Football: Last-gasp Milner keeps Liverpool flying; Spurs crash again

LONDON - A stoppage-time James Milner penalty sparked huge celebrations at Anfield as Liverpool beat Leicester City 2-1 on Saturday for an eighth successive Premier League win that moved them eight points clear at the top of the table.

The contrast with Tottenham Hotspur, whom they beat in last season's Champions League final, could not be more marked as Mauricio Pochettino's side continued to ship goals in a 3-0 loss at Brighton & Hove Albion. Aston Villa thumped Norwich City 5-1, Burnley edged Everton 1-0 and Crystal Palace won 2-1 at West Ham United.

With Manchester City not playing until Sunday, Liverpool looked determined to lay down their marker and were well in control when Sadio Mane scored the opener -- his 50th league goal for the club -- after getting on the end of a superb through ball from Milner.

But Leicester were always a threat on the break and looked to have secured a point when James Maddison equalised 10 minutes from time before a rash Mark Albrighton challenge on Mane set up Milner's penalty chance.

"We had to dig deep and find the points," said Milner, who said he just had to concentrate and stay calm to convert his 16th spot-kick in 18 attempts for Liverpool.

"The boys have done it time and time again. There was a few tired legs and it was about getting the result."

The game ended with several players from both sides confronting each other as passions threatened to boil over.

Tottenham's defeat at the Amex stadium was compounded by a horror injury to keeper Hugo Lloris, who was taken to hospital after injuring his arm in trying to keep out Neal Maupay's opener on three minutes.

The French keeper, who made a howler against Southampton last week and conceded seven against Bayern Munich, was badly at fault in parrying the ball straight into Maupay's path.

But recriminations were soon forgotten as the severity of his injury became clear and Lloris was treated on the pitch for six minutes before leaving on a stretcher. Spurs later confirmed he had dislocated his elbow.

SUBSTANDARD PERFORMANCE

Pochettino said the injury so early in the game affected the rest of the team although questions remain about another substandard Spurs performance so soon after their mauling by Bayern.

Brighton's other goals were scored by 19-year-old Irish striker Aaron Connolly in his first Premier League start.

"I've been watching the Premier League since I was four or five, so to be playing in it now, and then to score and to win 3-0, it really is a dream come true," Connolly said.

Brazilian striker Wesley scored twice for Aston Villa in the 5-1 win over Norwich although he spurned the chance of a first-half hat-trick by missing a penalty.

That hardly mattered as Villa recorded their highest away Premier League win in 11 years against a side who had conquered Manchester City in their previous home game.

Everton sit one point above Norwich after their fourth successive league defeat, a result that will pile more pressure on manager Marco Silva. Jeff Hendrick scored Burnley's winner and Everton will rue the dismissal of Seamus Coleman for two yellow cards.

Jordan Ayew scored a VAR-assisted 88th-minute goal to complete Crystal Palace's comeback victory at West Ham which moved Roy Hodgson's side into the top four.

West Ham had taken the lead on 54 minutes through Sebastien Haller but Patrick van Aanholt's cool penalty brought the visitors level before Ayew's late winner.

Bottom side Watford remained without a Premier League win this season after being held to a goalless draw by Sheffield United at Vicarage Road.

(Reporting by Neil Robinson, editing by Ed Osmond)

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Man City down Leicester in Cup shootout, Burton through

LONDON - Holders Manchester City held their nerve to beat Leicester City 3-1 on penalties and reach the League Cup semi-finals after an entertaining last-eight tie ended 1-1 on Tuesday.

City's Oleksandr Zinchenko fired the winner in the shootout after hosts Leicester missed three of their four spot kicks.

City had taken the lead through Kevin De Bruyne's rifled finish early on but Leicester clawed their way back into the encounter with a brilliant finish from Marc Albrighton.

With no extra time in League Cup matches this season, the game went straight to penalties where Leicester's Christian Fuchs fired over, while James Maddison and Caglar Soyuncu saw tame efforts saved by City keeper Arijanet Muric.

"In the end the keeper helped us," said De Bruyne. "He's got veins of ice. He did what he had to do in the shootout."

City will be joined in the last four by Nigel Clough's Burton Albion after the third-tier side shocked Championship (second-tier) team Middlesbrough with a goal from Jake Hesketh.

Manchester City and Leicester fielded heavily-changed sides although the visitors looked far more potent on paper with Sergio Aguero and De Bruyne returning to the starting lineup, having only just returned to action after injury.

FIRST BLOW

It was the Belgian playmaker De Bruyne who struck the first blow, showing delightful quick feet before firing a skidding shot from outside the area into the net at the near post.

City had a great chance to extend their lead early in the second half when Riyad Mahrez played Aguero in behind the defence but the Argentine's early shot was saved by Danny Ward.

The visitors were made to pay in the 73rd minute when Albrighton controlled a superb pass from Wilfred Ndidi then thrashed his finish into the far corner.

The Leicester fans had their hearts in their mouths when City appealed for a penalty with five minutes remaining as Gabriel Jesus looked to burst clear before Hamza Choudhury dived into a last-ditch tackle and just got a toe to the ball.

It was a brief reprieve as Pep Guardiola's side dominated the shootout with only Raheem Sterling failing to convert .

Burton reached the semi-finals for the first time in their history after Hesketh grabbed the only goal at 'Boro, slotting home a rebound from the edge of the area in the 48th.

The remaining quarter-final ties will be played on Wednesday when Arsenal host neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, while fellow London club Chelsea welcome south-coast side Bournemouth.

