerful strike made it 2-2 before Rodrigo restored Leeds' lead.

Tottenham have made a habit of late fightbacks this season and rescued the three points as Rodrigo Bentancur scored twice in the final 10 minutes.

Newcastle bounced back above Spurs into third as Joe Willock's stunning strike extended Chelsea's winless league run to five games.

The Magpies are just two points adrift of City after a run of 22 points from a possible 24.

"I feel immense pride at how the players have performed consistently," said Newcastle boss Eddie Howe. "Now the challenge is to maintain and enhance that." 

- Nunez finds his feet -

Liverpool signed off until Boxing Day on a positive note as Darwin Nunez struck twice against Southampton.

Roberto Firmino's header opened the scoring inside six minutes at Anfield, but in Nathan Jones' first game in charge, the Saints responded immediately through Che Adams.

Nunez has been erratic since his 75 million euro ($77 million) signing from Benfica, but the Uruguayan is already up to eight goals in his debut season at Liverpool after two cool finishes before half-time.

Leicester's rise up the table continued but there were fears it could come at a cost for England.

James Maddison's stunning form forced his way into Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad and he opened the scoring with his seventh goal of he season.

The midfielder hobbled off shortly after, but played down the seriousness of the problem.

"Injury isn’t too bad!" Maddison tweeted. "A small problem that was causing a bit of soreness. Can't wait to meet up with the lads Monday."

Harvey Barnes added a second for the Foxes 12 minutes from time to leave West Ham one point above the relegation zone.

Everton are also only a point above the bottom three after a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Bournemouth.

Marcus Tavernier, Kieffer Moore and Jaidon Anthony were on target for the Cherries and there were angry confrontations between the Everton players and travelling support at full-time.

Nottingham Forest moved off the bottom as Morgan Gibbs-White scored the only goal of a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

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Football: Havertz seals controversial Chelsea win, Man City held by Villa

LONDON -- Kai Havertz scored the late winner as big-spending Chelsea fought back for a controversial 2-1 win against West Ham, while Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw after Leon Bailey snatched a late equalizer for struggling Aston Villa on Saturday.

Having embarked on a £250 million ($280 million) spending spree in the summer transfer window, Chelsea are expected to deliver on their new owners' eye-watering investment.

The early returns had been mixed as Chelsea crashed to defeats against Leeds and Southampton.

So when Michail Antonio gave West Ham a shock 62nd minute lead with a close-range finish, the critics were sharpening their knives at Stamford Bridge.

But Ben Chilwell equalized in the 76th minute, just three minutes after the England left-back replaced Marc Cucurella.

Chilwell headed Thiago Silva's lofted ball past his marker, spun around and poked his shot through Lukasz Fabianski's legs from a tight angle.

Havertz cleverly finished off Chilwell's cross to complete Chelsea's escape in the 88th minute of a thrilling finale.

There was still more drama as Maxwel Cornet appeared to equalize in stoppage time, only for the goal to be controversially disallowed by VAR for Jarrod Bowen's foul on Edouard Mendy.

Thomas Tuchel's side remain unconvincing but they are up to fifth place after their third win in six games, while West Ham boss David Moyes was livid with the officials for denying his team a point.

"The goalkeeper comes to take it, and actually fumbles it out of his hands five or six yards, so he could never recover it. Then he acted as if he had a shoulder injury. I'm amazed that VAR sent the referee for him to see it," Moyes said.

"But I thought even if he goes to the TV there's no way he's overturning this, because this is a goal. It was a ridiculously bad decision. The sad thing is this is the level of the weak refereeing at the moment."

Erling Haaland has been remarkably prolific since his £51 million move from Borussia Dortmund in the close season and he struck again in the second half at Villa Park.

The Norway striker's 10th goal in his first six Premier League games gave him a share of the record with Micky Quinn, who hit the same tally for Coventry in 1992.

But Pep Guardiola's side were punished for failing to build on their lead as Bailey's blistering finish left the champions frustrated.

- Spectacular Pickford -

In the goalless Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, there was more VAR intrigue as Conor Coady thought he had put Everton ahead against Liverpool with a close-range finish from Neal Maupay's shot in the second half.

But Coady's goal was correctly disallowed for offside after a VAR check.

There could easily have been goals aplenty but for a man of the match display from Everton keeper Jordan Pickford and some fine stops from his Liverpool counterpart Alisson Becker.

