A round-up of all the results and match reports from this weekend’s Premier League action. All kick-off times UAE.
SUNDAY
Chelsea 1 West Bromwich Albion 0
Chelsea: Costa (76')
• Diego Costa’s stunning second half goal proved enough for Chelsea to edge past West Bromwich Albion for a ninth straight Premier League victory and reclaim top spot in the table.
In a match that saw West Brom set up to frustrate the hosts, it took until 14 minutes from time for Costa to break the deadlock. The Spain international harried West Brom defender Gareth McAuley off the ball after a long-ball pass from substitute Cesc Fabregas, before guiding a left-footed effort into the top corner.
The win puts Chelsea three points ahead of Arsenal, and seven clear of third-placed Liverpool and fourth-placed Manchester City, although Liverpool can close the gap when they host West Ham United later on Sunday.
* The National staff
Manchester United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0
Man United: Mkhitaryan (29')
• Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s first Premier League goal earned Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United a much-needed victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
The Armenian, who was carried off on a stretcher with 10 minutes remaining after a heavy tackle left him clutching his ankle, blasted home after Ander Herrera intercepted a sloppy Harry Kane pass in midfield.
Herrera fed the ball through and Mkhitaryan did the rest with a rocket of a shot over goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
The unmarked Victor Wanyama missed the chance to equalise for Spurs following a free kick in the 56th minute, his header going inexplicably wide, while Paul Pogba struck the woodwork for United in the 64th.
The hosts remained sixth with 24 points, three behind fifth-placed Tottenham who might otherwise have overtaken Manchester City on goal difference.
United remain one of the two current Premier League teams that Kane, last season’s top marksman, has yet to score against. The victory was United’s first at home in the league since September.
* Reuters
Southampton 1 Middlesbrough 0
Southampton: Boufal (53')
• Southampton recovered from the disappointment of their midweek Europa League elimination to return to winning ways in the Premier League, beating Middlesbrough at St Mary’s.
The winner came in the 53rd minute when Sofiane Boufal picked up the ball from James Ward-Prowse and unleashed an unstoppable left-foot shot into the net for his first league goal.
It was the one high point of a drab match which did much to explain why both teams average less than a goal a game this season. Neither side threatened in an uneventful first half noteworthy only for the booking of Dusan Tadic.
Southampton looked more potent after the interval, when the Serbian was surprisingly replaced by Nathan Redmond, and would have secured a more comfortable win had Jay Rodriguez not blasted over the bar late on.
* Reuters
Still to come
Liverpool v West Ham United (8.30pm)
SATURDAY
Watford 3 Everton 2
Watford: Okaka (36', 64'), Prodl (59')
Everton: Lukaku (17', 86')
• Italy international Stefano Okaka scored either side of half-time to give Watford a 3-2 win over Everton, their first victory over the Merseyside club in any competition since 1987.
Watford, who started with players of 11 different nationalities in their line-up, went behind in the 17th minute when Romelu Lukaku scored from close range after Gareth Barry lobbed the defence.
The goal was the Belgian’s eighth in the league this season but the lead was short-lived, Okaka equalising in the 36th minute with a back-heeled flick at the near post from Nordin Amrabat’s cross.
Okaka followed up on his first Watford goal by heading in the hosts’ third from a corner in the 64th minute after Austrian Sebastian Prodl had headed in his first league goal of the season from Jose Holebas’s free kick.
Lukaku headed in his second of the afternoon with four minutes remaining but Watford hung on to go seventh in the table on 21 points and ahead of ninth-placed Everton, who have not won in five league matches.
* Reuters
Arsenal 3 Stoke City 1
Arsenal: Walcott (42'), Ozil (49'), Iwobi (75')
Stoke: Adam (29' pen)
• Free-scoring Arsenal replaced Chelsea as Premier League leaders as goals either side of half-time by Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil helped them recover from a slow start to beat Stoke City.
A rash challenge by Granit Xhaka on Joe Allen gave Charlie Adam the chance to put Stoke ahead from the penalty spot after 29 minutes and the Scot dispatched his spot-kick with ease.
