PREMIER LEAGUE: Last-gasp penalty earns Leicester point, Arsenal held

LONDON - Premier League leaders Leicester City salvaged a point from Leonardo Ulloa's penalty with the last kick of the game to draw 2-2 in a thriller with West Ham United and open an eight-point gap over chasing Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Ulloa struck five minutes into added time to earn a draw for the Foxes, who had looked headed for defeat after West Ham scored twice in three minutes through Andy Carroll's 84th minute spot kick and Aaron Cresswell's fine strike to lead 2-1.

Although Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri praised what he called his team's fantastic performance built on "blood, heart and soul", the match proved costly for the hosts as they chase a first top-flight title.

Their first-half scorer Jamie Vardy was sent off early in the second and will be suspended for the match at home to Swansea City next Sunday and they dropped points for the first time after five straight wins.

Leicester lead the standings with 73 points from 34 matches, followed by Spurs, who have 65 from 33 and play their game in hand at Stoke City on Monday.

Arsenal, who drew 1-1 with visiting Crystal Palace on Sunday, remain fourth on 60 points, behind Manchester City, 3-0 winners at last season's champions Chelsea on Saturday, on goal difference.

FANTASTIC ATMOSPHERE
A victory over West Ham and defeat for Spurs on Monday would have left Leicester 10 points clear with four games to play and there was a fantastic atmosphere at the King Power Stadium with thousands of fans arriving in the sunshine hours before kickoff.

West Ham almost scored in the second minute when Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel saved a header from Cheikhou Kouyate, tipping the ball on to his left-hand post before it rolled across the line and hit the other upright.

Leicester took the lead through Vardy after 18 minutes with the striker grabbing his 22nd goal of the season to join Tottenham's Harry Kane as the league's leading scorer.

But Vardy was dismissed for a second yellow by referee Jon Moss and, although Leicester's 10 men coped well with West Ham's constant pressure, they wilted in the 84th minute when Wes Morgan fouled Winston Reid and Carroll equalised from the spot.

Two minutes later the visitors were ahead thanks to a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area from Cresswell, before Carroll fouled Jeffrey Schlupp and Moss awarded Leicester a penalty which Ulloa calmly converted.

"The sending off changed our match," Ranieri said. "But I never speak about the referee.

"Our performance was fantastic, this is our soul, we play every match with this blood, heart and soul, it was magnificent. This point is very important psychologically."

West Ham remained sixth on 53 points, three behind Manchester United as the pair chase a European spot.

BAD RESULT

Arsenal's lingering title hopes appeared to all but end after they were held by lowly Palace, who equalised eight minutes from time when Yannick Bolasie sent a low shot from the edge of the box past Petr Cech at the near post.

Alexis Sanchez headed Arsenal ahead just before halftime.

"That was a bad result for us," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "...we had a lot of possession but could not turn that into real clear-cut goal chances.

"We lacked a change of pace today, our passing was slow and maybe we lacked complete confidence to go for it."

Eighth-placed Liverpool, with 10 changes from the side that beat Borussia Dortmund 4-3 to reach the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday, won 2-1 at Bournemouth with goals at the end of the first half from Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge.

Josh King scored a late consolation for the hosts.

(Editing by Ed Osmond and Ken Ferris)

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Leicester stretch lead as Sanchez frustrates Spurs

LONDON -- Leicester moved a step closer to fulfilling their improbable dream of winning the Premier League as Riyad Mahrez gave the surprise leaders a 1-0 win at Watford, while 10-man Arsenal rescued a 2-2 draw against title rivals Tottenham on Saturday.

Claudio Ranieri's side extended their lead over second placed Tottenham to five points thanks to the latest moment of magic from Footballer of the Year contender Mahrez.

The Algeria winger lashed a fine finish past Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes from just inside the penalty area in the 56th minute.

With just nine games remaining, the unfancied Foxes are closing in on the most unlikely title triumph in the history of English football.

"An important win, a big battle," said Ranieri, who eased injury fears over Mahrez after he limped off in the final minutes.

"We are so happy. We wanted to show what we have inside. The desire is so high and we have a great opportunity.

"The title is not ours. We have to fight a lot and keep our feet on the ground."

Leicester's title charge had already received a boost earlier in the day when Tottenham squandered the lead in a pulsating north London derby at White Hart Lane.

With Gunners midfielder Francis Coquelin sent off after Aaron Ramsey's 39th minute opener, Arsenal looked in trouble when Tottenham hit back with two goals in three minutes from Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane after the interval.

But Arsenal, criticised after successive league defeats this week, recovered to equalise through Alexis Sanchez with 14 minutes remaining.

