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 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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FOOTBALL: Improved United draw with Chelsea, Arsenal go top

Improved United draw with Chelsea, Arsenal go top

Justin Palmer, Reuters
Manchester United's winless run continued but they gave under-fire coach Louis van Gaal crumbs of cheer with a committed display in an entertaining 0-0 draw with Chelsea while Arsenal went top of the table on Monday.

Arsenal beat Bournemouth 2-0 with goals from Gabriel and Mesut Ozil to move on to 39 points from 19 Premier League games, one ahead of Leicester City who are at home to Manchester City, in fourth, on Tuesday.

Champions Chelsea, who were minus the suspended Diego Costa and played without a recognised striker, are 14th with 20 points.

Tottenham Hotspur rose to third after Son Heung-Min netted a late goal in a 2-1 victory at 10-man Watford.

Spurs went ahead through Erik Lamela at Vicarage Road. In-form Odion Ighalo levelled with his 14th league goal of the season before South Korean Son flicked the ball past former Tottenham keeper Heurelho Gomes in the final minute.

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I won't quit, says defiant Van Gaal after United draw

Reuters
Under-fire manager Louis van Gaal said he would not quit after Manchester United extended their run without a victory to eight games in all competitions with a 0-0 draw with champions Chelsea in the Premier League on Monday.

Sixth-placed United produced an improved display at Old Trafford, having limped to a 2-0 defeat at Stoke City on Saturday, enjoying two-thirds of the possession without being able to break down Chelsea's defence.

Asked about the constant media speculation over his job, Van Gaal told BT Sport: "I cannot have any influence on that. I can only work with my players and you have seen my players are fighting for me and they have given a good performance.

"Even after this result, the fans were applauding so I cannot say I am very much concerned but in this football world you never know.

"I have full confidence in the board and in my players. When the players can give such a performance under this pressure, then it is not any reason to resign for me. Maybe the media wants that but I shall not do that," added Van Gaal.

Hiddink pleased with striker-less Chelsea's point

Reuters
Interim manager Guus Hiddink was satisfied with Chelsea's 0-0 draw at Manchester United on Monday, especially as the Premier League champions played without a recognised striker.

Diego Costa was suspended after being booked in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Watford while fellow attackers Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao were sidelined by injury, forcing winger Eden Hazard to occupy the unfamiliar position of centre forward.

"Tactically it was okay, defensively we were well organised," Hiddink told reporters at Old Trafford.

"We didn't have full power to hurt United ... we have some problems in the striker position due to suspension and injuries so we had to think how to solve that problem.

"Hazard has done it before and he is capable of doing it because he's a very versatile player," added Hiddink who took over from the sacked Jose Mourinho earlier this month.

"I'm pleased because we had some good opportunities in the second half."

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Real Madrid's expulsion from King's Cup confirmed

Reuters
Real Madrid's expulsion from the King's Cup for fielding an ineligible player was upheld on Monday by the Spanish government's Disciplinary Committee for Sports (TAD) following an appeal by the 10-times European champions.

Real included Denis Cheryshev in their starting lineup in a last-32, first-leg game at third-tier Cadiz in early December when he should have been serving a one-match ban. The Russia forward opened the scoring in a 3-1 victory.

The TAD, which had already turned down attempts by Real Madrid to get their expulsion temporarily suspended, said in a written ruling it had rejected the appeal and that the decision was final.

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Hired, fired in same day - Barcelona sack 'insulting' player

Agence France-Presse

Diehard Real Madrid fan Sergi Guardiola's decision to write offensive tweets aimed at Barcelona came back to haunt him Monday when he was hired and fired by the Spanish giants on the same day.

The 24-year-old striker penned a deal with Barca's B team but was sacked just a few hours later when angry fans of the Catalan club made officials aware of Guardiola's Twitter tirade from 2013, www.lequipe.fr reported.

"FC Barcelona has decided to terminate the contract signed with Sergi Guardiola, after finding that he had published offensive tweets about the club and Catalonia," said a Barcelona statement.

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