Published 19 November 2017
Buckie Got It, St.Kitts and Nevis News Source
EPL ROUND UP: City keep up title charge; Chelsea outclass West Brom
Manchester City’s unstoppable march at the English Premier League (EPL) summit shows no signs of slowing down as goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne secured a 2-0 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s side has been in irresistible form so far this season and Saturday’s result moved the team nine points clear of second-placed Chelsea, with rivals United playing later in the day and Tottenham having lost at Arsenal.
Jesus gave City the lead a minute before the half-time break with a simple tap-in after a move that had sliced open the hosts’ defence.
De Bruyne then doubled their advantage just three minutes into the second period as he thumped home from 25 yards for his third league goal of a sparkling campaign.
The only blot on City’s copybook was the enforced first-half withdrawal of England defender John Stones, who pulled up holding his right hamstring.
David Silva and Jesus missed chances to extend City’s lead as the second half wore on, but two blistering attacks either side of half-time were enough to secure another impressive success.
Guardiola handed a first Premier League start since August 26 to Vincent Kompany, but the Belgian started sluggishly and was lucky not to be dismissed after just three minutes.
The 31-year-old hacked down Jamie Vardy as the England striker latched onto Vicente Iborra’s pass, but referee Graham Scott deemed Stones to be in a covering position and opted to give the City captain only a yellow card.
Kompany was involved again soon after, stretching well to divert Riyad Mahrez’s dangerous cross just wide of his own goal as the hosts continued to impress going forward.
City’s trademark swashbuckling approach was largely absent in the early stages, but a typically incisive move involving Fabian Delph and Leroy Sane resulted in Kasper Schmeichel tipping over Silva’s shot from just inside the penalty area.
Raheem Sterling was then only inches away from connecting with Sane’s fizzed cross as the visitors started to hit their stride.
City finished the half strongly as Silva thrashed over from the edge of the area before the Spaniard teed up Jesus for the opener. Sterling carved open the Foxes defence with a threaded pass into the path of Silva, who had the simple task of rolling it across the six-yard box for the Brazilian to grab his eighth league goal of the season.
Leicester’s positive approach at the start of the second period was nearly rewarded when Harry Maguire’s effort from a corner was deflected onto the post.
City took full advantage of that reprieve to deliver a stunning counter-attack, which resulted in Sane finding De Bruyne on the edge of the area for the former Chelsea man to unleash a superb left-footed strike into the roof of Schmeichel’s net.
Jesus was then denied his second just moments later as Schmeichel thwarted him from just six yards out and Silva once again fired over as his wait for a goal continued.
City comfortably kept Leicester at arm’s length in the final 20 minutes as the hosts desperately tried to find a way back into the game and were ultimately able to claim yet another three points at something approaching a canter.
Over at the Hawthorns, Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata ran riot as Chelsea outclassed West Brom 4-0 to turn up the heat on Tony Pulis.
As Antonio Conte celebrated his 50th Premier League match in style, the contrast to his opposite number in the dugout could not have been greater, as Pulis’ side never came close to avoiding a fourth consecutive defeat.
Conte kept David Luiz to the bench on his return to the squad but the visitors hardly needed defensive reinforcement in cruising to their 10th win in 12 league away games.
On the ground where they sealed last season’s title, Chelsea raced to a two-goal lead inside 23 minutes as Morata and Hazard exchanged assists for their quickfire goals.
It was all too easy for Marcos Alonso as he added a third from Cesc Fabregas’ set-piece in the 38th minute and the champions remained in cruise control until Hazard completed his brace with a well-taken second just beyond the hour.
The victory sees Conte’s men at least momentarily move into second, but the pressure on Pulis will only intensify with the Baggies now winless in all competitions since August.
Over at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace missed the chance to pick up three precious points as the Premier League’s bottom club was twice pegged back by Everton in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
All the goals came in the first half of a clash between two clubs stuck at the wrong end of the table, with David Unsworth’s hopes of getting the Everton job on a full-time basis boosted by a battling display on the road.
James McArthur popped up at the right time to score the first after a mere 51 seconds, only for Leighton Baines to convert a controversial penalty inside six minutes and make it 1-1.
After Wilfried Zaha tapped Palace back ahead, Roy Hodgson’s side presented Everton with a second equaliser, Oumar Niasse scoring against the club he so nearly joined before the last transfer deadline.
The visitors improved in the second half but they were indebted to Palace substitute Christian Benteke for fluffing a glorious late chance to claim maximum points.
Over at Turf Moor, Jack Cork inspired Burnley to a 2-0 win against former side Swansea City, earning his new employers a third straight top-flight victory for the first time in the Premier League era.
Sean Dyche’s men keep pace with the Premier League’s top six after cruising to a comfortable victory against the lacklustre Swans, who remain one place off the bottom off the table.
Cork made his England debut in a brief cameo against Germany in the international break and he scored the opener, heading in a terrific left-wing cross from Robbie Brady.
Another of Burnley’s Republic of Ireland contingent set up the second before the half-time break, Jeff Hendrick capitalising on more slack defending to play in Ashley Barnes, who slammed home his first Premier League goal since April.
Over at the Vitality Stadium, Callum Wilson netted a superb hat-trick to help 10-man Bournemouth move clear of the relegation zone with a convincing 4-0 win over Huddersfield Town.
Without a league goal since January prior to Saturday’s clash, Wilson scored twice in the space of five first-half minutes to put Eddie Howe’s side in control.
Both goals proved controversial, though – referee Lee Probert failing to spot a clear foul in the build-up to Wilson’s first, while the striker appeared to be just offside for his second.
