LONDON // Under siege Chelsea retained a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League after repelling Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
French centre forward Loic Remy, deputising for the suspended Diego Costa, struck four minutes before the break, but David Silva deflected in Sergio Aguero’s shot to restore parity.
It was no less than City deserved, having had the better of the opening 45 minutes, but the holders could not find a breakthrough in the second period in a 1-1 draw.
The visiting supporters sang “champions of England, we know what we are” throughout, much to the bemusement of Jose Mourinho, who knew a point would consolidate his side’s advantage and be of little assistance to City’s bid to retain the title.
So fuming was Mourinho with Costa’s three-match ban for stamping on Liverpool’s Emre Can – something which likely only heightened his view of a “clear campaign” against Chelsea – that he stayed silent on the eve of the match.
But dressed down in his club tracksuit, he stood on the edge of his technical area throughout and questioned every decision that had a hint of being contentious.
City tried to suffocate Chelsea, hoping to expose the fatigue of the additional 30 minutes against Liverpool and the hosts were hemmed into their half for much of the second period.
Frank Lampard, Chelsea’s record goalscorer, came on for City with 14 minutes remaining to applause and the odd dissenting voice.
Lampard scored the equaliser in the September clash between the sides, but was unable to score on this occasion to leave his former side in pole position for the title with 15 games remaining.
City, who halted a run of two straight losses, still have not won a Premier League game in the absence of Yaya Toure this season and they are playing catch up in the title fight.
Chelsea’s challenge, meanwhile, is to be boosted by the imminent arrival of Fiorentina’s Juan Cuadrado, who was in attendance at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester United 3-1 Leicester City
Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao were on target as Manchester United despatched Leicester 3-1 in their Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Van Persie opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark with a superb strike and the Dutchman, whose future at the club has been placed in doubt following a drop in form, was involved in the build-up to the second that was finished by Falcao.
Wes Morgan contributed an own goal before Marcin Wasilewski nodded in a consolation effort to complete a defeat that left the Foxes rooted to the foot of the table.
West Bromwich Albion 0-3 Tottenham
Harry Kane starred as Tottenham posted a 3-0 victory at West Brom that kept Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the hunt for a Champions League place and moved them above Arsenal in the table.
Christian Eriksen and Kane scored goals inside the opening 15 minutes and, when the outstanding Kane added his second from the penalty spot, the result had been placed beyond doubt.
Liverpool 2-0 West Ham
Liverpool are snapping at Tottenham’s heels in seventh after Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge fired them to a 2-0 triumph over West Ham at Anfield.
Sterling combined with Philippe Coutinho in a fantastic build-up that the England forward finished with aplomb, before Sturridge added the second on his comeback game after five months out through injury.
Crystal Palace 0-1 Everton
The recent progress made by Crystal Palace ground to a halt as Romelu Lukaku’s goal earned Everton to a 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park for their first win in nine games in all competitions.
Stoke City 3-1 QPR
Niko Kranjcar pulled a goal back for QPR but it was not enough to prevent them from slipping to a 3-1 defeat at Stoke.
Two goals from Jonathan Walters gave the Potters a handsome cushion, but Harry Redknapp’s side battled back with Kranjcar scoring before Joey Barton hit the underside of the crossbar with a free-kick.
The final half-hour was all QPR as they pushed forward in search of the equaliser, only for Walters to complete his hat-trick in stoppage time.
Sunderland 2-0 Burnley
Sunderland gave their survival hopes a shot in the arm with a 2-0 win against Burnley at the Stadium of Light courtesy of goals from Connor Wickham and Jermain Defoe.
Hull City 0-3 Newcastle United
Second-half strikes from Sammy Ameobi and Yoan Gouffran ensured John Carver’s spell as permanent Newcastle head coach got off to a flying start with a 3-0 victory over Hull in the Premier League on Saturday.
Carver, without a win in four games as caretaker of the midtable Magpies, watched Frenchman Remy Cabella score his first Newcastle goal after pouncing on an error by Andy Robertson 10 minutes before halftime at the KC Stadium.
Ameobi’s long-range second and a late strike from substitute Gouffran confirmed a third straight defeat for the relegation-threatened hosts.
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