Football
ESPN staff 9y

Chelsea draw with Man City, Manchester United ease past Leicester

Manchester City could not gain ground on Premier League leaders Chelsea as the top two sides played to a draw, while Manchester United and Liverpool both won on Saturday.

Chelsea played out another 1-1 draw with Manchester City to remain five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Chelsea, who were without Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis, opened the scoring in the 41st minute as Loic Remy slotted home a cross from Eden Hazard.

The hosts' lead lasted only four minutes, though, as Manchester City found the equaliser through David Silva just before the break.

The goal came after Thibaut Courtois misplayed an attempt to punch away a cross, which instead fell to Sergio Aguero, whose shot across goal was redirected at the net by Silva.

Frank Lampard was introduced as a late substitute at the stadium he made his home, but -- unlike in September's 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium -- he could not make a decisive impact.

Manchester United gained revenge on Leicester City as they eased to victory at Old Trafford.

Leicester had secured a surprise 5-3 victory when hosting United in September, but Nigel Pearson's men did not come close to threatening a similar result at Old Trafford.

United made the breakthrough on 27 minutes as Robin van Persie fired in a superb half-volley from Daley Blind's chip over the top, although there were suspicions of offside.

Six minutes later, Radamel Falcao increased their lead when Mark Schwarzer spilled a shot from Angel Di Maria, allowing the Colombia striker to slide in for 2-0, and Leicester's fate worsened just before the break when defender Wes Morgan headed into his own net following a corner.

Leicester got a late consolation through a Marcin Wasilewski header.

Daniel Sturridge marked his return to action with a goal as Liverpool beat West Ham United at Anfield.

Raheem Sterling broke the deadlock six minutes into the second half, slotting past Adrian after a wonderful pass from Philippe Coutinho.

Andy Carroll, who had criticised Brendan Rodgers ahead of the game, was unable to make an impact and was replaced by Carlton Cole after appearing to suffer an injury.

Sturridge came off the bench for his first Liverpool appearance since the end of August on 68 minutes, and he made it 2-0 with 10 minutes to play, expertly controlling a Coutinho pass before firing home to make sure of the points.

Tottenham Hotspur secured a big win over West Bromwich Albion as Tony Pulis suffered his first defeat since taking charge at The Hawthorns on New Year's Day.

Christian Eriksen, who scored the goal that sent Spurs to the Capital One Cup final on Wednesday, wasted no time in adding to his tally for the season, firing in a fine free kick after just six minutes.

Harry Kane doubled their advantage after a quarter of an hour, smashing past Ben Foster, and he then made it 20 goals for the season in the second half with a penalty on 64 minutes after Joleon Lescott was punished for handball.

Everton held on for a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Romelu Lukaku gave Everton the lead inside two minutes after Julian Speroni was unable to deal with a Steven Naismith cross, but Palace responded impressively and very nearly snatched an instant equaliser, with Dwight Gayle seeing an effort cleared off the line by Phil Jagielka.

However, Everton weathered the storm and came close to adding to their lead late on as they claimed a much-needed win.

Sunderland ended their run of five Premier League games without a win as Jermain Defoe opened his account for the club in a 2-0 victory over Burnley.

Connor Wickham headed home the opener on 20 minutes, and Defoe then tapped home from close range after a cut-back from former Chelsea left-back Patrick van Aanholt.

Stoke City saw off Queens Park Rangers at the Britannia Stadium as Harry Redknapp's men continued their miserable run of losses on the road.

QPR, who went into the game on the back of 10 straight away defeats in the Premier League, found themselves 2-0 down inside 34 minutes courtesy of two goals from Jon Walters, but Niko Kranjcar pulled one back a couple of minutes later when turning home at the far post.

However, any hope of a first away point of the season ended when Walters completed his hat trick late on.

Second-half strikes from Sammy Ameobi and Yoan Gouffran ensured John Carver's reign as permanent Newcastle United head coach got off to a flying start with a 3-0 victory over Hull City at the KC Stadium.

Carver, without a win in four games in caretaker-charge, watched Frenchman Remy Cabella open his Magpies account after pouncing on an Andy Robertson error 10 minutes before half-time.

Ameobi's long-range second and a late strike from substitute Gouffran confirmed a third straight defeat for the hosts and plunged them deeper in the relegation mire.

Information from the Press Association was used in this report

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