LONDON – Manchester City put the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 3-1 win at home over Leicester City yesterday evening.
Although Leicester appointed Dean Smith as coach until the end of the season, the new man in the dugout could only watch as City raced into a 3-0 lead, with John Stones lashing home a volley in the 5th minute.
Erling Haaland converted a penalty, given for handball in the 13th minute, and the striker netted his 47th goal of the season with just 25 minutes on the clock, thanks to a simple finish after a Kevin de Bruyne assist.
Kelechi Iheanacho pulled a goal back against his former club with 15 minutes left to play.
Manchester United were the big winners in the race for a top-four finish without kicking a ball as Newcastle United and Tottenham both lost, said Xinhua.
Ollie Watkins scored twice as Aston Villa beat Newcastle 3-0 to strengthen their position in sixth.
Jacob Ramsey opened the scoring as Villa ended Newcastle’s five-game winning run while extending their own 100% record to five games.
Tottenham were stunned by a 3-2 defeat at home to Bournemouth, who won a thrilling game with a goal deep into injury time.
Son Heung-min put Spurs ahead in the 14th minute, but Matias Vina levelled before the break and Dominic Solanke put Bournemouth ahead six minutes into the break.
Arnaut Danjuma looked to have saved a point when he levelled in the 88th minute, but Dango Aboubacar kept his cool to curl home the winner in the fifth minute of injury time to give Bournemouth three big points as they look to avoid relegation.
Wolverhampton also took a big step towards salvation as goals from Diego Costa and Hwang Hee-chan in each half saw them to a 2-0 win at home to Brentford.
Crystal Palace made it three wins from three games since Roy Hodgson returned to the dugout, thanks to two second-half goals from Eberechi Eze away to Southampton, who look increasingly condemned to the drop.
Everton are also back in deep trouble after losing 3-1 at home to Fulham, who ended a run of seven games without a win in all competitions thanks to goals from Harrison Reed, Harry Wilson and Daniel James, with Dwight McNeil giving Everton brief hope with a low 35th minute shot.
Frank Lampard’s return to Chelsea continues without results as his side lost 2-1 at home to Brighton. Although Conor Gallagher put Chelsea ahead in the 13th minute, the home side were outplayed by their rivals, who had 10 shots on target and won the game with goals from Danny Welbeck and substitute Julio Enciso. – Bernama, April 16, 2023