(Reporting by Toby Davis; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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Gray lifts grief-stricken Leicester, Liverpool top after Arsenal draw

LONDON -- Leicester paid an emotional tribute to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha as the grief-stricken club won 1-0 at Cardiff following their owner's tragic death, while Alexandre Lacazette's late equalizer gave Arsenal a 1-1 draw against new Premier League leaders Liverpool on Saturday.

Thai billionaire Vichai was among five people killed when his helicopter crashed outside Leicester's King Power Stadium last weekend.

With Vichai's funeral underway on Saturday in Bangkok, Leicester headed to Cardiff for a match that served as a chance to honor their late owner and begin the healing process.

While results have been rendered irrelevant by the crash, it was fitting that Leicester took the points in their first match since Vichai's death, thanks to Demarai Gray's second-half winner at the Cardiff City Stadium. 

Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel felt the tragedy more than most as he witnessed the immediate aftermath of the crash moments after the helicopter went down.

"I feel proud. It's been a really tough week for everyone. The way everyone at the club handles themselves is a testament to the family Vichai built," Schmeichel said.

"That took a lot. It has been an emotional day. I'm glad we got three points for him.

"I can't imagine what his family are going through. We did it for him and his family."

Leicester's players had worn white t-shirts bearing Vichai's image and the words "The Boss" on the front of them during the pre-match warm-up.

A minute's silence was impeccably observed, with a wreath laid on the pitch and images of Vichai shown on the scoreboards behind either goal.

Leicester's players and staff linked arms on the center circle to pay tribute during a poignant silence that left Schmeichel in tears.

Claude Puel's team, playing with poise and desire despite their traumatic week, finally had a cathartic moment in the 55th minute. 

A superb cross from Ben Chilwell was finished off by Gray, who celebrated by lifting his shirt to reveal a message that read "For Vichai".

It earned Gray a booking from referee Lee Probert in a move that followed the letter of the law, but showed little common sense given the circumstances.

Leicester's players huddled together in celebration at full-time, with many of them due to fly to Thailand to join Vichai's funeral immediately after the game.

On any other weekend, the showdown between revitalized Arsenal and title-chasing Liverpool would have hogged the spotlight which instead shone on Leicester.

The Emirates Stadium clash proved a classic encounter as Arsenal showed they are capable of going toe to toe with the top four after years of underachievement.

Unai Emery's side fell behind to James Milner's clinical finish after Bernd Leno pushed out Sadio Mane's cross in the 61st minute.

But fifth placed Arsenal extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 games as French striker Lacazette smashed home from a tight angle in the 82nd minute.

"I am only 50 percent happy because we wanted to win. The balance was good in our speed and intensity. Maybe we deserve a little more," Emery said.

Liverpool, unbeaten in their 11 league games this season, move one point above Manchester City, who would reclaim top spot if they avoid defeat against Southampton on Sunday.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp added: "They had a few chances for sure. They are in a good moment. 

"We deserved a point and we could have had more. We had clear chances."

At Dean Court, Marcus Rashford's close-range finish in stoppage-time helped Manchester United hit back to win 2-1.

Callum Wilson's 11th-minute opener for Bournemouth was cancelled out by Anthony Martial's 35th-minute effort as United survived a series of missed chances from the hosts.

- Sloppy start -

It was United's third victory in their last four league games, but boss Jose Mourinho was furious with his side's latest sloppy start.

"We were defensively awful. The first half was a disaster. The second half was much better," Mourinho said.

Tottenham climbed to fourth place with a thrilling 3-2 win at Wolves.

Erik Lamela put Tottenham ahead in the 27th minute, Lucas Moura doubled their lead three minutes later and Harry Kane notched the third in the 62nd minute.

There was a tense finish as Wolves' Ruben Neves scored a 68th minute penalty before team-mate Raul Jimenez netted with another spot-kick in the 79th minute.

Newcastle earned their first league win this season with a 1-0 success against Watford at St James' Park.

Everton beat Brighton 3-1 and West Ham won 4-2 against Burnley.

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Chelsea surge 11 points clear

LONDON - Chelsea's processional march towards the Premier League title continued at Swansea City's expense on Saturday as reigning champions Leicester City dropped into the bottom three.

Antonio Conte's side were not firing on all cylinders against a resolute Swansea side managed by their former assistant coach Paul Clement but second-half goals by Pedro and Diego Costa made sure of a 3-1 victory.

They are 11 points ahead of Manchester City who have 13 games left and while Italian Conte is too cagey to start preparing the Prosecco yet, only a monumental loss of form looks like denying him the title in his first season in charge.

Tottenham Hotspur, the only other top-four side in league action this weekend, could trim Chelsea's lead to 10 points if they win at home to Stoke City on Sunday.

"It's important to continue this way. We need 29 points to be sure of winning the league," Conte told reporters.

  
Chelsea's victory made it mathematically impossible for Leicester to catch them as they are 42 points behind the leaders going into their home clash with Liverpool on Monday - their first fixture since the sacking of manager Claudio Ranieri.

Leicester will start that game third-bottom after Crystal Palace's 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough at Selhurst Park on Saturday took them out of the relegation zone.

Patrick van Aanholt's 34th-minute goal was enough to lift Palace to 17th place with 22 points, one ahead of Leicester and Hull City, who drew 1-1 at home with Burnley.

"The three points are important as it puts us in amongst the pack, out of the bottom three and a bit closer to Bournemouth," Palace manager Sam Allardyce said.

Boro also have 22 points but are sliding towards the drop zone after nine league games without a win.

Bournemouth, too, are being sucked into the relegation battle after a 2-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion despite taking a fourth-minute lead through Josh King's penalty. Craig Dawson and Gareth McAuley replied for West Brom, who are eighth.

In-form Everton continue to harbour hopes of catching the top four and beat bottom club Sunderland 2-0 to move within six points of fourth-placed Arsenal.