Arsenal raised their game and equalised three minutes before the break when Walcott stabbed in Hector Bellerin’s low cross.
Ozil’s looping header over stranded Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant put Arsenal ahead five minutes after the interval before substitute Alex Iwobi ran through to give Arsenal the two-goal victory they needed to top the table on goals scored.
* Reuters
Burnley 3 Bournemouth 2
Burnley: Hendrick (13'), Ward (16'), Boyd (75')
Bournemouth: Afobe (45'+2), Daniels (90'+1)
• Burnley scored twice in the space of three first-half minutes to end a run of three straight defeats with a win against Bournemouth in the first Premier League meeting between the sides.
Promoted last season, Burnley had never lost to Bournemouth at Turf Moor and they made a lively start to keep that record intact.
Jeff Hendrick unleashed a stunning half-volley from 25 metres in the 13th minute to open the scoring and Stephen Ward made it 2-0 three minutes later with his first league goal in more than four years.
Bournemouth, who beat Liverpool 4-3 on Sunday, put themselves back into the match when the unmarked Benik Afobe swept the ball past goalkeeper Tom Heaton two minutes into first-half stoppage time, but George Boyd made it 3-1 in the 75th.
Charlie Daniels reduced the gap again with a 91st-minute long-range strike past Heaton, after Afobe had an effort disallowed, but Burnley held on for their fifth home win of the season to go 13th, two places behind Bournemouth.
* Reuters
Hull City 3 Crystal Palace 3
Hull: Snodgrass (27' pen), Diomande (72'), Livermore (78')
Palace: Benteke (52' pen), Zaha (70'), Campbell (89')
• Alan Pardew’s 300th match as a Premier League manager ended in drama as Fraizer Campbell grabbed an 89th-minute equaliser in a thrilling draw at Hull City.
In another of Palace’s see-saw classics, Hull had come from behind with goals from Adama Diomande and Jake Livermore and looked poised to earn the win that would have taken them out of the bottom three.
But it was former Hull striker Campbell who ensured manager Pardew could celebrate something from his landmark day as he finished off fine work from Wilfried Zaha, who had put Palace 2-1 ahead with a sensational 70th-minute strike.
Robert Snodgrass had put Palace ahead controversially after 27 minutes, scoring the penalty after appearing to dive in the box. He then gave away the second-half spot-kick, fouling Zaha, that allowed Christian Benteke to equalise.
* Reuters
Swansea City 3 Sunderland 0
Swansea: Sigurdsson (51'), Llorente (54', 80')
• Swansea City climbed off the bottom of the table with a crucial victory against Sunderland that plunged their fellow strugglers to the foot of the standings.
Bob Bradley’s side won for just the second time under their American manager thanks to Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty and a double from Fernando Llorente at the Liberty Stadium.
Swansea’s second win in their last 14 league games was well-timed for Bradley as the club’s owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan had flown in from the United States amid speculation the former Egypt manager was in danger of being sacked after just two months in charge.
While Swansea are now one place above the relegation zone, Sunderland hit rock bottom as they paid the price for a lacklustre display that ruined a recent revival including three wins from their previous four matches.
* Agence France-Presse
Leicester City 4 Manchester City 2
Leicester: Vardy (3', 20', 78'), King (5')
Man City: Kolarov (82'), Nolito (90')
• Jamie Vardy burst back to his predatory best with his first Leicester City hat-trick as the champions recaptured their title-winning mojo to earn a 4-2 win over Manchester City at the King Power Stadium.
Vardy, one of the heroes of last season’s fairytale triumph, finally ended his 16-match goalscoring drought for the club by scoring twice in the first 20 minutes as Leicester, making a nonsense of their miserable recent form, raced into a three-goal lead.
After the England striker had struck in the third minute, club stalwart Andy King put Leicester two up with only four-and-a-half minutes on the clock and Vardy was then put in beautifully by Riyad Mahrez to score his second.
Vardy completed his first hat-trick since his non-league days at Fleetwood Town from the narrowest of angles thanks to a careless back pass from John Stones before Aleksandar Kolarov and Nolito scored consolation goals in a late City rally.
* Reuters
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