"I am proud of the spirit, but going down to 10 men was the big regret for the day and it was hard to take," said boss Arsene Wenger, whose side are eight points behind Leicester.

Although they wasted a chance to go top for the first time in seven years, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino was still satisfied.

"I am pleased. It's true, when it was 2-1 I am little bit disappointed with the result, but we have to be happy we keep the three-point gap to Arsenal," Pochettino said.

At Eastlands, Manchester City ended a run of three successive league defeats with a 4-0 rout of Aston Villa at Eastlands.

Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure broke the deadlock in the 48th minute and Sergio Aguero doubled the lead two minutes later.

Aguero struck again in the 60th minute and Raheem Sterling added the fourth six minutes later before Aguero squandered a chance for a hat-trick when his penalty hit a post.

Manuel Pellegrini's fourth-placed side remain 10 points behind Leicester, while woeful Villa are slipping closer to playing in the second tier for the first time since 1988 after their fourth consecutive defeat.

- Beleaguered -

Chelsea warmed up for their crucial Champions League showdown against Paris Saint Germain with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Stoke at Stamford Bridge.

With Diego Costa rested ahead of the last 16, second leg against PSG, who hold a 2-1 advantage, Burkina Faso forward Bertrand Traore bagged his fourth goal in his last five appearances in the 39th minute.

But Chelsea were pegged back five minutes from full-time when Stoke forward Mame Biram Diouf headed home.

Bournemouth piled more pressure on beleaguered Newcastle manager Steve McClaren with a 3-1 win over the crisis-torn Magpies at St James' Park.

After a week that featured reports of a dressing room rebellion against McClaren, who also became embroiled in an angry exchange with a journalist on Friday, Newcastle fell behind in the 28th minute through Steven Taylor's own goal.

Josh King increased Bournemouth's lead in the 70th minute and although Ayoze Perez got one back in the 80th minute, it was too late for second-from-bottom Newcastle, who are one point from safety, because Charlie Daniels added the visitors' third deep into stoppage-time.

"I'm very disappointed. That was definitely a poor performance and 'going down' material," McClaren said.

West Ham staged a superb fightback to remain in the hunt for a Champions League berth with a 3-2 win at 10-man Everton.

Romelu Lukaku struck in the 13th minute and, despite Kevin Mirallas's dismissal, Aaron Lennon doubled Everton's lead in the 56th minute.

But Lukaku saw a penalty saved by Adrian and Michail Antonio reduced the deficit in the 78th minute.

Diafra Sakho equalised three minutes later and Dimitri Payet won it in the last minute.

Struggling Sunderland had to settle for a 1-1 draw at 10-man Southampton, while Swansea climbed nine points clear of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over third bottom Norwich at the Liberty stadium.

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Leicester rock Man City to race clear, Spurs second

LONDON - Leicester City's unlikely assault on a first Premier League title gathered momentum with a ruthless 3-1 demolition of Manchester City helping them storm five points clear at the top on Saturday.

Defender Robert Huth scored twice and Algerian magician Riyad Mahrez fired his 14th league goal of the season as Leicester sent a clear message of intent to those who still doubt they have the quality to become champions.

Bookmakers have now made Claudio Ranieri's men, 5,000-1 outsiders at the start of the campaign, favorites to go all the way.

Tottenham Hotspur moved above Manchester City into second place, Kieran Trippier scoring in a 1-0 win over Watford at White Hart Lane.



Leicester have 53 points from 25 games. Spurs are on 48, one ahead of Manchester City. Fourth-placed Arsenal, who visit Bournemouth on Sunday, have 45.

Elsewhere, Newcastle United clawed their way out of the relegation zone after Aleksandar Mitrovic netted in a 1-0 home victory over West Bromwich Albion.

Norwich City dropped into the bottom three after a 2-0 defeat at basement club Aston Villa while Sunderland, in 19th place, scored twice in the final eight minutes to draw 2-2 at Liverpool.

Ranieri's Leicester face Arsenal at the Emirates next weekend and the Italian said all the pressure was now on the league's big guns in this most unpredictable of seasons.

"We have to try in this crazy league but there are some big teams who have to win," he told reporters.

"The spirit is fantastic but I've said this from my first moment here in Leicester."

TOO HOT TO HANDLE

Leicester's energy and attacking verve proved too hot for City to handle at the Etihad Stadium, the hosts perhaps still digesting the news that Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola would be replacing Manuel Pellegrini as manager next season.

Poor marking allowed Huth to convert Mahrez's free kick after three minutes to rock the home team who struggled to respond in rain-lashed Manchester.

Mahrez then showed why he, along with team mate Jamie Vardy, should be a leading contender for Player of the Year honours when he doubled Leicester's lead following a swift break, taking N'Golo Kante's pass to advance and fire the ball past Joe Hart.