Romelu Lukaku made the points safe for Everton with 10 minutes remaining, taking his tally for the season to 17, level at the top of the scoring charts with Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez.

Sunderland's fourth defeat in six left them on 19 points.

"There is a gap between us and the teams above us but there are still 12 games to go," Everton manager Ronald Koeman said.

"You need to continue and get the momentum."

Watford host West Ham United in the day's late kickoff.

Chelsea were made to work hard to dispatch a much-improved Swansea side despite taking a 19th-minute lead when Cesc Fabregas scored on his 300th Premier League appearance.

Fernando Llorente scored from Swansea's first real chance on the cusp of halftime, heading in after Gylfi Sigurdsson found him with a quickly-taken free kick.

Swansea were denied a penalty midway through the second half when Cesar Azpilicueta got away with a clear handball.

"That was a big moment. Who knows what would have happened?" Swansea boss Paul Clement, returning to the club where he was assistant coach, said as he reflected on the defeat.

Shortly afterwards Pedro's shot squirmed past keeper Lukasz Fabianski before Diego Costa, the fourth Spaniard of the day to hit the target, made the points safe with a volley for his 16th league goal of the season.

(Editing by Ed Osmond, Neville Dalton)

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Ronaldo wins FIFA's player of the year award

ZURICH - Cristiano Ronaldo won FIFA's player of the year award for the fourth time on Monday, beating his old rival Lionel Messi who was pulled out of the ceremony only a few hours earlier by his club Barcelona.

Italian Claudio Ranieri won the coach of the year award for leading rank outsiders Leicester City to the English Premier League title.

Ronaldo was rewarded for his performance in 2016 when he won the Champions League with his club Real Madrid and then Euro 2016 with Portugal. Five-times winner and four-times runner-up Messi was second and Frenchman Antoine Griezmann third.

Barcelona said that Wednesday's game against Athletic Bilbao would take priority over the ceremony and that none of their invited players would travel, which disappointed Ronaldo.


"I would like Messi to have been here today but they have an important game on Wednesday and we can understand that," he said after accepting the award from FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

"I don't have much more to say, I think the awards speak for themselves," he added. "I'm very happy and I can say that 2016 was the best year of my career, the trophy shows that people aren't blind and watch the games."

FIFA, which organised the award jointly with France Football magazine from 2010 to 2015 when it was named the Ballon d'Or, rebranded it as "The Best" this year after splitting with the French publication.

France Football continued with its own award which was also won by Ronaldo last month.

The ceremony, previously held at the Kongresshaus theatre in central Zurich, this year took place in the much more modest setting of a television studio on an industrial estate near the airport.

Ronaldo previously won in 2008, 2013, 2014 with Messi second on each occasion. Messi won from 2009-12 and then again in 2015 with Ronaldo second on every occasion except in 2010 when Andres Iniesta was runner-up.

Ranieri said he was "crazy" after winning the coach's award ahead of Fernando Santos, who led Portugal to the Euro 2016 title.

"I am crazy now," he said. "What happened last season in England was something strange. The football gods said Leicester must win."

Colombian side Atletico Nacional were given the Fair Play Award for conceding to Copa Sudamericana title to Brazilian side Chapecoense, whose team was decimated when a plane taking to the final crashed, killing 71 people.

"We did nothing more than what we had to do....handing them this trophy as a gesture of hope," said club president Juan Carlos de La Cuesta.

American Carli Lloyd won the women's player of the year award for the second year in a row.

Mohd Faiz Subri, of Malaysian Super League side Penang, won the goal of the year award for a 35-metre free kick in which the ball dipped and swung in a bewildering fashion to leave the goalkeeper stranded.

(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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Leicester reach last 16 to continue fairytale year

LEICESTER, England - Leicester City added another tale of remarkable success to an incredible year by reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in their debut season with a 2-1 victory over Club Bruges on Tuesday.

A volley from Shinji Okazaki and a Riyad Mahrez penalty put Leicester two goals ahead in the first half and they managed to see off a revival from the visitors who pulled one back with a fine individual effort after the break from Jose Izquierdo.

The result moved the Premier League champions to 13 points from five matches and not only ensured their spot in the knockout stages, but also their status as Group G winners with one match to spare.

It was a mixed performance, however, from Claudio Ranieri's side who were scintillating in the first half but much more like the team that has struggled in the Premier League this season after the break as the visitors pegged them back.

Leicester's fans, however, are unlikely to care about a sloppy second-half display after moving forward in Europe's elite club competition just seven years after they were playing in the third tier of English football and 18 months after narrowly avoiding relegation from the top flight.

The hosts ripped through the Bruges defense to open the scoring after five minutes as an incisive counter attack of the sort that characterized their run to the English title last season ended with Okazaki swiveling to volley home Christian Fuch's cross.

A thoroughly dominant first-half display then received further reward 15 minutes before the break when Marc Albrighton was tripped by Dion Cools and Mahrez slammed his penalty down the middle of the goal to double Leicester's lead.

They received a shock to the system when Izquierdo ran from the halfway line and rifled into the roof of the net after 52 minutes.

It was the first goal Leicester had conceded in the Champions League and it prompted a nervy retreat into their shell as Bruges pressed for an equalizer, but they held out to reach another remarkable milestone in 2016.

(Reporting by Toby Davis, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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Man City, Arsenal the big winners in dramatic finale

LONDON - Manchester City secured fourth place and Arsenal overhauled their arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur to come second on a dramatic final day of the Premier League season when a bomb scare rocked Old Trafford on Sunday.