"Wow, what can you do? It was a great derby, super intense, with a lot of really spectacular saves," Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said.

"We hit the post three times and Pickford made so many saves."

Everton are now without a victory in their first six games this term, while Liverpool's momentum was checked after winning their previous two matches.

Unbeaten Tottenham made it four wins from six games with a 2-1 victory against Fulham in north London.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg broke the deadlock for Tottenham in the 40th minute, sweeping home from Richarlison's pass.

Harry Kane increased Tottenham's lead in the 74th minute from Ryan Sessegnon's cross to become the third highest goal-scorer in Premier League history, with 188 goals taking him past Andy Cole.

Only Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208) are now above Kane in the scoring chart.

Kane's goal also moved him level with Thierry Henry's tally of 43 in Premier League London derbies.

Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic curled home in the 82nd minute, but Tottenham held firm.

Managerless Bournemouth came back from two goals down to win 3-2 in a thriller at Nottingham Forest.

Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick as Brentford beat Leeds 5-2 at the Community Stadium.

Daniel Podence scored as Wolves beat Southampton 1-0 at Molineux for their first league victory this season.

Newcastle and Crystal Palace drew 0-0 at St James' Park.

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Football: Man City, Liverpool renew title fight as Premier League clubs flex financial muscle

MANCHESTER -- Premier League clubs have splashed an estimated £1 billion ($1.2 billion) in the arms race for new talent ahead of the start to the 2022/23 season on Friday, but champions Manchester City remain the side to beat.

After winning four league titles in five years, Pep Guardiola's squad has been bolstered by the biggest name arrival of the summer in Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian had his choice of Europe's top clubs after scoring 85 goals in 88 games for Borussia Dortmund and followed in the footsteps of his father Alf Inge -- a former City captain -- to the blue side of Manchester.

Haaland may have had a debut to forget as he missed a glaring opportunity towards the end of City's 3-1 Community Shield defeat to Liverpool on Saturday, but Guardiola warned the pretenders to his side's throne that "the goals will come".

"There is no reason not to be confident," added Guardiola. "What these guys have done, not just in the Premier League, but in the cups, the steps we have made in Europe and in many things."

In a window of significant change at the Etihad, Argentine forward Julian Alvarez and England international midfielder Kalvin Phillips have also arrived.

But Guardiola has let plenty of experience go to Premier League rivals with Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko heading to Arsenal and Raheem Sterling joining Chelsea.

Liverpool are best placed to pounce on any slipping of City's standards.

Jurgen Klopp's side were denied a historic quadruple by the finest of margins last season as they were pipped to the title by a point and lost the Champions League final 1-0 to Real Madrid after winning the League and FA Cup.

The Reds have also refreshed their front line with the imposing presence of Darwin Nunez coming in to compensate for the loss of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich.

Nunez did make an immediate impact in the Community Shield, winning a penalty and scoring to turn the game in Liverpool's favour late in the game.

- Tottenham title challenge? -

City and Liverpool have dominated English football for the past five years, but if there is to be a challenge from the chasing pack, it could come from Tottenham.

Ahead of Antonio Conte's first full season in charge, the Italian has been heavily backed by the normally thrifty Spurs board with the signings of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet and Fraser Forster.

Crucially, Tottenham have also retained the star duo of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min as they aim for a first league title in 62 years.

Arsenal have been in blistering pre-season form with Jesus on fire in thrashings of Chelsea and Sevilla.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel blasted his side as "not competitive" after losing 4-0 to the Gunners in Orlando and the Blues are a team in transition following Todd Boehly's takeover.

There is also plenty of work ahead for new Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag with the uncertain future of Cristiano Ronaldo hanging over start of a new era for the Red Devils.

- New boys Forest outspend Newcastle -

Amid the scale of big spending from English clubs, Newcastle have been surprisingly quiet in their first summer window since a takeover from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

The Magpies have spent just short of £60 million on Dutch defender Sven Botman, England goalkeeper Nick Pope and a permanent deal for left-back Matt Targett.

New boys Nottingham Forest have splashed over £70 million on 12 new signings in the two-time European champions' first season back in the top flight for 23 years

That sum does not even include a one-year deal for Jesse Lingard worth a reported £200,000-a-week after he joined on a free transfer from Manchester United.

Aston Villa's transfer business is arguably the best example of the growing financial gulf between the Premier League and the rest of Europe.