Huth's header from a corner on the hour made it 3-0, ensuring Sergio Aguero's late reply proved of no consequence.

Pellegrini made no excuses for Manchester City's chastening defeat.

"A lot of things went wrong. We played against a very good team," the Chilean said. "It's fair to give them the merit they have."

Like Leicester fans, followers of Spurs will dare to dream that their side can finally land a first top-flight title since 1961.

Full back Trippier, set up by substitute Dele Alli, scored his first goal for the club after 64 minutes to extend Spurs' winning run to six games in all competitions.

"We need to be calm. We are in a very good position in the league but the philosophy from the beginning of the season has been to go step by step," said manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Sunderland staged the comeback of the day at Anfield where thousands of Liverpool fans walked out in the 77th minute in protest against rising ticket prices, the timing symbolic with the club intending to charge a top price of 77 pounds ($111.65)next season.

Liverpool, with goals from Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana, were 2-0 up when many of the home fans left and they at least missed their side's capitulation as efforts by Adam Johnson and Jermain Defoe, a minute from time, earned Sunderland a point.

Anfield boss Juergen Klopp missed the game after suffering suspected appendicitis.

Everton struck three times in the first half on the way to a comfortable 3-0 victory at Stoke City while Southampton beat West Ham United 1-0 despite having Victor Wanyama sent off in the 54th minute.

($1 = 0.6897 pounds) (Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Leicester stun Spurs, Arsenal held as Liverpool strike late

LONDON - Leicester City won 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur to rekindle their unlikely Premier League title challenge and draw level at the top with Arsenal who conceded a late goal to draw 3-3 at Liverpool on Wednesday.

Those predicting Leicester would fade into the background of the championship race got a wake-up call when Robert Huth headed an 83rd-minute winner against fourth-placed Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Arsenal had looked like going four points clear at the summit before Huth scored and Joe Allen came off the bench to grab a dramatic late equaliser for Liverpool.

Arsene Wenger's side, who stay top on goal difference with 43 points, had twice trailed to superb goals from Roberto Firmino but battled back to take a 3-2 lead thanks to two Olivier Giroud strikes.


Third-placed Manchester City stayed three points off the top after being held to a 0-0 draw at home by Everton and Champions Chelsea continued to confound as they were twice pegged back in a 2-2 home draw with West Bromwich Albion.

Sunderland's bid to stay up was boosted when Jermain Defoe grabbed a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over relegation rivals Swansea City, but Norwich City were dragged towards the relegation scrap after losing 3-1 at Stoke.

Southampton won their first match in three with a 2-0 home victory over Watford.

The first 25 minutes at Anfield were frenetic as Liverpool tore into the visitors and twice took the lead through excellent goals from Firmino.

The first arrived on 10 minutes when Emre Can's shot was parried into the Brazilian's path and he fired home in the blink of an eye, but the lead lasted only four minutes as Aaron Ramsey beat Simon Mignolet at his near post.

Firmino has blown hot and cold since joining Liverpool in the close season, but he produced a devastating finish to restore the hosts' advantage, curling the ball into the top corner from 25 metres, past the despairing dive of Petr Cech.

ATROCIOUS DEFENDING

Liverpool's season, however, has been characterized by atrocious defending at set-pieces and Arsenal were level again on 25 minutes when a corner from the left arrived unchallenged at the near post for Giroud to poke home.

The Frenchman has divided opinion as to whether he has the pedigree to lead the line in a title-winning side but there would have been few dissenters when he swiveled and stroked the ball into the net to put Arsenal ahead on 55 minutes.

They could not close it out, however, and Allen arrived in the area to volley home from eight meters.

"We come out of the game with a lot of positive but still some regrets," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who added that some of his players were carrying "bad memories" from their 5-1 defeat by Liverpool at the same ground in 2014.

Leicester had failed to win their last three league games, without scoring a goal, prompting predictions that their surprise surge up the table was over and they would slip away in the second half of the campaign.

Yet those may have to be revised after they went to Tottenham, who have their own title hopes, and clinched a superb win after Huth scored a bullet header from a corner.

"Unfortunately, it's January, not May," said Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri. "There's so much work to do. We have to remain calm and believe in what we're doing."

There was no goalmouth drama at the Etihad Stadium, although Manchester City's efforts to reduce the gap at the top were hit when they were denied a late penalty for a foul on Raheem Sterling by John Stones.

Chelsea, attempting to win consecutive league matches for the first time this season, twice led, but Cesar Azpilicueta's opener was cancelled out by Craig Gardner and Gareth McAuley's own goal was followed by a second equalizer from James McClean. (Editing by Ed Osmond)

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