After Manchester United's game against Bournemouth was abandoned due to a security alert, Manchester City drew 1-1 at Swansea City, Arsenal crushed Aston Villa 4-0 and Spurs capitulated 5-1 at 10-man Newcastle United to blow their chance of finishing above their neighbours for the first time since 1995.

"First of all I would like to apologise to our fans," Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said.

"I think they don't deserve all that happened today on the pitch and I apologise."

Champions Leicester City drew 1-1 at Chelsea to end the campaign 10 points ahead of the chasing pack, another staggering achievement in a remarkable season for Claudio Ranieri's team.

Manchester City needed a point to make sure of claiming the final Champions League qualifying spot but their game at Swansea started in a strange atmosphere caused by the events at Old Trafford.

Two stands were evacuated 20 minutes ahead of kickoff and the game was abandoned shortly before the scheduled 1400 GMT start. A controlled explosion was later carried out on a suspect package, described by police as "an incredibly lifelike explosive device".

Manchester City made the perfect start when Kelechi Iheanacho fired them ahead after five minutes.

Swansea equalised on the stroke of halftime through Andre Ayew's deflected free kick and the visitors endured a few nervy moments in Manuel Pellegrini's last match in charge before celebrating the point they needed.

"Well into this season we were well in the title race, but we let ourselves down, we will take positives of a trophy and semi-final of the Champions League, which was history for our club," City goalkeeper Joe Hart said.

"I have enjoyed our time under Manuel, it was important we finished off a good three years working with him."

DISMAL AFTERNOON

Spurs, Leicester's closest challengers in the last few weeks, endured a dismal afternoon at relegated Newcastle.

Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic put the hosts 2-0 up at halftime before Erik Lamela pulled one back.

Mitrovic was shown a straight red card for a dangerous foul but Wijnaldum scored his second from the penalty spot and Rolando Aarons and Daryl Janmaat completed the scoring at a disbelieving St James' Park.

Arsenal took an early lead against relegated Villa through Olivier Giroud and the French striker added two late goals to complete his hat-trick before Mark Bunn's stoppage-time own goal completed the rout.

Arsene Wenger's side finished in the top two for the first time since 2005 after a difficult campaign in which the French manager has been heavily criticised.

"We kept our togetherness and that is part of the DNA of this club," said Wenger, who led his team into the Champions League for the 19th consecutive season.

"We kept fighting until the end. Many big teams finished outside the top four this year."

Cesc Fabregas's second-half penalty for Chelsea looked set to condemn Leicester to only their fourth defeat of the season but Danny Drinkwater rescued a point for the champions with a stunning long-distance strike.

"It was a warm welcome for me, it was fantastic at the beginning and the end," Ranieri said on his return to his former club.

"A draw is OK because we have only lost three times this season and that is an amazing achievement."

Southampton climbed to fifth with a 4-1 victory over FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace and West Ham United's hopes of a top-six finish ended following a 2-1 loss at Stoke City.

(Editing by Toby Davis)

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Champions Leicester and struggling Sunderland party

LONDON - Leicester City celebrated their gloriously unlikely Premier League triumph in a fitting manner with a 3-1 victory over Everton in front of their overjoyed, partying fans at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Jamie Vardy, with a double, and Andy King scored the goals that left the home supporters in raptures even before they could savour the almost unthinkable sight of captain Wes Morgan and manager Claudio Ranieri lifting the trophy after the final whistle.

There were more celebrations at the Stadium of Light where Jermain Defoe was again the toast of Sunderland after his winner in a 3-2 victory over Chelsea lifted them out of the relegation zone, leaving Newcastle United and Norwich City on the verge of the drop.

Rafa Benitez's Newcastle, a point behind north-east neighbours Sunderland in 18th place having played a game more, would then be relegated along with Norwich who are second from bottom.

After the nerve-shredding drama at the other end of the table, Leicester were able to relax in the day's late game and revel in the triumph that has been making headlines all over the world.

Free pizzas and beer for the fans and a stirring rendition of Nessun Dorma by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in a Leicester shirt was the order of a surreal day before the Foxes showed no ill-effects from their week's heady celebrations since being crowned champions on Monday.

The "Jamie Vardy's having a party" chant was belted out by the supporters as the England striker took his season's goal tally in the league to 24.

The only false note came when the forward blasted his second penalty of the day high over the bar in the 72nd minute with Leicester already cruising at 3-0.

CLUB STALWART

It seemed perfect that the goals should arrive from Vardy, whose amazing rise from minor-league obscurity reflects City's own soaring journey, and King who has been a club stalwart through the thinnest of times.

Leicester's victory gave them a 10-point lead at the top of the table with the champions having one game to go, at Ranieri's former club Chelsea next weekend.

United's win at Norwich, courtesy of Juan Mata's fifth goal against the Canaries, left them in fifth place, one point behind neighbours Manchester City who occupy the fourth Champions League qualification spot and face fellow contenders Arsenal on Sunday.

West Ham United's push to play Champions League football in their first season in the Olympic Stadium looked bleak following a surprising 4-1 hammering by Swansea City in their final Saturday afternoon game at the Boleyn Ground.

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce was full of praise for former England marksman Defoe after a result that he felt demonstrated the depth of his side's character.

"You give Jermain Defoe a chance and generally he at least hits the target," said Allardyce.

"We've crawled out of the bottom three by the number of goals he's scored. Without him I dread to think where we'd be as a team."

Twice Sunderland had to come from behind, first after Diego Costa had put Chelsea ahead and then, following Wahbi Khazri's equaliser, after Nemanja Matic had put the visitors 2-1 up on the stroke of halftime.

Three minutes after Fabio Borini's 67th-minute equaliser, Defoe, capitalising on a poor clearance from John Obi Mikel, smashed home the winner.

