PREMIER LEAGUE: Perfect 10 for Chelsea, Ibra rescues Man Utd

LONDON -- Cesc Fabregas's goal earned Chelsea a 1-0 victory at Sunderland on Wednesday -- their 10th in succession -- as Antonio Conte's side surged six points clear at the Premier League summit.

Fabregas, who came in for Nemanja Matic, curled in from Willian's 40th-minute cut-back to establish Chelsea's longest winning run within the same league campaign since 2005-06.

"Today we didn't pay, but when you have the possibility to kill the game, you must kill the game," said Chelsea manager Conte.

"I prefer my players not to look at the table and to focus on the next game in three days (at Crystal Palace). We must prepare very well to have a good Christmas."

There were also wins for Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 88th-minute strike earned Manchester United a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.

Chelsea, for whom Eden Hazard missed out due to a knock, have won all 10 league games they gave played since losing 3-0 at Arsenal on September 24, keeping eight clean sheets.

But it took a flying save from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to prevent Patrick van Aanholt snatching a point for bottom club Sunderland at the death.

Conte's men are six points clear of Liverpool, who stole above Arsenal into second place courtesy of a 3-0 win at Middlesbrough in which Adam Lallana scored twice.

Having seen his side beaten 4-3 at Bournemouth and then held to a 2-2 draw by West Ham United, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp dropped goalkeeper Lorus Karius for Simon Mignolet.

His team went ahead in the 29th minute when Lallana headed in from England team-mate Nathaniel Clyne's right-wing cross.

Lallana teed up Divock Origi to add a second on the hour and eight minutes later the Belgian returned the favour as Lallana claimed his second goal.

"About a year ago I had sat him in the office and I was happy with him, but he was like, 'I'm not scoring,'" Klopp said of Lallana.

"And I said he wasn't in the right positions. Tonight he was twice in the right position and it was wonderful."

Liverpool moved above Arsenal on goal difference, Arsene Wenger's side having lost 2-1 at Everton on Tuesday.

In further bad news for Arsenal, City, Tottenham and United all closed in on them.

- Rondon's headed hat-trick -

Pep Guardiola's City hit back after successive defeats against Chelsea and champions Leicester City by winning 2-0 at home to Watford.

Guardiola, who dropped John Stones and reverted to a back four, saw his side prevail thanks to goals in each half by Pablo Zabaleta and David Silva.

"We won, we had a good performance," said Guardiola. "All the team worked hard and it is good to get a clean sheet."

The only black mark for City was a knee injury sustained by Ilkay Gundogan, which Guardiola said was likely to keep the Germany midfielder out for "several months".

City remain fourth, seven points adrift of Chelsea, but only a point below Liverpool and Arsenal.

Tottenham are three points back in fifth place after Christian Eriksen scored twice in a 3-0 home win over Hull City, with Victor Wanyama also on target.

Having beaten Spurs 1-0 on Sunday, United recorded back-to-back league wins for the first time since August by edging Palace to remain three points below Mauricio Pochettino's men in sixth place.

Jose Mourinho's side went ahead in first-half stoppage time at Selhurst Park when Ibrahimovic chested down Juan Mata's free-kick for Paul Pogba to score from close range.

United were pegged back in the 66th minute when James McArthur beat David de Gea at his near post, but with full-time beckoning Pogba freed Ibrahimovic to dink home his 14th goal of the season.

"It was very difficult, but very deserved," Mourinho told the BBC.

"It was an amazing reaction and I am really pleased for the players."

West Bromwich Albion climbed to the heady heights of seventh place after a hat-trick of headers by Salomon Rondon gave Tony Pulis's men a 3-1 home win over third-bottom Swansea City.

The Venezuelan striker became the first player to score a headed Premier League hat-trick since Everton's Duncan Ferguson in December 1997. Wayne Routledge replied for Swansea.

West Ham pulled clear of the relegation zone after Mark Noble tucked away the rebound from his own penalty to secure a 1-0 home win over Burnley.

Stoke City survived the 22nd-minute dismissal of Marko Arnautovic for a studs-up lunge at Sofiane Boufal to secure a 0-0 draw at home to Southampton.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mata fires Man United into League Cup quarters

LONDON - Juan Mata swept home to steer Manchester United into the League Cup quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over holders and bitter local rivals Manchester City on Wednesday as Jose Mourinho got one over old adversary Pep Guardiola.

Mata rifled in a low finish past City keeper Willy Caballero early in the second half at Old Trafford on a night of few chances but plenty of derby fervour as United boss Mourinho won the tactical battle against Guardiola's much-changed City side.

The result lifted some of the pressure off Mourinho following Sunday's 4-0 defeat to Chelsea, but for his old sparring partner, Guardiola, it was a sixth successive game without victory, his longest winless streak as a manager.

West Ham United also moved into the last eight after they overcame Chelsea 2-1 in a London derby spoiled by ugly scenes of fan violence at the end of the game, while Southampton heaped more misery on struggling Sunderland with a 1-0 victory.

Recent results and the gathering pressure on both Mourinho and Guardiola ensured the clash at Old Trafford had all the usual spice of a derby encounter even if City made nine changes to their side against a virtually full-strength United team.

City should have gone ahead after two minutes, but Kelechi Iheanacho darted in front of his marker to direct his header hopelessly off target from close range.

