Football: Man City go top, Arsenal gain revenge on Southampton

LONDON -- Manchester City thrashed West Brom 5-0 to move back top of the Premier League on Tuesday as Arsenal aided their push towards the European places with a 3-1 win at Southampton.

City have now won 11 consecutive games since West Brom earned a shock 1-1 draw at the Etihad last month.

Pep Guardiola's men have hit top form since and did not miss the presence of the injured Kevin De Bruyne in blowing away the Baggies by scoring four goals before half-time.

Ilkay Gundogan opened the floodgates by curling home from the edge of the box before Joao Cancelo's controversial strike doubled City's lead.

The West Brom defense was distracted by a wrongly raised offside flag before the Portuguese full-back found the net, but the goal stood after a VAR review.

Gundogan then took his tally to seven goals in his last eight league games before Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring.

"There's not really a secret," Gundogan said of his scoring streak. "I'm just in the right spaces at the right moment. I'm in a bit more of an offensive role, if I get the chance close to the box I try to make the right decisions."

West Brom have now conceded 17 goals in Sam Allardyce's four home games in charge as they remain second bottom of the table, six points off safety.

- Arsenal on the rise -

Guardiola's former assistant Mikel Arteta is also enjoying a fine run of form as Arsenal have taken 16 from the last possible 18 points.

The Gunners avenged their FA Cup to Southampton at the weekend despite falling behind after three minutes to Stuart Armstrong's sweet strike.

Nicolas Pepe quickly leveled before Bukayo Saka rounded Alex McCarthy and slotted home to give the visitors at half-time lead.

"I think we were good from the start. We conceded a goal from a corner but responded straight away," said Arteta.

"It showed a lot of intelligent and resilience from the team in the way they managed the game."

Alexandre Lacazette sealed a vital three points 18 minutes from time as Arsenal moved up to eighth and within five points of the top four.

- West Ham go fourth -

West Ham occupy the fourth Champions League place as Tomas Soucek scored twice in a 3-2 win at Crystal Palace.

The Hammers suffered an early setback when Wilfried Zaha put Palace in front after just three minutes.

But the stronger mentality that David Moyes has lauded in West Ham this season showed as Soucek struck twice in 16 minutes to turn the game around.

Only Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes has scored more Premier League goals from midfield than the Czech since he joined from Slavia Prague a year ago.

Craig Dawson headed in Jarrod Bowen's corner 25 minutes from time to make it 3-1 before Michy Batshuayi scored a late consolation for Palace.

A sixth consecutive win in all competitions takes Moyes's men above Liverpool in the table and Jurgen Klopp's struggling Reds will be wary of their trip to the London Stadium on Sunday.

At the other end of the table, Newcastle lost 2-1 at home to Leeds to stretch their winless run to 11 games

"This league is demanding and cruel at times," said beleaguered Magpies boss Steve Bruce.

Raphinha slotted home Rodrigo's cut-back to give Marcelo Bielsa's men a deserved half-time lead.

Miguel Almiron levelled with Newcastle's first goal for five games early in the second half, but parity lasted only four minutes before Jack Harrison's sensational finish with the outside of his left foot claimed all three points for the visitors.

Newcastle have a seven-point cushion over the bottom three, but have now played two games more than Fulham in 18th.

Agence France-Presse

Chelsea march on, Arsenal suffer sloppy defeat to West Brom

LONDON - Chelsea continued their seemingly irresistible surge towards regaining the Premier League title as a late Gary Cahill goal saw them snatch a 2-1 win at Stoke City on Saturday to move a provisional 13 points clear at the top.

The latest triumph for Antonio Conte's unstoppable charges came after London rivals Arsenal's season continued to unravel with a third straight 3-1 away league defeat, this time at West Bromwich Albion.

The Gunners' fourth loss in five league games raised further questions about the future of under-pressure manager Arsene Wenger, who announced intriguingly afterwards: "I know what I will do. You will soon know".

Conte had been without the in-form Eden Hazard through injury for what always promised to be an awkward fixture for Chelsea at Stoke and, just as they had recently held Manchester City at home, the Potters again made life difficult.

Willian put the leaders ahead after 13 minutes thanks to a blunder by Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant but Jon Walters equalised with a penalty before halftime after being fouled by Cahill.

The England defender made amends in the 87th minute with a deserved winner and, after Phil Bardsley had been sent off for Stoke in added time, Conte celebrated with his staff on the touchline as Chelsea moved on to 69 points, leaving all the pressure on their nearest pursuers who play on Sunday.

Second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who host Southampton, and third-placed Manchester City, who welcome fourth-placed Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium, now both have to win just to get back within 10 points of the leaders.

WENGER PROTESTS

 
Arsenal's defeat came amid more protests from some of the more vociferous of the Gunners' faithful about Wenger as the manager acknowledged that his side were in the middle of "a unique bad patch" in his two-decade managerial reign.

After dismal defending saw West Brom's Craig Dawson head home twice from corners in a convincing win for Tony Pulis's men, Wenger told reporters: "We lose game after game at the moment and that for me is much more important than my future."

Yet as the debates about his prospects became ever louder -- one airplane trailed a banner over the ground that declared "Wenger Out" while another trumpeted "In Arsene We Trust" -- the Frenchman said he would clarify his future soon.

His team, though, now look in serious jeopardy of not enjoying a 20th successive season of Champions League football in 2017-18 -- and if Manchester United win at Middlesbrough on Sunday, Arsenal, currently fifth on 50 points, will drop to sixth, two points behind Jose Mourinho's men.