Terry received his marching orders deep into injury time for a second bookable offence, a decision Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink called "a little bit over the top".

Benitez sounded almost resigned to Newcastle's fate after their failure to dent a surprisingly resolute Villa rearguard.

"It was an opportunity to stay ahead of Sunderland and we couldn't do it," said the Spaniard. "We are disappointed."

(Editing by Tony Jimenez and Clare Fallon)

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Okazaki upstages Benitez as Leicester march on

LEICESTER -- Shinji Okazaki's stunning goal upstaged new Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez as Leicester City reasserted a five-point lead in the Premier League with a tight 1-0 victory on Monday.

Benitez was taking charge of Newcastle for the first time since being appointed as the successor to the sacked Steve McClaren on a three-year contract, but it was Japan international Okazaki, 29, who stole the headlines with an acrobatic 25th-minute overhead kick.

Okazaki's sixth goal of the season took Leicester five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur, who had trimmed their lead to two points with victory at Aston Villa on Sunday, and nudged Claudio Ranieri's men a step closer to an extraordinary title triumph.

"It was not our best performance, but we showed great spirit," said Ranieri, whose side require 20 points from their final eight matches to win the title.

"I feel now that I am just concentrating on the next game against Crystal Palace. We are so strong, we think only one game at a time. Step by step, that is our philosophy."

It was Newcastle's fourth consecutive defeat -- a first this season -- and saw Leicester complete a league double over the north-east giants for the first time since the 1974-75 campaign.

The visitors showed more fight than in recent weeks at the King Power Stadium, but they remain in the relegation zone ahead of Benitez's St James' Park baptism of fire on Sunday against local rivals and fellow strugglers Sunderland.

"I will take the positives," said Benitez. "We did well. You could see the commitment and the passion.

"There were a lot of positives and the team showed that they are convinced they can win."

Benitez made two changes to the team beaten 3-1 by Bournemouth in McClaren's final game, with Vurnon Anita and Aleksandar Mitrovic coming in, while Jack Colback moved from central midfield to left-back.

Another novelty saw Moussa Sissoko line up on the left flank and the France international gave the hosts an early scare when he chased down Wes Morgan's back-pass and forced Kasper Schmeichel into a hurried clearance.

- Albrighton goes close -

It set the tone for an assured start by Newcastle, for whom lone striker Mitrovic proved an effective battering ram.

Ayoze Perez and Colback each shot wide from decent positions, Sissoko headed the wrong side of the post from Daryl Janmaat's right-wing cross and Mitrovic played a cross-shot right across the face of goal.

But Leicester stirred, Riyad Mahrez seeing a shot blocked by Steven Taylor and Robert Huth nodding the resulting corner over the bar, and midway through the first half they made the breakthrough.

Mahrez's free-kick from deep on the right was only cleared as far as Marc Albrighton, loitering on the left-hand edge of the box, and his cross was nodded back by Jamie Vardy for Okazaki to score with a picture-book overhead bicycle kick.

Moments later Albrighton almost made it two, jinking this way and then the other before bending a shot a foot wide of the right-hand upright.

Perez warmed Schmeichel's gloves from range at the other end, but with Leicester keeping Newcastle at arm's length, Benitez made a change early in the second half by sending on Andros Townsend for Anita.

The change saw Georginio Wijnaldum drop into central midfield and Newcastle were immediately enlivened, Janmaat forcing Albrighton into an alert block and Perez sending a shot into the side-netting.

Ranieri responded by introducing Jeff Schlupp for Okazaki, giving Leicester extra cover on the left against the tricky Townsend, while Albrighton switched flanks to the right and Mahrez moved inside.

Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot almost gifted Vardy a goal when he dropped a long throw from Christian Fuchs, only to gather it at the second attempt.

But the butterflies were all in the stomachs of the home fans in the latter stages, Huth blocking from Sissoko and Newcastle substitute Siem de Jong miscuing from 15 yards, before the whistle drew a roar of relief.

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SOCCER: Leicester stun City, Barca stay top

LONDON - Unheralded Leicester City remained on course for their first top-flight title with a shock victory at Manchester City while Barcelona won to stay ahead of the pack and Bayern Munich drew but are still eight points clear.

ENGLAND

Surprise package Leicester City extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points with a stunning 3-1 victory at Manchester City, who dropped two places to fourth.

Foxes defender Robert Huth scored twice and league-leading scorer Jamie Vardy rounded off a great day for the Midlands club by signing a new four-year contract.

Tottenham Hotspur went into second place for the first time this term by beating visiting Watford 1-0 and local rivals Arsenal stayed level on points with them by winning 2-0 at Bournemouth.

Manchester United were denied a victory at Chelsea when Diego Costa scored in added time to earn a 1-1 draw. That left United six points behind neighbours City.

SPAIN

Barcelona won 2-0 at Levante, equalling a club record 28 matches unbeaten, to regain a three-point lead at the top of La Liga after Atletico Madrid joined them for less than 24 hours.

Atletico won 3-1 at Eibar with substitute Fernando Torres scoring his 100th goal for the club with an added-time strike.

Real Madrid remained four points off the pace with a laboured 2-1 win at Granada, Luka Modric's brilliant first goal of the season securing victory five minutes from time.

Valencia lost 1-0 at Real Betis, going a 12th league match without winning and ninth under coach Gary Neville.

GERMANY

Lacklustre Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich struggled to a 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen but maintained an eight-point advantage over Borussia Dortmund, who where also held to a goalless draw at third-placed Hertha Berlin.

The Bavarians looked distracted as the club deals with the fallout from coach Pep Guardiola's decision to join Manchester City next season while also struggling with injuries to central defenders.