French international midfielder Boubacar Kamara and Brazilian centre-back Diego Carlos have turned their backs on Champions League football with Marseille and Sevilla respectively to join Steven Gerrard's side, who finished 14th in the English top flight last season.

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Football: Man City held by Leeds, Chelsea click into gear

 

LONDON -- Manchester City were forced to settle for a pulsating 1-1 draw against Leeds as Rodrigo punished Ederson's mistake, while Chelsea's big spending began to bear fruit as they thrashed Crystal Palace 4-0 on Saturday.

While Chelsea clicked into gear and City struggled to find their rhythm, James Rodriguez guided Everton to the top of the Premier League by scoring twice in a 4-2 win over Brighton.

City were humiliated last weekend when Leicester won 5-2 at the Etihad and Pep Guardiola responded by splashing out on Benfica defender Ruben Dias.

Dias made his debut at Elland Road and the Portugal centre-back had his work cut out for him in an entertaining game packed with chances at both ends. 

Raheem Sterling fired City into a deserved 16th-minute lead, cutting inside on the left edge of the penalty area driving his low shot inside the far post.

But City's failure to turn their early dominance into more goals proved costly as Rodrigo pounced on a mistake by Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson to turn the ball home from close range in the 59th minute.

"That was good. When both teams want to attack, it's a good game. We made an incredible first 30 minutes," Guardiola said of the showdown with his managerial mentor Marcelo Bielsa.

"My team, for the position we're in, showed incredible behavior. It's not easy to play against Leeds. They've showed how good they are."

City have won just one of their first three league games and could fall eight points behind champions Liverpool should Jurgen Klopp's men win at Aston Villa on Sunday.

For promoted Leeds, this buccaneering performance was further proof that Bielsa's commitment to attacking play can flourish in the top-flight.

"Leeds have been waiting a long time to be in this league and I think we showed we are prepared for this," said Rodrigo.

Frank Lampard has asked for patience after Chelsea's £220 million splurge in the market ($285 million), but the pressure was on the Blues to respond after a disappointing 3-3 draw at newly-promoted West Brom and a League Cup exit to a much-changed Tottenham in the past week.

For the first time Lampard was able to field five of his new signings as Edouard Mendy and Ben Chilwell made their Premier League debuts with Thiago Silva, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner also starting.

Chilwell had the biggest impact as he opened the floodgates with a thunderous strike at the far post five minutes into the second-half before his cross teed up Kurt Zouma to double Chelsea's lead.

What should have been a routine win for the hosts did not go without controversy as Jorginho then slotted home two penalties after Tammy Abraham and Havertz had been felled inside the area.

However, for the second spot-kick, captain Cesar Azpilicueta had to intervene to take the ball off Abraham with the England striker desperate to get on the scoresheet.

"I appreciate his eagerness because his performance deserved a goal but the rules are you don't jump up ahead of the list at any moment," said Lampard.

- Maximum points on Merseyside -

Everton will head into the Merseyside derby against Liverpool after the international window with maximum points from their first four games as James again shone for Carlo Ancelotti's men.

The Toffees also have the Premier League's form striker in their armory as Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring by heading home his ninth goal of the season.

Jordan Pickford's howler let Brighton back into the game as the Everton keeper's fumble was converted by Neal Maupay.

Yerry Mina's restored Everton's lead and former Real Madrid midfielder James struck twice before Yves Bissouma pulled a late goal back.

"We are really pleased for the start, we did really well this period, winning games, showing good quality. The spirit is good, but it is only the start of the season," Ancelotti said.

Newcastle moved up to sixth as Callum Wilson's double saw off Burnley 3-1.

Allan Saint-Maximin's fine individual effort opened the scoring for the Magpies before Ashley Westwood deservedly levelled for Burnley early in the second-half.

But the Clarets remain without a point this season as they had no answer to the pace of Saint-Maximin as he set up Wilson to restore Newcastle's lead.

The England international then scored his fourth goal in as many Premier League games for Steve Bruce's men from the penalty spot after Ryan Fraser was fouled by Nick Pope.

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Football: Arsenal beat Liverpool to end record bid, Man City sink Bournemouth

LONDON -- Arsenal ended Liverpool's bid to set a new Premier League points record with a 2-1 win over the champions, while Manchester City pushed Bournemouth closer to relegation with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.

Jurgen Klopp's side needed to win their final three games of the season to break Manchester City's record of 100 points set in 2018.

They were on course when Sadio Mane opened the scoring with a clinical finish from Andrew Robertson's cross at the Emirates Stadium.

