A round-up of all the results and reports from this weekend’s Premier League action.
SUNDAY
Sunderland 0 Manchester United 3
Man United: Ibrahimovic (30'), Mkhitaryan (46'), Rashford (89')
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his 28th goal of the season as Manchester United closed in on the Premier League top four with a routine 3-0 win at relegation-threatened Sunderland.
Jose Mourinho’s side extended their unbeaten run to 21 league games at a sun-drenched Stadium of Light, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and substitute Marcus Rashford also on target.
United closed to within four points of fourth-place Manchester City, on whom they retain a game in hand, but will drop back to sixth if Arsenal win at Crystal Palace on Monday.
Sunderland, who had Seb Larsson contentiously sent off in the first half, now lie 10 points from safety at the foot of the table and look destined for the Championship.
* Agence France-Presse
Everton 4 Leicester City 2
Everton: Davies (1'), R Lukaku (23', 57'), Jagielka (41')
Leciester: Slimani (4'), Albrighton (10')
• Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Everton defeated champions Leicester City 4-2 at Goodison Park in a game which saw four goals inside the opening 23 minutes.
Leicester, who face Atletico Madrid on Wednesday in the first leg of their Uefa Champions League quarter-final, made five changes ahead of their trip to Spain and the defeat ended the run of five straight wins since Craig Shakespeare replaced Claudio Ranieri as manager.
Everton took the lead after 30 seconds through Tom Davies but the visitors struck back with two goals in nine minutes -- Islam Slimani finishing off a Demarai Gray counter-attack and Marc Albrighton beating a poorly positioned Joel Robles with a curling free kick.
The home side got back on level terms with a 23rd-minute Lukaku glancing header from a brilliant Ross Barkley cross from the right and skipper Phil Jagielka headed in a corner four minutes before the break.
Lukaku struck again, with his 23rd league goal of the season, in the 57th minute, firing home at the back post after Leicester failed to clear a corner.
* Reuters
SATURDAY
Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea
Bournemouth: Joshua King (42’)
Chelsea: Adam Smith (17’) Eden Hazard (20’) Marcos Alonzo (68’)
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■ In pictures: Top four all earn victories on Saturday
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• Chelsea re-established their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a comfortable win at Bournemouth on Saturday.
Chelsea blitzed the hosts in the opening exchanges and led when Diego Costa’s sliced 17th-minute effort deflected in off Bournemouth defender Adam Smith before Eden Hazard ghosted through to add a sublime second in the 20th minute.
In the 42nd minute, Josh King pulled a goal back, his 10th in 11 games, via a deflection for the plucky hosts, who had chances to equalise after the break until Marcos Alonso curled home a perfect 68th minute freekick to seal the Blues’ win.
With seven games remaining, Chelsea have 75 points, seven clear of Tottenham Hotspur in second.
* Reuters
Tottenham 4-0 Watford
Tottenham: Dele Alli (33’) Eric Dier (39’) Son Heung-min (44’, 55’)
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■ Analysis: Tottenham's defence out-classes rest of league
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• South Korea forward Son Heung-min scored two goals and was involved in two others as Tottenham thrashed Watford 4-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, earning an 11th straight home win that kept the pressure on first-place Chelsea.
Dele Alli and Eric Dier also scored at a sun-kissed White Hart Lane for Spurs, who moved to within four points of Chelsea with seven games remaining. The leaders visit Bournemouth later Saturday.
On a virtually perfect day for Tottenham, top scorer Harry Kane made his return from four weeks out injured as a 61st-minute substitute. By then, the score was already 4-0 — mainly thanks to Son.
Son has stepped up in the absence of Kane, scoring now in three successive games — having also found the net against Burnley and Swansea over the past week.
Spurs’ 11th straight home win in a single season matched a club record in the top flight, set in 1922.
* Associated Press
Stoke City 1-2 Liverpool
Stoke: Jonathan Walters (44’)
Liverpool: Philippe Coutinho (70’) Roberto Firmino (72’)
• Liverpool produced a stunning fightback as goals from surprise substitutes Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino earned a precious victory.
Jurgen Klopp’s side’s hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s top four looked set for a damaging blow when Stoke took the lead through Jonathan Walters just before halftime.
The visitors had been subdued in the opening half, barely threatening Stoke’s goal, but the introduction of Brazilian duo Coutinho and Firmino at halftime changed everything.
Coutinho equalised with 20 minutes remaining when he shot through a crowded penalty area and three minutes later Firmino’s superb lob put Liverpool ahead.
Almost immediately the visitors were indebted to keeper Simon Mignolet who denied Saido Berahino from close range with an incredible save.
Third-placed Liverpool held on to move nine points clear of fifth and sixth-placed Arsenal and Manchester United, both of whom have three games in hand of Klopp’s side.
* Reuters
Manchester City 3-1 Hull
City: Ahmed Elmohamady (31’ OG) Sergio Agüero (48’) Fabian Delph (64’)
Hull: Andrea Ranocchia (85’)
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■ Analysis: City show off Guardiola's ethos in win
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Manchester City got their Champions League qualification hopes back on track by beating strugglers Hull.
A stunning team move finished by Sergio Aguero and a Fabian Delph strike ensured City ended a run of four league matches without a win after an Ahmed Elmohamady own goal gave it the lead.
Having been effectively eliminated from the title race by their defeat to Chelsea on Wednesday, City’s focus is on securing qualification for Europe’s top competition next season.
Despite the defeat, Hull remained two points clear of the relegation zone, as their chief relegation-threatened rival Swansea also lost at West Ham.
* Associated Press
West Ham United 1-0 Swansea City
West Ham: Kouyate (44’)
West Ham United ended a run of five successive defeats with a 1-0 Premier League win against Swansea City on Saturday to ease their growing relegation fears.
The hosts tested Lukasz Fabianski numerous times in a bright opening before Cheikhou Kouyate struck with a thumping low drive just before the break.
Swansea, who are now without a win in five games, improved marginally after halftime but were only able to create a few half-chances as West Ham held on to register a much-needed victory.
West Ham’s first win since early February saw them climb to 14th with 36 points. Swansea still sit in the relegation zone, in 18th place on 28 points.
* Reuters
West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Southampton
Southampton: Clasie (25’)
Southampton kept up its late-season revival by beating West Bromwich Albion thanks to Jordy Clasie’s first-half goal.
The midfielder shot into the top corner from the edge of the area from Dusan Tadic’s lay-off in the 25th minute at The Hawthorns.
Southampton have lost only one of their last six matches, winning four of them, to climb into the top half of the standings.
The ninth-placed Saints moved to within four points of West Brom directly above them, and have two games in hand.
• Associated Press
Middlesbrough 0-0 Burnley
Middlesbrough squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to boost their Premier League survival hopes after being held to a 0-0 draw by travel-sick Burnley on Saturday.
Boro’s failure to take their chances extended their run of games without victory to 14 and kept them second from bottom in the table, six points from safety.
Steve Agnew’s men retain a game in hand on the teams immediately above them, but with matches against Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool still to come time is quickly running out.
Boro have now gone 12 league games without victory at the start of a calendar year for the first time in their history.
* Agence France-Presse
Still to come:
Sunday:
• Everton v Leicester City, 7pm
Monday
• Crystal Palace v Arsenal, 11pm
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