Schalke 04 jumped into fourth spot, two points behind Hertha, after crushing out-of-form VfL Wolfsburg 3-0 with goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Johannes Geis and substitute Alessandro Schoepf.

The Wolves, last season's runners-up who are still competing in the Champions League, have dropped to eighth after failing to win in their last seven matches.

ITALY

Napoli stayed top of Serie A by beating 10-man visitors Carpi 1-0 for a club-record eighth consecutive league win, while Juventus defeated Frosinone 2-0 to extend their own record winning streak to 14 matches.

Inter Milan recovered to salvage a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw at bottom club Hellas Verona while AS Roma downed visiting Sampdoria 2-1 and 10-man Fiorentina were held 1-1 at Bologna.

After 24 matches, Napoli are top on 56 points with Juve two points behind in second. Fiore are in third on 46 points, Inter have 45 in fourth and Roma are fifth on 44.

FRANCE

PSG continued their march towards the French title when Angel Di Maria's second-half goal gave them a 2-1 win at bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the first goal and set up Argentina forward Di Maria for the second to put PSG on 69 points from 25 games.

They lead second-placed AS Monaco, who beat Nice 1-0, by 24 points. Nice are third on 39 points, level with St Etienne after Les Verts thrashed Girondins de Bordeaux 4-1 away.

NETHERLANDS

PSV Eindhoven won 2-0 at Utrecht to stay a point ahead of Ajax Amsterdam as the Dutch championship turned into a two-horse race.

PSV's Colombian defender Santiago Arias and new signing Marco van Ginkel scored in the first 20 minutes to take their team to 53 points.

Ajax put Feyenoord all but out of contention for the title with a 2-1 home win that left their opponents in fourth place, 17 points off the pace. Heracles Almelo are up to third after a 2-0 win over PEC Zwolle but are still 15 points behind PSV.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

PREMIER LEAGUE: Leicester back on top, Liverpool win thriller at Norwich

LONDON - Leicester City went top with a win over Stoke City, title rivals Manchester City lost ground and Liverpool edged a nine-goal epic at Norwich City on Saturday as a weird and wonderful Premier League season churned on.

As 20-times English champions Manchester United were losing at home to Southampton, pre-season relegation favourites Leicester moved three points clear of Arsenal with 15 games remaining. Danny Drinkwater, Jamie Vardy and Leonardo Ulloa struck to secure a 3-0 win for Claudio Ranieri's unlikely lads.

Leicester's day then got better as Manchester City were held 2-2 in a lively late kickoff at West Ham United -- Sergio Aguero earning his side a point after City twice trailed.


What epitomised the appeal of the world's richest soccer league, however, was Liverpool's 5-4 win at relegation-threatened Norwich City.

Liverpool took the lead at Carrow Road through Roberto Firmino but with 35 minutes remaining trailed 3-1 as Dieumerci Mbokani, debutant Steven Naismith and a Wes Hoolahan penalty put the hosts in control.

Jordan Henderson, Firmino's second and James Milner then swung the game Liverpool's way only for Norwich defender Sebastian Bassong to score a stoppage-time leveller.

There was still time though for Adam Lallana to decide a rollercoaster of a match, sparking crazy Liverpool celebrations in which manager Juergen Klopp broke his glasses.

Eight players were on the scoresheet in only the fourth Premier League match to finish 5-4.

"It was spectacular, wild, good football, and both teams had good moments," Klopp told reporters.

Leicester have 47 points, City and Arsenal, who play Chelsea on Sunday, 44 with fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the hunt after a 3-1 victory at Crystal Palace moved put them on 42.

Harry Kane cancelled out Jan Vertonghen's own goal but he was upstaged by England team mate Dele Alli, whose 25-yard volley after flicking the ball up and over his own head to put Tottenham ahead is a candidate for goal of the season.

Nacer Chadli scored Tottenham's third.

"It was a fantastic goal," Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, whose side have 42 points, said. "I think it will be shown around the world on the TV."

Manchester United stayed in fifth place, one point above West Ham, but it was another depressingly dull day at Old Trafford where United were booed off after losing 1-0 to Southampton.

Saints' Charlie Austin scored in the 87th-minute on his debut, heaping more pressure on United manager Louis van Gaal.

Lacklustre United managed only one shot on target and have now gone eight hours 26 minutes without scoring in the opening half of a game at Old Trafford.

"You can't say the fans are not right," Van Gaal told Sky Sports. "They are disappointed and have a right to boo."

Ranieri praised his Leicester side's passion and heart as they gained a timely fillip ahead of fixtures against Liverpool and title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City.

"The fans are dreaming and I want them to continue to dream," the Italian, whose side had won only one of their last four league games, said.

Drinkwater broke the deadlock just before halftime with powerful shot from outside the area, England striker Vardy netted his first goal in six league games after the break before some sublime skill from Leicester's other key man, Riyad Mahrez, teed up Ulloa to complete the scoring.

"Everything is an extra motivation because what they are doing is something extraordinary and nobody can believe what Leicester are doing," Ranieri said.

Manchester City's league away form continues to be a worry.

They have won only one of their last seven on the road and were fortunate to escape Upton Park with a point after the hosts twice led through Enner Valencia.

"It (a draw) was not what we wanted before the game," City boss Manuel Pellegrini told Sky Sports, although he was at least heartened by Aguero now operating at 100 percent.

None of the sides at the bottom helped their causes.

Bottom club Aston Villa remain six points adrift of the rest after a 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion, 19th-placed Sunderland drew 1-1 at home to Bournemouth while third-bottom Newcastle United went down 2-1 at Watford.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal draw to go top, United win at Liverpool

LONDON - Arsenal ended Leicester City's brief stay at the top of the Premier League on Sunday despite being held to a 0-0 draw at Stoke City after Manchester United's Wayne Rooney struck late for a 1-0 win at Liverpool.