But two careless mistakes condemned Liverpool to a third league defeat this season.

Virgil van Dijk's wayward backpass went straight to Alexandre Lacazette, who rounded Reds keeper Alisson Becker to slot home in the 32nd minute.

Alisson was guilty of an equally costly blunder when his pass out was intercepted by Lacazette and he picked out 20-year-old Reiss Nelson for a cool close-range finish.

Liverpool have failed to win three of their five matches since clinching the title.

They have 93 points and with just two games left and can only reach 99 at the end of their first title-winning campaign for 30 years.

"Twice there was a massive lack of concentration. We took a break after 1-0. Those two moments killed the game for us," Klopp said.

"You can't win games when you concede chances like that. We have to learn from it, 100 per cent."

Arsenal climb to ninth place as they chase qualification for the Europa League.

Mikel Arteta's side go into Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City in good spirits after bouncing back from Sunday's defeat at north London rivals Tottenham.

"In terms of energy and happiness in the dressing room before the semi-final, it's a good medicine," Arteta said. 

"To beat this team you have to have moments in the game when you take your chances, defend and have a bit of luck."

Manchester City had enjoyed a big win off the field already this week with their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturning a two-season ban from playing in European competitions, freeing up Pep Guardiola's men to play in the Champions League next season.

Guardiola left Aymeric Laporte, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez on the bench against Bournemouth to keep them fresh for Wembley, but City still had too much quality in the form of David Silva and Gabriel Jesus.

Silva showed why he will be so missed when he leaves at the end of the season, the midfielder curling a free-kick in off the underside of the crossbar after six minutes.

Jesus was ruthless in the 39th minute as he wriggled between two weak Bournemouth challenges before firing into the far corner to score for the third consecutive game.

- Stunning strike -

City finally conceded for the first time in five home games since the restart when David Brooks turned home Callum Wilson's cross two minutes from time.

"It was a really difficult game. We started well in the first 10 or 15 minutes of the second half but then we had a problem in our build-up," Guardiola said.

Defeat leaves Bournemouth still three points adrift of safety from Watford and West Ham, who face each other on Friday.

Wolves remain three points adrift of the Champions League places with just two games to play after Chris Wood's 96th-minute spot-kick gave Burnley a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor.

It was not until 14 minutes from time that the visitors broke the deadlock thanks to Raul Jimenez's stunning strike on the half-volley.

In stoppage-time, Mike Dean pointed to the spot for a handball by Matt Doherty despite the Irishman seemingly being impeded by Wood's attempt at an overhead kick.

Tottenham won 3-1 at Newcastle to keep their chances of European football next season on track by moving up to seventh.

Son Heung-min's shot crept in at Martin Dubravka's near post to open the scoring for Tottenham

Matt Ritchie got Newcastle's equaliser, but Harry Kane restored Tottenham's lead and the England captain added his second in the final minute.

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Football: Chelsea cling on to win 5-goal thriller, Leicester held at Arsenal

LONDON -- Chelsea moved up to third in the Premier League table after holding out to win a 3-2 thriller at Crystal Palace, while Leicester could only manage a draw at 10-man Arsenal on Tuesday.

Frank Lampard's men edged closer to sealing a place in next season's Champions League as a seventh win in eight games took them one point ahead of Leicester and opened up a five-point lead on fifth-placed Manchester United.

The Blues were fortunate when opening the scoring at Selhurst Park as former Chelsea captain Gary Cahill fell to the ground clutching his hamstring to allow Willian to tee up Olivier Giroud for his fourth goal in six games.

Christian Pulisic's form since the Premier League's restart has led to comparisons with Eden Hazard, the man he replaced at Stamford Bridge, and the Belgian would have been proud of Chelsea's second as the 21-year-old American skipped past Joel Ward and hammered in off the inside of the near post.

"Christian is hugely important," added Lampard. "You look at the top attacking players in the world and they score goals and make assists regularly that win games and at the moment he is doing that, so I am delighted with him."

As so often this season, Lampard's men failed to capitalise on their dominance and were suddenly on the back foot when Wilfried Zaha thundered a shot high past Kepa Arrizabalaga from long range for Palace's first goal in four games.

Chelsea looked to have sealed the three points again when substitutes Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham combined for the latter to restore a two-goal cushion 19 minutes from time.

