Chelsea’s week to forget ended with a day to forget on Saturday as their advantage at the English Premier League summit was trimmed to five points by resurgent champions Manchester City.
Tarnished by the incident on Tuesday last week that saw a group of the club’s fans prevent a black man from boarding a Paris Metro train while chanting racist songs, Chelsea were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by lowly Burnley.
Ben Mee claimed an 81st-minute equalizer for Burnley after Nemanja Matic had been sent off for lashing out at Ashley Barnes and City took full advantage by cruising to a 5-0 home win over Newcastle United.
Chelsea took a 14th-minute lead when Branislav Ivanovic scored after a weaving run from Eden Hazard.
It was the Serbian defender’s second goal in two matches following his equalizing header in the 1-1 draw at Paris Saint-Germain and seemed destined to restore a sense of normality to Stamford Bridge.
However, after his countryman Matic was shown a 70th-minute red card for retaliating when Barnes caught him on the shin with an ugly challenge, Mee headed home Kieran Trippier’s left-wing corner to equalize.
City set about dismantling Newcastle 5-0 in a sparkling performance that set them up perfectly for tomorrow’s Champions League visit of Barcelona.
Edin Dzeko won a penalty inside 30 seconds after being clipped by Vurnon Anita and Sergio Aguero scored from the spot to put City ahead.
Samir Nasri increased City’s advantage before Dzeko added a glorious third in the 21st minute, chesting down a raking pass from David Silva and steering a left-foot shot past Tim Krul.
Silva got in on the act with a brilliant quick-fire brace early in the second half and Wilfried Bony gave City’s fans further reason to cheer when he came on to make his debut.
Manchester United lost momentum in the battle for Champions League places after seeing a 19-game unbeaten run come to an end in a 2-1 defeat at Swansea City.
Ander Herrera put United ahead in the 28th minute, but Ki Sung-yueng swiftly equalized and Swansea completed a first league double over their opponents when Jonjo Shelvey’s shot flicked in off Bafetimbi Gomis in the 73rd minute.
Arsenal capitalized on United’s slip-up with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace that saw Arsene Wenger’s side climb to third place in the table.
Santi Cazorla opened the scoring with an eighth-minute penalty after Pape Souare was adjudged to have fouled Danny Welbeck.
Olivier Giroud added a second on the stroke of half-time, following up after Julian Speroni had saved from Welbeck, before Glenn Murray tapped in a stoppage-time consolation for Palace.
Aston Villa slipped to second-bottom after losing 2-1 at home to Stoke City.
Queens Park Rangers lost 2-1 at relegation rivals Hull City, as perennial troublemaker Joey Barton was sent off for flinging a hand toward Tom Huddlestone’s nether regions
Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion played out a drab 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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