Arsenal, despite a raft of injuries, moved ahead of Leicester, who drew 1-1 at Aston Villa on Saturday. Both teams have 44 points from 22 matches but the London side's goal difference is three better than the Foxes.

Manchester City are a point behind the leading pair after they beat Crystal Palace 4-0 on Saturday, while Tottenham Hotspur complete the top four with 39 points following their 4-1 home win over Sunderland also on Saturday.

Manchester United are next on 37 points, moving up one place after Rooney's 78th minute volley gave them victory at arch-rivals Liverpool in a drab north-west derby which improved slightly after the break following a poor first half.

Rooney struck after a header by Marouane Fellaini rebounded straight to him off the bar with the United skipper giving keeper Simon Mignolet no chance with his ferocious strike.

Arsenal, ravaged by injuries and without in-form playmaker Mesut Ozil, their latest casualty with a slight foot problem, on Sunday, have not won at Stoke for six years but came close to ending that run with three excellent attempts.

However, they could not find a way past young England international keeper Jack Butland who made important saves from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud, twice.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who has seen his side beaten three times at Stoke in the last five seasons, said he was pleased with a point after dropping two to a last-minute equaliser in a 3-3 draw at Liverpool on Wednesday.

"We have had two very physical games in four days away from home. Stoke wanted to surprise us and made it very physical from the start and we had to fight," he told Sky Sports.

Arsenal keeper Petr Cech, the Man of the Match, was far busier in the second half, denying Marko Arnautovic twice, Bojan Krkic and Joselu as Stoke poured forward looking for a third successive home league win over the Gunners.

Stoke remain seventh with 33 points.

DRAB DERBY

Most of the build-up on Sunday was focused on the Liverpool versus United clash, hailed by the media as the biggest rivalry in English soccer between two clubs who have won 38 domestic league titles between them.

In reality, though, it lacked all the intensity of games in the past when both were challenging for the title or top four places with the defeat leaving Liverpool trailing in ninth place, eight points behind the Champions League spots.

"I didn't see too many chances for Manchester United and we didn't take ours. Of course it is frustrating," Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp told the BBC.

"We lost in a derby against Manchester United so I can't be very positive at this moment so soon after the game."

United manager Louis van Gaal added: "We have made a good start in 2016, to beat Liverpool for the second time in a row is marvellous, it gives a big boost for the players and the fans so I hope we shall continue with winning.

"That is why we are here, to win our games and at the end of the season to be in the first three positions in the league."

Rooney's winner was his 176th league goal for United, a record for a player for one club in the Premier League era, following his 15 league goals for Everton at the start of his career.

His United total has eclipsed the previous record of 175 set by Thierry Henry for Arsenal in his two spells in north London between 1999 and 2012.

(Reporting by Mike Collett; Editing by Ken Ferris)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Premier League 2015-16: The Davids' time to shine

No matter how your favorite Premier League team is faring at the moment, you have to admit that the current season is interesting and loaded with drama.

The two great stories are traditional powers floundering with the underachieving clubs turning out great results and the managers of top sides losing their jobs or seem to be on the verge of getting axed. Regarding the latter, that’s nothing unusual because of the pressure to win and their big wages.

Following the Boxing Day results, the results confirmed the nature of this most improbable season. Unlikely Leicester City atop the league with 38 points, two ahead of second place Arsenal (shocking 4-0 losers to Southampton and missing a huge chance to leap into first spot) despite its December 26 loss to inconsistent Liverpool, 1-nil.

Manchester City is third, while Tottenham is fourth. Manchester United, the gold standard for Premier League squads, is in sixth spot after absorbing a fourth straight loss, this one a 2-nil loss to Stoke City.

Where is Chelsea and Liverpool in the standings? The latter is at eighth place having just arrested a shocking skid after being bloodied in the nose by Watford, held to a 2-2 draw by West Brom and a loss to Newcastle, 2-0.

West Brom is at 13th, while Newcastle is in the relegation zone at 18th. Another Premier League fixture, Aston Villa, is dead last in the 20-team league with only eight points accrued from 20 fixtures. They look to be relegated should their free fall continue.

Chelsea is at 15th spot and hovering above the relegation zone and 20 points adrift of first place in the standings.

Watford, one of those less popular clubs is at seventh having drawn Chelsea and surviving a late penalty kick awarded to the Blues that they flubbed. The week before, they dealt Liverpool a crushing, 3-nil shellacking. Last November, they also defeated Aston Villa, 3-2.

Stoke City, currently at 11th, dealt the two Manchester squads identical 2-0 defeats in the space of three weeks.

West Brom’s best results this season were its 2-1 win over Arsenal and its draw against Liverpool.

Bournemouth, newly promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their 69-year history, fashioned some huge wins over Chelsea (1-0) and Manchester United (2-1) and a 3-3 draw against Everton. They are currently at 14th spot.

Taking at look at four clubs — Leicester, Stoke, Watford and Bournemouth — they averaged L46.5 million in wages -- half the amount paid by the top five big spending English clubs (Man City, Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool). Despite West Ham being a small club, they technically aren’t because they are one of the five London-based Premier League sides and have been in the Premier League for some time. The aforementioned four sides have been either in the top flight a few years ago or newly-promoted.

Further to the funds available, the money the small clubs have on hand for the transfer window averages a paltry L12.7 million.

The success of the small clubs (and we haven’t even mentioned the upsets of Norwich City) has been due to several factors — smart football minds running the show, strong defensive midfielders and back fours, and underrated but incredible attacking threats.