Basement club Sunderland were held 0-0 at home to poor travellers Burnley, while third-bottom Hull City were trounced 4-0 by Everton, for whom league-leading scorer Romelu Lukaku scored twice in added time, taking his season's tally to 21.

The Belgian became the first Toffees' striker to hit 20 league goals in a season, since Gary Lineker 31 years ago, though his goals were bitter-sweet for Everton fans who know he could leave after this week rejecting a new contract offer.

Leicester City's remarkable resurgence under new manager Craig Shakespeare continued with a fourth successive win under his stewardship since Claudio Ranieri's sacking.

The champions won 3-2 at West Ham United with first-half goals from Riyad Mahrez, Robert Huth and Jamie Vardy for their first league success away from home all season.

Shakespeare, the first Premier League manager to oversee a side scoring three goals in his first three matches in charge, was "intensely proud" of the results his players had gleaned.

Like Leicester, Crystal Palace eased their worries with a third straight win, 1-0 at home to Watford through Troy Deeney's own goal, suggesting master escapologist Sam Allardyce can maintain his record of never suffering a Premier League relegation.

After Swansea City's recent revival under Paul Clement was checked with a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth in the late game, the bottom five teams are now Sunderland on 20 points, Middlesbrough 22, Hull 24, Swansea 27 and Crystal Palace 28.

(Reporting by Ian Chadband; Editing by Ken Ferris)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Chelsea turn it up to 11, Ibra lifts Man Utd

LONDON, United Kingdom -- Diego Costa earned Chelsea a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday as the Premier League leaders claimed a club record-equaling 11th consecutive league victory.

Costa headed home Cesar Azpilicueta's cross in the 43rd minute at a foggy Selhurst Park to send Antonio Conte's men nine points clear.

"The run is fantastic," said Chelsea manager Conte. "Congratulations to my players, not me. I am pleased for them because they deserve this."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as Manchester United won 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion, while champions Leicester City weathered the dismissal of Jamie Vardy to come from 2-0 down and draw 2-2 at Stoke City.

Chelsea have matched their record of 11 consecutive wins from April to September 2009, achieving the feat within the same season for the first time.

The only blemishes were yellow cards for Costa and N'Golo Kante that mean both players will be suspended for next weekend's home game against Bournemouth.

Narrowly beaten 2-1 by Manchester United in mid-week, Palace threatened to take the lead against Chelsea when Jason Puncheon scuffed wide from Martin Kelly's cross.

The visitors went in front shortly before half-time after Eden Hazard sprayed a pass wide to Azpilicueta, whose floated cross allowed Costa to nod in his 13th goal of the campaign.

Marcos Alonso struck the bar with a late free-kick, but Costa's goal proved sufficient.

Chelsea are nine points clear of second-place Liverpool, who visit Everton on Monday, and Arsenal, who travel to fourth-place Manchester City on Sunday.

"We can improve though," Conte added. "It is important to understand we are only at the 17th game in the season. We must not look at the table."

Jose Mourinho's United drew level on points with fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur, who host Burnley on Sunday, after winning at West Brom to record three successive league wins for the first time since August.

Ibrahimovic opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a header from Jesse Lingard's fine right-wing cross at the conclusion of a magnificent team move.

After Ben Foster had pushed a shot from Wayne Rooney onto the bar, Ibrahimovic added a second in the 56th minute.

- Negredo at the double -

The former Paris Saint-Germain striker darted between two defenders before scoring via a deflection off Craig Dawson, leaving him with nine goals from his last 10 appearances and 16 for the season.

"I keep saying that for me it is not his body, for me it is more up here," Mourinho told BT Sport, pointing to his head.

"It is a pleasure to see him play, his happiness. It's fantastic for a 35-year-old guy."

He added: "That was very good. We played really well at Crystal Palace and today, even better."

Leicester avoided a ninth defeat of the campaign thanks to an impressive fightback in a stormy game at Stoke, which left Claudio Ranieri's men three points above the relegation zone in 15th place.

Vardy was shown a straight red card in the 28th minute for a two-footed challenge on Mame Biram Diouf, ruling the England striker out of Leicester's entire festive programme.

Bojan Krkic put Stoke ahead with a 39th-minute penalty after Danny Simpson was adjudged to have handled his cross, with Joe Allen tapping in a second in first-half stoppage time.

But Leonardo Ulloa halved the deficit, smuggling a header over the line from fellow substitute Demarai Gray's cross, before Christian Fuchs teed up Daniel Amartey to head in an 88th-minute leveller.

Discussing whether Vardy deserved to be sent off, Leicester manager Ranieri said: "One manager says yes, one says no. If you listen to me, I say 'no'. If you listen to Mark Hughes, he says 'yes'.

"I don't know if he touched the player, but he touched the ball. I was angry (with the referee) because I saw my players fight and there were so many yellow cards, but it was a normal battle in the Premier League.

"It could be a turning point today, but we have to wait and see the next matches."

Middlesbrough moved above Leicester to 14th place after beating Swansea City 3-0 courtesy of a first-half Alvaro Negredo brace and a Marten de Roon volley.

Swansea dropped to second-bottom, with Sunderland climbing off the foot of the table after Patrick van Aanholt's 49th-minute goal secured a 1-0 home win over Watford.

Hull City are now bottom following a 1-0 defeat at West Ham United, who prevailed through Mark Noble's 76th-minute penalty after the visitors had hit the post three times.

source: news.abs-cbn.com