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)

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: 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)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com