Manchester City can’t contain Chelsea
Blues rack up eighth straight Premier League win in game that ends with skirmishes and two red cards
A crushing defeat was about to be confirmed for Manchester City when Sergio Aguero flew into a kneehigh challenge and Fernandinho grabbed a goading opponent by the throat in an ensuing melee, shoving him over an advertising board.
City’s players didn’t just lose a match to a big title rival. They lost their heads. In a feisty, action-packed game between two of the Premier League’s heavyweights, Chelsea scored three goals in the final half-hour and rallied for a 3-1 win at City Saturday.
It was an eighth straight victory for the leaders, all coming since coach Antonio Conte, switched to a 3-4-3 formation that is making the team irresistible going forward. City dropped four points behind Chelsea into fourth place.
Aguero and Fernandinho, two City mainstays, were red-carded in those unedifying final seconds during which tempers flared and both sets of players pushed and shoved on the field. Aguero will miss the next four matches for his lunge on David Luiz because it was his second red card this season.
Diego Costa sparked the turnaround for Chelsea, cancelling out a 45th-minute own goal by teammate Gary Cahill with an equalizer in the 60th after chesting down Cesc Fabregas’ long ball.
Costa set up substitute Willian to put Chelsea ahead in the 70th and Eden Hazard added a third in the 90th before Aguero’s tackle on Luiz sparked the late skirmishes.
Here’s a look at what else happened in the Premier League Saturday, which ended with Chelsea holding a three-point lead over second-place Arsenal:
WEST HAM 1, ARSENAL 5
Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez displayed his mesmerizing skills, scoring a 15-minute hat trick against injury-hit West Ham at the London Stadium.
Arsenal led 1-0 through Mesut Ozil’s 24th-minute goal, which was set up by Sanchez, when the Chile international began his spree. A brilliant individual effort in the 72nd minute was followed by a low strike from outside the area in the 80th, before he ran through and chipped the goalkeeper to complete his hat trick in the 86th.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was Arsenal’s other scorer.
West Ham lost central defender James Collins in the opening minutes, causing a change of formation and extending an absentee list that grew this week with injuries to Diafra Sakho, Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio.
Andy Carroll replied for West Ham.
TOTTENHAM 5, SWANSEA 0
The respite was brief for Swansea coach Bob Bradley. A week after finally earning his first win in charge of the Welsh club, Bradley watched as his side overwhelmed by Tottenham and returned to the bottom of the 20-team standings.
Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen scored twice for Spurs at White Hart Lane, with Son Heung-min netting the other with an acrobatic strike.
SUNDERLAND 2, LEICESTER 1
Leicester lost for the seventh time in 14 matches of its disappearing title defence.
Jermain Defoe’s eighth goal of the season ultimately condemned Leicester to a defeat that kept the champions two points above the bottom three.
Sunderland is still in the relegation zone despite winning three of its last four games.
Defoe struck in the 77th minute after Robert Huth’s own goal gave the home side the lead at Stadium of Light in the 64th. Substitute Shinji Okazaki pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 80th.
OTHER RESULTS
Crystal Palace beat Southampton 3-0 on two goals by Christian Benteke and another by James Tomkins, ending a run of six straight losses.
West Bromwich Albion won 3-1 at home to Watford and climbed into sixth place, ahead of Manchester United’s match at Everton Sunday.
Stoke beat Burnley 2-0.