Man U’s woes keep piling up
Jamie Vardy ends Leicester’s goal-scoring drought in key shutout win over Stoke
LONDON — The expectation is the rails will come off Leicester’s title challenge and Manchester United will get back on track. So far, little goes according to the script in this Premier League season.
Manchester United was stunned 1-0 at home by Southampton Saturday. Leicester moved three points clear at the top — for 24 hours at least before Arsenal hosts Chelsea — by beating Stoke 3-0.
Jamie Vardy, having set the record for scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games earlier in the season, ended a goal drought exceeding 10 hours for Leicester. A first-ever Champions League qualification for the central England club seems less fanciful by the week.
Will United return to the European elite, though?
Not if Louis van Gaal’s side continues to produce such dismal football. The record 20-time English champions went an 11th home game in a row without scoring in the first half, then conceded after the break when Charlie Austin scored in his Southampton debut.
Perhaps United should have taken a punt on signing Austin from Queens Park Rangers, given the outlay was only about $6 million U.S.
United fans chanted “Attack! Attack!” at their shot-shy team and will have been even more vexed at seeing Mexico striker Javier Hernandez, who was discarded by van Gaal and sent out on loan to Bayer Leverkusen, named the CONCACAF region’s player of the year Friday.
United remains fifth, but is now five points behind Tottenham, which came from behind to win 3-1 at Crystal Palace.
In a moment of individual brilliance, Tottenham went in front with 10 minutes to go. Dele Alli, one of the breakthrough stars of the season, flicked the ball up and back over his own head before volleying into the bottom corner.
The biggest scoring game of the day was on the East Coast with a nine-goal thriller, including two in stoppage time.
After Norwich threw away a 3-1 lead in the second half to Liverpool, Sebastian Bassong thought he had secured a 4-4 draw.
But in the fourth minute of injury time, Adam Lallana scored his first goal of the season to clinch a 5-4 victory for seventh-place Liverpool.
At Vicarage Road, Watford ended a four-game losing streak by beating Newcastle 2-1. Newcastle remains in the relegation zone with Sunderland, which was held 1-1 by Bournemouth. Bottom-place Aston Villa endured a goalless stalemate with local rival West Bromwich Albion and is nine points from safety.
Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero twice came to Manchester City’s rescue with the team’s only shots on target to recover a 2-2 tie at West Ham on another frustrating away day for the title-chasers. City has just one win in eight games on the road — the type of form that contributes to Manuel Pellegrini’s side being three points behind leader Leicester.
West Ham remained sixth, six points behind Tottenham, which occupies the fourth Champions League place.
The east London club is enjoying its best run in the league in 19 years in its final season at Upton Park before moving to the nearby Olympic Stadium.
Both times, Aguero cancelled out goals by Enner Valencia, who put West Ham ahead just 53 seconds into the game after Cheikhou Kouyate swept past Yaya Toure before cutting the ball back to the streaking winger.
Aguero hit back from the penalty spot in the ninth minute after Carl Jenkinson tripped David Silva.