Just over a minute later, though, Palace were back in the game when a brilliant move culminated in Patrick van Aanholt squaring for Christian Benteke to tap in just his second goal of the season.

Questions remain over whether the Chelsea defence will be strong enough to maintain a title challenge next season and they were left clinging on in stoppage time as Kepa turned Scott Dann's header off the inside of the post and only a last-ditch challenge from Kurt Zouma denied Benteke a second.

- Vardy matches Aubameyang -

Leicester have now won just one of their six games since the restart to see their lead over the chasing pack for a place in the top four whittled away, but were grateful for a 1-1 draw at the Emirates after a slow start against in-form Arsenal.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang swept home the opener for the Gunners as Kasper Schmeichel kept Leicester in the game with a stunning save to deny Alexandre Lacazette.

"In the first half we should have gone 3 or 4-0 up and kill the game against this type of opposition," said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

Lacazette also saw a goal disallowed for offside after the break before the game turned when Eddie Nketiah was shown a straight red card after a VAR review for a high challenge on James Justin.

Leicester made the man advantage count as Vardy pounced to slot home Demarai Gray's cross and regain his two-goal advantage over Aubameyang in the race for the Golden Boot.

"I was really pleased with how we managed the game 11 v 10. We got a deserved goal and if we had made the final pass we could have gone on and won the game," said Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers.

Arsenal's hopes of reaching the top four now appear over as they remain nine points behind with just four games to go.

- Welbeck makes Watford mark -

At the other end of the table, Danny Welbeck's first Premier League goal for Watford was as valuable as it was spectacular as the Hornets beat Norwich 2-1 to move four points clear of the relegation zone.

Defeat pushes Norwich ever closer to the drop and the Canaries could be relegated at the weekend if they fail to beat West Ham.

Like so much of his career, Welbeck's first season at Watford has been blighted by injury, but the former Manchester United and Arsenal forward showed his class by adjusting his body to hook home the winner after Craig Dawson cancelled out Emiliano Buendia's early opener for Norwich.

"I am speechless after the goal," said Welbeck. "It means a lot to me and means a lot to the whole team. It is one that puts us on our way now. We will give it our all from now."

Agence France-Presse

Football: Chelsea win holds off Man Utd in race for Premier League Top 4

LONDON -- Chelsea held on to their place in the Premier League's top four by bouncing back to beat Watford 3-0 on Saturday after Manchester United briefly powered past with a 5-2 rout of struggling Bournemouth.

Third-placed Leicester also got back on track with Jamie Vardy reaching 100 top-flight goals in a comfortable 3-0 win against Crystal Palace, while Arsenal dealt a blow to Wolves' Champions League chase by winning 2-0 at Molineux on Saturday.

United's fearsome front four of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood, who netted twice, were all on the scoresheet as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men hit five goals in a home Premier League game for the first time since 2011.

"Confidence is sky high. You get energy and confidence by performances and results and we are getting that at the minute," said Solskjaer, who is feeling the benefits of a 16-match unbeaten run.

"I have enjoyed the last few games to be honest and it is healthy. You don't age as quickly!"

Bournemouth are moving fast in the other direction as they remain second bottom and the Cherries' defensive problems were quickly exposed after they took a shock 16th-minute lead through Junior Stanislas.

Greenwood got the comeback started as he smashed home from Fernandes's pass before Rashford, from the penalty spot and Martial, with a stunning shot into the top corner, scored their 20th goals of the season,

"Mason is one of the best if not the best finisher I have worked with and seen," added Solskjaer. "He is so calm. He knows where to finish if it is on the training ground, here or in his garden at home."

Bournemouth were given hope when Josh King scored from the spot after Eric Bailly handled inside his own box just four minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute.

But there was no stopping Solskjaer's men going forward and Greenwood restored their two-goal cushion with another powerful drive, this time on his weaker right foot, before Fernandes then capped another influential display with a fine free-kick.

- Chelsea bounce back -

Chelsea shrugged off a shock 3-2 defeat at West Ham in midweek with a routine win at Stamford Bridge.

Olivier Giroud was recalled up front and repaid Frank Lampard with a smart finish to break the deadlock before Willian's penalty made it 2-0 before half-time.

Ross Barkley added the third in stoppage time to move Chelsea back two points ahead of fifth-placed United.

"We needed a result after the last game," said Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic. "I think there was an extra bit of energy because of that loss, we wanted to prove a point."

A third defeat in four games since the restart leaves Watford still just one point above Bournemouth and Aston Villa in the battle to beat the drop.

