London (AFP) – Manchester United and Tottenham bounced back on Boxing Day to take advantage of another shock home defeat for Chelsea, who lost 2-0 to Southampton, and close in on the Premier League’s top four.
Mikel Arteta got off to an underwhelming start as Arsenal manager with a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, but Carlo Ancelotti had a more positive impact on his Everton bow as Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s brilliant diving header earned a 1-0 win over Burnley.
Chelsea beat Tottenham in a big win for Frank Lampard over his former mentor Jose Mourinho on Sunday, but the gap between the two is back down to three points as Spurs came from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
United are four points off the Champions League places as they too overturned a poor start to thrash Newcastle 4-1 with Anthony Martial scoring twice.
The top two clash later when Leicester host Liverpool hoping to close the gap on the recently crowned world champions to seven points.
– No home comfort for Chelsea –
After the highs of Sunday, Chelsea again struggled when faced with breaking down stubborn defensive opponents in Southampton.
The Blues have now lost to West Ham, Bournemouth and the Saints in their last four home league games.
“We are being asked a different question at home. At the moment we are not answering them,” said a frustrated Lampard. “We do not manage to pick up that final pass.”
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl’s decision to rest in-form talisman Danny Ings paid off as his replacement Michael Obafemi scored just his second Premier League goal with a calm finish into the top corner.
The visitors then secured a second straight win to move up to 14th when Nathan Redmond prodded past the onrushing Kepa Arrizabalaga 17 minutes from time.
Spurs were still feeling the after effects of that Chelsea defeat with Son Heung-min suspended, but two of their other star men stood up to be counted after Adam Webster Brighton ahead midway through the first half.
Kane swept home at the second attempt after his first shot was saved by Mat Ryan before Alli then delivered all three points with a delightful chipped finish from an acute angle.
“It’s an unbelievable finish,” Kane said admiringly of Alli’s winner. “The ball is cut back to him, comes to hit Kieran – rounds him so quickly and it’s a kind of scoop over the goalkeeper – it’s fantastic.”
from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2Stvcug
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