Spurs top briefly before Leicester takes over
FOOTBALL
LONDON: The revolving door at the summit of the English Premier League continued spinning yesterday as first Tottenham Hotspur and then Leicester City reached it before Liverpool stumbled in its bid to reclaim it with a draw at Manchester City.
Southampton had begun the day as the unlikely leader but Harry Kane’s late goal, his 150th in the Premier League, earned Tottenham a 10 win at West Bromwich Albion.
That put Jose Mourinho’s men into first place with 17 points from eight games but, a couple of hours later,
Leicester’s 10 win against
Wolverhampton Wanderers, sealed with a
Jamie Vardy penalty, hoisted it up to 18 points.
Champion
Liverpool was on course to move top when Mohamed Salah fired it ahead from the penalty spot after Sadio Mane had teased Kyle Walker into a foul.
But Gabriel Jesus equalised after a smart turn and City could have been in front before halftime had Kevin de Bruyne converted a penalty awarded via a VAR check after his cross was adjudged to have struck the arm of Joe Gomez.
De Bruyne sent his kick wide. The second half petered out as Liverpool ended the day in third spot behind Tottenham on goal difference while City, yet to really get going, remains 10th.
Aston Villa returned to winning ways with a dazzling 30 win at Arsenal in which Ollie Watkins was twice on target.
It moved up to sixth place with 15 points, having played a game fewer than the teams above it.
Tottenham fielded Kane, Gareth Bale and Son Heungmin from the start for the first time in the Premier League but the formidable trio was kept quiet by a gritty West Brom side which is yet to win a league game this season.
But Kane popped up late on to head in Matt Doherty’s long pass to secure a third consecutive win for Tottenham.
Leicester, which outlasted
Tottenham in the 201516 title race, appears to be mounting another challenge.
Vardy’s 15thminute penalty proved enough against Wolves although he also had another spot kick saved.
‘‘It’s been an incredible start. I’m so happy for the players,’’ manager Brendan Rodgers said.
‘‘I have always said failure is learning and if anyone says us not getting into the Champions League last season was failing then, OK. For us it was about learning and developing.’’ — Reuters