adminLEICESTER’s fairytale rise from relegation candidates to Premier League title contenders hit a new high on Saturday with a 3-1 win at Manchester City that cemented their hold on first place in the table.
Arsenal returned to third place in the Premier League after Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goals ended a four-game winless streak with a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth. There was a rare win for Aston Villa while Chelsea struck late to earn a draw against Man United.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Jermain Defoe capped a dramatic Sunderland fightback as the Premier League strugglers recovered from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Liverpool on Saturday.
Goals from Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana seemed to be enough to give Liverpool all three points, but Adam Johnson’s 82nd minute free-kick started the revival and Defoe’s 89th minute strike stunned a half-empty Anfield.
No such worries for Tottenham Hotspur, who moved up to second with a 1-0 victory over Watford to notch their sixth successive win across all competitions. Mauricio Pochettino’s men leapfrog Manchester City, who lost to leaders Leicester City earlier in the day, thanks to defender Kieran Trippier’s goal midway through the second half.
Then Arsenal returned to third place in the Premier League after Ozil and Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goals ended a four-game winless streak with a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth on Sunday. Arsenal arrived at Dean Court with their title challenge under threat after a poor run in January capped by a failure to score in their previous three league matches.
Finally, a goal in added time by Chelsea’s Diego Costa earned a point against Manchester United and preserved Guus Hiddink’s unbeaten record since returning to the London club as interim manager in December while denying Dutch compatriot Louis van Gaal victory. It also meant United had failed to win any of their last 10 League and Cup meetings with Chelsea over the past three years.
Barcelona cruised to a 2-0 win at Levante and regained their three-point lead at the top of La Liga on Sunday, as Real Madrid maintained their pursuit with a laboured 2-1 win at Granada. Champions Barca, with Luis Suarez scoring his 36th goal of the season, equalled a club record 28 matches unbeaten, set in the 2010/11 season under Pep Guardiola. They have won 23 and drawn five.
Third place Real remained four points behind Barca and one short of Atletico Madrid after a superb late strike by Luka Modric gave them victory at Granada.
Gary Neville’s Valencia, however, suffered another defeat, losing 1-0 at Real Betis to extend their winless run to 12 matches and nine under the former Manchester United defender. — SuperSport
Online Reporter