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DPA
London
Tottenham at least temporarily leapfrogged Arsenal into fourth place in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Leicester City.
With Arsenal in action at West Ham in the late game on Sunday, Spurs were able to apply pressure to their rivals thanks to their first win in three.
Harry Kane predictably opened the scoring - his 17th goal in 14 Premier League matches against former loan club Leicester - but Son Heung Min stole the show, grabbing a brace.
Tottenham were far more accomplished in the second half than they had been in a shaky opening period, although only the result really matters at this stage of the season with a trip to Liverpool to come next week ahead of a huge north London derby.
The Leicester team showed nine changes from Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Roma, yet they enjoyed by far the better of the play prior to Kane’s opener, with Patson Daka seeing a low shot from a precise Boubakary Soumare cross touched onto the post by Hugo Lloris.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were far too accommodating at the other end, though, when Son swung over a right-wing corner in the 22nd minute and Kane was granted a clear run to head down and past Kasper Schmeichel.
Leicester were similarly generous 11 minutes later, as Nampalys Mendy’s underhit backpass set Kane through, forcing Schmeichel to block bravely.
The introduction of Dejan Kulusevski early in the second half then led to the second goal after Cristian Romero won a pair of crunching tackles to tee up the winger, who in turn picked out Son to steer a left-footed finish beyond Schmeichel on the turn.
And Kulusevski and Son combined again for number three, albeit that goal was all about the quality of the scorer, taking a square pass on the edge of the box and curling into the top-left corner.
Kelechi Iheanacho gave Leicester some belated cheer with a fine stoppage-time consolation, fired in off the post from outside the area.
Everton 1-0 Chelsea
Richarlison’s goal and Jordan Pickford’s heroics between the posts breathed life into Everton’s Premier League survival bid as the Toffees beat Chelsea 1-0 at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Burnley’s dramatic win over Watford on Saturday left Everton five points from safety with two games in hand, and despite being underdogs for the visit of Chelsea, Frank Lampard’s side rose to the challenge.
There were four more yellow cards than there were shots on target during a bruising first half, but the entertainment ramped up after the interval thanks to Richarlison’s composed opener.
Vitalii Mykolenko wasted the chance to make it 2-0 before Pickford produced two stunning saves to keep Everton in charge as they ultimately held on to a potentially vital win.
A feisty opening period produced little goal-mouth excitement, with the most gripping incident arguably being the prolonged confrontation between the two sets of players after Mason Mount fouled Yerry Mina, with Seamus Coleman and Cesar Azpilicueta booked for going head-to-head.
The lively Anthony Gordon had gone close a few moments earlier, though, shooting just wide of the bottom-right corner after cutting in off the right flank.
That was at least evidence of some Everton intent, and that - coupled with their desire to scrap - earned them the lead just after half-time, as Richarlison robbed Azpilicueta and coolly swept past Edouard Mendy after Demarai Gray set him free.
Mykolenko inexplicably shot wide from close range a few moments later, before Pickford took centre-stage.
First, he incredibly denied Azpilicueta’s rebound effort right on the line after Mount’s shot hit both posts, then blocked a point-blank Antonio Rüdiger strike with his face.
Finally, he got down well right near the end to keep Mateo Kovacic’s goal-bound attempt out.
London
Tottenham at least temporarily leapfrogged Arsenal into fourth place in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Leicester City.
With Arsenal in action at West Ham in the late game on Sunday, Spurs were able to apply pressure to their rivals thanks to their first win in three.
Harry Kane predictably opened the scoring - his 17th goal in 14 Premier League matches against former loan club Leicester - but Son Heung Min stole the show, grabbing a brace.
Tottenham were far more accomplished in the second half than they had been in a shaky opening period, although only the result really matters at this stage of the season with a trip to Liverpool to come next week ahead of a huge north London derby.
The Leicester team showed nine changes from Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Roma, yet they enjoyed by far the better of the play prior to Kane’s opener, with Patson Daka seeing a low shot from a precise Boubakary Soumare cross touched onto the post by Hugo Lloris.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were far too accommodating at the other end, though, when Son swung over a right-wing corner in the 22nd minute and Kane was granted a clear run to head down and past Kasper Schmeichel.
Leicester were similarly generous 11 minutes later, as Nampalys Mendy’s underhit backpass set Kane through, forcing Schmeichel to block bravely.
The introduction of Dejan Kulusevski early in the second half then led to the second goal after Cristian Romero won a pair of crunching tackles to tee up the winger, who in turn picked out Son to steer a left-footed finish beyond Schmeichel on the turn.
And Kulusevski and Son combined again for number three, albeit that goal was all about the quality of the scorer, taking a square pass on the edge of the box and curling into the top-left corner.
Kelechi Iheanacho gave Leicester some belated cheer with a fine stoppage-time consolation, fired in off the post from outside the area.
Everton 1-0 Chelsea
Richarlison’s goal and Jordan Pickford’s heroics between the posts breathed life into Everton’s Premier League survival bid as the Toffees beat Chelsea 1-0 at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Burnley’s dramatic win over Watford on Saturday left Everton five points from safety with two games in hand, and despite being underdogs for the visit of Chelsea, Frank Lampard’s side rose to the challenge.
There were four more yellow cards than there were shots on target during a bruising first half, but the entertainment ramped up after the interval thanks to Richarlison’s composed opener.
Vitalii Mykolenko wasted the chance to make it 2-0 before Pickford produced two stunning saves to keep Everton in charge as they ultimately held on to a potentially vital win.
A feisty opening period produced little goal-mouth excitement, with the most gripping incident arguably being the prolonged confrontation between the two sets of players after Mason Mount fouled Yerry Mina, with Seamus Coleman and Cesar Azpilicueta booked for going head-to-head.
The lively Anthony Gordon had gone close a few moments earlier, though, shooting just wide of the bottom-right corner after cutting in off the right flank.
That was at least evidence of some Everton intent, and that - coupled with their desire to scrap - earned them the lead just after half-time, as Richarlison robbed Azpilicueta and coolly swept past Edouard Mendy after Demarai Gray set him free.
Mykolenko inexplicably shot wide from close range a few moments later, before Pickford took centre-stage.
First, he incredibly denied Azpilicueta’s rebound effort right on the line after Mount’s shot hit both posts, then blocked a point-blank Antonio Rüdiger strike with his face.
Finally, he got down well right near the end to keep Mateo Kovacic’s goal-bound attempt out.