Smart football minds

Stoke has had two very good managers. Tony Pulis for several years before the even more shrewd Mark Hughes took over last season and rebuilt his reputation after a disastrous spell with Queens Park Rangers.

Leicester brought Italian Claudio Ranieri who had the smarts to keep some of the previous coaching staff’s assistants for some continuity.

Bournemouth’s journey is even more incredible as twice in their history have they come back from bankruptcy to be promoted. The Cherries, as they are known, have received some money (a paltry L25 million in the last three years) from their new Russian owner Max Demin and some of these investments such as in their sports science and video support that is vastly underrated. Both have helped their players perform much better. The front office has managed the influx of money by bringing in smart and sound players, some of who have come in as free transfers. One such is Polish goalkeeper Art Boruc. Midfielder Matt Ritchie from Swindon Town and South African Tokelo Rantie from small Italian side Malmo.

Strong defense

The top two goalkeepers in the Premier League at the moment are Stoke’s Jack Butland and Watford’s Heurelho Gomes.

Leicester features a strong back four and a compact midfield. Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores builds his game behind a strong back four that likes to hit on counter attacks.

Both have eight clean sheets yet Butland has 73 saves to Gomes’ 52.

New names for attacking threats

Leicester has the duo of Jamie Vardy (league-leading 15 goals) and Riyad Mahrez (tied at second with two others with 13 goals). Stoke has the trio of Marko Arnautovic, Bojan Krkic, and Xherdan Shaqiri. Watford has Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney.

Bournemouth plays a pass-and-go offense yet will need an even bigger scoring stud upfront as they have only 22 goals against 32 conceded. Callum Wilson has only five goals; a poor ratio of a goal per 108 minutes played.

Following Leicester’s 1-nil loss to Liverpool, their second of the season and their first shut out, there’s talk that they have lost steam and will fall by the wayside. Wherever they finish, the same goes to the small clubs, they will have given this season a memorable flavor.

Oh, hey… all of a sudden that Leicester City shop in the heart of Bangkok (just outside the Siam Paragon mall along Rama I Road) is getting swamped with new fans. That’s pretty good too, right?

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Chelsea crisis after defeat in Mourinho's absence

LONDON - Jose Mourinho's future at Chelsea was pushed further under the spotlight on Saturday when the manager, absent through a stadium ban, may have watched in solitary misery as the champions lost yet again at Stoke City.

On a day when Jamie Vardy kept his amazing scoring exploits going for Leicester City to help Claudio Ranieri's side join Manchester City and Arsenal on 25 points at the top of the Premier League, the latest crisis for Mourinho still eclipsed all else.

The Portuguese had said his one-match suspension might force him to watch the match on a street corner on his iPad but, if media reports that he saw it at a nearby hotel are to be believed, Marko Arnautovic's 53rd-minute volley in Stoke's 1-0 home win will have made for wretched viewing.

It meant Mourinho was left surveying the wreckage of his worst-ever season in management, an unprecedented seventh league defeat in 12 matches being sealed by Arnautovic's acrobatic close-range effort.

Mourinho, who received the FA ban for making abusive comments to referee Jon Moss during last month's defeat at West Ham United, will have gone through agonies after Pedro hit the post with a curling shot as Chelsea piled on late pressure.

The defeat dropped Chelsea to fifth from bottom, astonishingly hovering three points above the relegation zone and placing further question marks over the manager's future at the club he led to championship glory just six months ago.

Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who was back at his former club Stoke on Saturday, said Mourinho remained the "right man" for Chelsea.

"We are behind the manager, you can see that from our performances," said Begovic.

"His spirit and his presence is always there. We wanted to get a result for him."

Leicester became unlikely bedfellows with giants Manchester City and Arsenal at the top as Vardy hammered home a 65th-minute penalty to score for the ninth consecutive league match and secure a 2-1 victory over Watford.

Ranieri's Leicester are third on goal difference behind City and Arsenal who both play on Sunday.

VAN NISTELROOY RECORD

Vardy needs to find the target in his next game at Newcastle United to equal the record of Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy who netted in 10 successive matches in 2003.

Riyad Mahrez, the usual Leicester penalty taker, handed the ball over when Vardy was brought down by keeper Heurelho Gomes and the home crowd bayed for the striker to be given the chance.

"Of course Jamie wanted to score, that's normal," Ranieri said. "Van Nistelrooy was a fantastic striker and, like him, Jamie has everything to achieve at the highest level."

The Italian manager's surprise packages, who spent last season struggling for survival, had gone ahead when midfielder N'Golo Kante was amazed to see his weak 52nd-minute effort roll under accident-prone Gomes' hands.

Troy Deeney's 75th-minute penalty for Watford proved in vain.

Manchester United kept up the pressure on the pacesetters when a terrific goal from youngster Jesse Lingard helped them to a 2-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion, putting the Old Trafford club within a point of the leaders.

Juan Mata sealed the deal with a stoppage-time penalty after Gareth McAuley was sent off for hauling down Anthony Martial.

West Ham United missed the chance to close on the leaders after Romelu Lukaku scored against the Hammers at Upton Park to earn Everton a 1-1 draw after on-loan Argentine Manuel Lanzini had put the home side ahead.

Lukaku has now netted in all seven games he has played against the London outfit.

Sunderland's struggles at the foot of the table continued as Southampton earned a deserved 1-0 triumph at the Stadium of Light, Dusan Tadic hammering home a 69th-minute penalty.

Newcastle earned an important and highly improbable 1-0 victory at Bournemouth, scoring completely against the run of play thanks to a 27th-minute Ayoze Perez goal.

Norwich City pulled clear of the danger zone with a 70th-minute Jonny Howson header clinching a 1-0 win at home to Swansea City. (Editing by Tony Jimenez)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com