Search

show me:

Man City march on, Reds win but Blues lose

3 minute read

Unstoppable Manchester City march on in their Premier League title quest with a win over Leicester while Liverpool beat Arsenal and West Brom stunned Chelsea.

Benjamin Mendy was an unlikely goalscorer as Manchester City took another step towards the Premier League title with their authoritative 2-0 victory at Leicester City.

Pep Guardiola's side were dominant for long periods but they had to wait until the 58th minute for left-back Mendy to fire home the opener.

Yet there was never going to be a sniff of a repeat of Leicester's 5-2 early season triumph at the Etihad Stadium as a majestic Kevin De Bruyne through ball allowed substitute Raheem Sterling to tee up Gabriel Jesus for the game-sealing goal.

"A tough opponent, a huge victory," said Guardiola.

It puts the leaders 17 points clear of Manchester United, albeit that they've played two games more than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men.

Liverpool outclassed Arsenal from start to finish in a 3-0 win, with a brace for substitute Diogo Jota and a nutmeg from Mohamed Salah to revive the champions' hopes for a top four spot.

Jota broke the deadlock in the 64th minute after meeting a trademark cross from right back Trent Alexander-Arnold to head past Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

Four minutes later, Salah cleverly played the ball though Leno's legs as he squatted down to try to block the shot.

Jota got his second and the team's third in the 82nd with a fine close-range finish.

It was a morale-boosting win for Liverpool, lifting them to fifth place, while Arsenal seem destined for mid-table mediocrity as they remain ninth.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was "very happy" with the performance.

"Very good," the German told Sky Sports.

"Our counter-pressing was of the highest level and the defending of the whole team looked exactly like it should."

Liverpool are just two points adrift of fourth-place Chelsea, who in Saturday's early kick-off at Stamford Bridge suffered one of the shocks of the season as Matheus Pereira and Callum Robinson each scored doubles for relegation-threatened West Brom in a stunning 5-2 win.

Thiago Silva was sent off in the first half for the Blues as Thomas Tuchel's record unbeaten 14-match start as manager came to an end.

Chelsea hadn't conceded a goal in seven matches and it looked plain sailing when Christian Pulisic put them in front, but Silva was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence only 29 minutes into his return from injury.

The clinical Pereira then struck twice in first-half stoppage time and things went from bad to worse for Chelsea after the break, with Robinson and Mbaye Diagne giving Albion a three-goal advantage.

Mason Mount pulled one back but Robinson applied the finishing touches in stoppage time as the Baggies secured a first away league victory over Chelsea since 1978 to raise hopes they can pull off an unlikely great escape.

Asked where he felt things had gone wrong, Chelsea boss Tuchel said: "Nothing so much until the red card came, and after that we were not able to cope with the situation. I don't know why, but it was like this."

Elsewhere, Leeds United beat bottom side Sheffield United 2-1 at Elland Road to move into the league's top half.

Jack Harrison's 12th-minute opener and an own goal from Phil Jagielka early in the second half, either side of Ben Osborn's equaliser, took Leeds up to 10th.

Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?

For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit www.gamblinghelponline.org.au