Cutrone on target
LEANDER DENDONCKER netted a firsthalf goal and Patrick Cutrone came off the bench to add a late second as Wolverhampton Wanderers cruised to a 2-0 Premier League home win over West Ham United yesterday.
Having showcased some intricate set-pieces early on, Wolves took the lead from a more straightforward corner as Joao Moutinho fired the ball into the middle and Dendoncker stretched to poke home his first goal of the season.
Robert Snodgrass had a great chance to level on the hour mark but he fluffed his lines when he found himself one-on-one with Rui Patricio, and a poor touch allowed the Wolves keeper to win the ball and avert the danger.
With Raul Jimenez and Adama
Traore tormenting the West Ham back line, Wolves remained the more dangerous of the two sides, but it took the arrival of the 21-year-old Cutrone to put the game beyond doubt.
Wolves climbed to fifth in the table on 23 points after 15 games, while West Ham remain in 13th place on 16 points.
“We knew before the game this would not be easy. It was a tight game. Unfortunately for us, one more time a set-piece goal was decisive. We had the chance to draw but Robert Snodgrass didn’t take it,” West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini told reporters.
West Ham face Arsenal on Monday, while Wolves, who have won three of their last four league games, make the trip to 16th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
“The games keep going and won’t stop. It’s good for us, we have to carry on playing the way we’re playing,” goalscorer Dendoncker said. –
Reuters
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Wolves 2 (Dendoncker 23, Cutrone 86) West Ham 0, Liverpool 5 (Origi 6, 31, Shaqiri 17, Mane 45, Wijnaldum 90) Everton 2 (Keane 21, Richarlison 45+3), Man Utd 2 (Rashford 6, 49-pen) Tottenham 1 (Alli 39), Chelsea 2 (Abraham 24, Mount 48) Aston Villa 1 (Trezeguet 41), Southampton 2 (Ings 22, Bertrand 43) Norwich 1 (Pukki 65), Leicester 2 (Vardy 55-pen, Maddison 90+5) Watford 0.
P W D L F A Pts Liverpool 15 14 1 0 37 14 43 Leicester 15 11 2 2 35 9 35 Man City 15 10 2 3 43 17 32 Chelsea 15 9 2 4 30 21 29 Wolves 15 5 8 2 21 17 23 Man Utd 15 5 6 4 23 18 21 Crystal Palace 15 6 3 6 14 18 21 Tottenham 15 5 5 5 25 23 20 Sheff Utd 14 4 7 3 17 13 19 Arsenal 14 4 7 3 20 21 19 Burnley 15 5 3 7 21 24 18 Bournemouth 15 4 4 7 18 21 16 West Ham 15 4 4 7 17 25 16 Newcastle 14 4 4 6 13 22 16 Aston Villa 15 4 3 8 22 24 15 Brighton 14 4 3 7 16 21 15 Southampton 15 4 3 8 17 33 15 Everton 15 4 2 9 16 27 14 Norwich 15 3 2 10 16 32 11 Watford 15 1 5 9 9 30 8
ITALIAN CUP 4TH ROUND: Sassuolo 1 Perugia 2, SPAL 5 Lecce 1, Udinese 4 Bologne 0.
FRENCH L1: Dijon 2 Montpellier 2, Metz 0 Rennes 1, Toulouse 1 Monaco 2, SaintEtienne 4 Nice 1, Paris Saint-Germain 2 Nantes 0, Amiens vs Reims – postponed.
SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP: Aberdeen 2 Rangers 2, Celtic 2 Hamilton 1, Hearts 1 Livingston 1, Kilmarnock 0 St Johnstone 0, Ross County 2 Hibernian 1, St Mirren 0 Motherwell 3.
LEICESTER City forward Jamie Vardy struck for the seventh Premier League game in a row to help his rampant side to a 2-0 home win over basement club Watford yesterday, a seventh consecutive league victory that leaves them second in the table.
Vardy, the league’s top scorer, smashed home from the penalty spot in the 55th minute to net his 14th goal of the season while midfielder James Maddison sealed the points with a strike deep in stoppage time.
Vardy had seen a penalty appeal turned down earlier in the game which instead earned him a yellow card for simulation but his side were soon awarded a spot kick when Watford’s Adam Mesina was penalised for striking Jonny Evans in the face.
Brendan Rodgers’s side are second in the standings on 35 points after 15 games, eight behind league leaders Liverpool and three ahead of champions Manchester City in third.
Leicester are in better form at the moment than at any point during their fairytale 2015/16 Premier League title-winning campaign and this victory equalled their top-flight record for consecutive wins, set in March 1963.
“We had to be patient this evening and worked very hard for that but I thought we deserved it,” Rodgers told reporters.
“It was a real team effort and to get seven wins on the spin in the Premier League is a great achievement. The team is developing and proving they have a winning mentality and mindset.”
Watford were playing their first game under caretaker coach Hayden Mullins after Quique Sanchez Flores was sacked following their 2-1 defeat by Southampton and showed plenty of fighting spirit as Leicester had to sweat to continue their winning run.
Watford stay rooted to the bottom on eight points although Mullins was pleased to see his side push one of the top teams in the league all the way.
“I think up until the penalty we were in the game and even after it we were still in the game. We have come away from home to a team that has done really, really well and put a performance in.
“What I saw tonight was a side in us that came away from home and showed good levels of fitness, good intelligence on the field, put in a great performance and took it right to the wire,” he said. – Reuters