Arsenal kept their hopes of European football next season alive moved by ending Wolves' eight-game unbeaten run in impressive fashion to move up to seventh.

Bukayo Saka celebrated signing a new long-term deal this week by hooking in the opener just before half-time and Alexandre Lacazette came off the bench to seal all three points for Mikel Arteta's men four minutes from time.

"Every game you have no margin for error, we know that we try to win every game," said Arteta of Arsenal's top-four chances.

Defeat leaves Wolves five points behind Chelsea.

- 100 up for Vardy -

Arsenal face Leicester next on Tuesday, but the Foxes go into that game with a much-needed confidence boost after a first win in five games.

Leicester have struggled to score goals of late, but were helped back to winning ways by some calamitous Palace defending for Kelechi Iheanacho to open the scoring and Vardy to tap into an empty net for his Premier League century.

Vardy struck again in characteristic fashion in stoppage time, sprinting in behind before dinking the ball over the advancing Vicente Guaita.

"To get the two goals and the three points is all you can ask for," said Vardy. "We know it's down to us. We are in this position on merit and we have to keep going. If we play like that between now and the end of the season, we will pick up a quite a few points."

Norwich manager Daniel Farke conceded his side are heading for relegation after a 1-0 home defeat to Brighton left the Canaries still seven points.

"It was more or less our last chance to get back in the mix," said Farke.

"After a few losses, we don't have the right to make any fighting messages or to make any unrealistic claims."

Agence France-Presse

Football: Man City stumble again at Chelsea to crown Liverpool champions

LONDON -- Manchester City's Premier League title defence came to an end on Thursday as Liverpool were crowned champions after Chelsea boosted their chances of a top-four finish with a 2-1 win over Pep Guardiola's men.

The defensive mistakes that have undone City's title challenge were in evidence as Christian Pulisic punished two errors by Benjamin Mendy to open the scoring.

Kevin De Bruyne's brilliant free-kick brought the visitors level, but Liverpool's 30-year wait to win a league title was ended when Fernandinho was sent-off for palming the ball clear off his own goal line and Willian converted the resulting penalty 12 minutes from time.

A huge three points for Frank Lampard's men moves them within a point of third-placed Leicester and opens a five-point advantage over Manchester United and Wolves in the race to qualify for next season's Champions League.

As it stands, City are banned from European competition for the next two seasons, but still have aspirations to win the Champions League for the first time when the competition resumes in August.

However, Guardiola was given another reminder that his side's defending must improve to compete with Europe's best.

After a slow start, Chelsea began to enjoy the better of the chances as Olivier Giroud failed to connect with a dangerous Ross Barkley cross before Andreas Christensen's header was well saved by Ederson.

Two calamitous pieces of defending from Mendy then presented Pulisic with the opener as the Frenchman overhit a pass into Ilkay Gundogan and then dived in to allow the American a clear run on goal.

Pulisic kept his head to slot into the far corner and score his second goal of the restart after a long injury layoff before the coronavirus shutdown.

City responded strongly after a talking to by Guardiola at half-time as they tried to keep Liverpool waiting for at least another week when they face the Reds at the Etihad.

Chelsea have long since regretted letting De Bruyne go and the Belgian midfielder gave another reminder to the Blues what they are missing by sending a dipping free-kick into the top corner.

City's strength in depth has been emphasised by the temporary change in rules to allow five substitutions and nine replacements on the bench.

Guardiola introduced Gabriel Jesus and David Silva straight after the equaliser and Chelsea were left clinging on for a spell.

Raheem Sterling nearly capped a brilliant counter-attack from Ederson's throw out to first time passes from De Bruyne and Jesus only to see his chip over Kepa Arrizabalaga come back off the post.

An uncharacteristic error from Ederson then nearly threw City's good work away as the Brazilian passed the ball into the path of Mason Mount, who wastefully fired wide.

Only a stunning goal line clearance from Kyle Walker then denied Pulisic a second after rounding Ederson as City's defence was again caught flat-footed.

However, City were punished at the third time of asking as after seemingly escaping a goal mouth scramble, VAR was required to see Fernandinho had used a hand to clear.

The Brazilian was given his marching orders and then saw his former international teammate Willian dispatch the penalty confidently into the top corner.

That was the cue for Liverpool fans around the world the celebrate the end of a three-decade wait as they were finally crowned champions of England.

Agence France-Presse