United offered little attacking threat, but gained control of possession as the match wore on and were the more dangerous side for most of the encounter.

It took until the start of the second half, however, for them to create a meaningful chance when Paul Pogba's low shot was turned onto the post by Caballero, sparking an onslaught from the home side that ended with Mata's opener on 54 minutes.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic shrugged off a challenge then played the ball back towards Ander Herrera, who went down dramatically in the box but Mata was following up to powerfully steer the ball home.

DERBY KNOCKOUT

Then it was just a case of holding on, which they did comfortably, as Mourinho recorded his fourth victory over Guardiola in a rivalry spanning 18 matches.

The greater satisfaction for the Portuguese, however, seemed to be erasing some of the negativity of Sunday's thrashing by his former club Chelsea.

"The fans felt deeply such a negative result and today was a good chance to clear that feeling because a derby knockout and to win gives everyone a better feeling," he said.

West Ham's woeful start to the season is turning round and the revival continued in the first derby at their new London Stadium home.

Tight security arrangements, including a ban on the sale of alcohol in the vicinity of the Olympic Park, was intended to prevent flashpoints off the pitch, but there were still ugly scenes towards the end as rival fans clashed behind the goal with several seats being ripped out.

On the pitch, a vibrant West Ham proved too strong for a Chelsea side much-changed from their weekend trouncing of Manchester United.

Cheikhou Kouyate put the Hammers on their way to a third consecutive win with a thumping header from skipper Mark Noble's driven cross after 11 minutes and Edimilson Fernandes beat Asmir Begovic with a low shot three minutes after the restart.

Gary Cahill did grab a Chelsea consolation in stoppage time but by that time all eyes were on stewards trying to keep rival fans apart.

Southampton's record signing Sofiane Boufal scored from long range in the second half in their 1-0 victory over Sunderland, a fourth defeat in five games for Sunderland manager David Moyes.

(Reporting by Toby Davis, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Kone brace helps Sunderland relegate Newcastle, Norwich

LONDON -- Newcastle United and Norwich City were relegated from the Premier League on Wednesday as Sunderland secured their survival with a one-sided 3-0 victory over Everton.

Sunderland centre-back Lamine Kone's first two goals for the club and a Patrick van Aanholt free-kick took Sam Allardyce's side four points clear of danger with one game remaining.

Norwich returned to the Championship a year after promotion despite a 4-2 win over Watford, while Newcastle, Sunderland's arch rivals, will play in the second tier for the first time since 2010.

"It's the attitude of the players who absorb the pressure and deliver a performance like that," Allardyce told Sky Sports in an on-pitch post-match interview.

"That's what's happened over the past 10 games -- only one defeat. It's pretty miraculous. To the lads and all the staff, thank you very much."

It is the fourth season in a row that Sunderland have pulled off a late escape to avoid relegation and it guarantees the northeast club top-flight football for a 10th consecutive season.

Allardyce was the architect of their surge to safety, succeeding the sacked Dick Advocaat in October and overseeing a late-season run that has seen them take 11 points from a possible 15.

Having seen his side come from 2-0 down to beat outgoing champions Chelsea 3-2 on their previous outing, Allardyce kept faith with the same starting XI for the seventh game running.

His side went ahead when Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles misjudged Van Aanholt's 38th-minute free-kick, moving to his left and allowing the ball to bounce straight past him.

Kone made it 2-0 four minutes later, volleying in emphatically after Sunderland failed to clear a corner, and smashed in his second in the 55th minute when Robles spilled Wahbi Khazri's corner.

The result at the Stadium of Light also served to increase the pressure on Everton manager Roberto Martinez, whose 12th-place side have won just one of their last 10 league matches.

- Newcastle 'devastated' -

Alex Neil's Norwich got the better of Watford in a ding-dong contest at Carrow Road, but Sunderland's win meant that they would have been relegated regardless.

After Troy Deeney had tapped in Odion Ighalo's 11th-minute cross to put Watford head, Norwich hit back through Nathan Redmond, Dieumerci Mbokani and a Craig Cathcart own goal.

Deeney returned the favour for Ighalo as Watford reduced the arrears six minutes into the second half, but Redmond teed up Mbokani to restore Norwich's two-goal cushion six minutes later.

"Obviously it's a severe disappointment," said Neil, the Norwich manager.

"We've known it was going to be a really difficult task. We had it in our hands three, four, five games ago, but unfortunately we came up short."

Newcastle went down despite the best efforts of manager Rafael Benitez, who was recruited in March after Steve McClaren was sacked.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid manager sparked an upturn in both results and performances, but hopes of a dramatic escape from the bottom three were fatally undermined by last Saturday's 0-0 draw at already-relegated Aston Villa.

Benitez had a clause inserted in his contract guaranteeing that he would be released if Newcastle went down, so the St James' Park club will begin life in the Championship with a new manager.

In a statement released by Newcastle, managing director Lee Charnley said: "Tonight we are devastated at our relegation from the Premier League, as I know every single person connected to this football club will be.

"The process of scrutinising what went wrong and planning for what is to come has already begun.

"Right now, of course, Rafa and the team must prepare for the final game of the season, but after that, please rest assured we will communicate more fully with supporters."

In the day's other game, Christian Benteke's stoppage-time header earned Europa League finalists Liverpool a 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea, who had taken a 32nd-minute lead through a dazzling solo goal from belatedly in-form winger Eden Hazard.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com