The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
First half goals see City stun Chelsea
Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne all struck in the first half as Manchester City thumped Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge to heap pressure on Frank Lampard.
City shook off a clutch of positive coronavirus cases and Benjamin Mendy ’s breach of social-distancing protocols to stun the Blues with three first-half goals inside the first 35 minutes in west London.
Callum Hudson- Odoi neatly netted a late consolation for the hosts, but Lampard’s men were second best in all departments.
Pep Guardiola’s side stretched their unbeaten run to 11 matches in all competitions, moving up to fifth in the Premier League with a game in hand on leaders Liverpool.
Chelsea by contrast have now managed just one win in six, slipping to eighth place. The Blues have now lost five of 17 league games.
● Yo uri Tielemans’ stunning finish ensured Leicester remain firmly in the title race after a fifth successive league victory at Newcastle yesterday.
Tielemans struck 18 minutes from time to add to James Maddison’s 55thminute opener as the Foxes profited from two rare pieces of quality in an otherwise ordinary game.
Even Jamie Vardy was strangely off key, although it was his astute pull-back which allowed Maddison to open the scoring.
Newcastle briefly gave themselves hope when substitute Andy Carroll scored his first goal for the club in more than 10 years, but it proved to be too little, too late.
● Harry Kane and Son Heung-min equalled the Premier League record for most goal combinations in a season on Saturday as Tottenham went third with a 3-0 win over Leeds.
Kane, who opened the scoring from the penalty spot, teed up the South Korean’s 100th goal for the club as the pair combined for a 13th time this term, matching the tally set by Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton at Blackburn in 1994-95.
They have been the story of the season for Spurs and are just four shor t of equalling the total record of 36 set by Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard while at Chelsea.
Their unison here was timely as their contribution ended a four-game winless run, with Toby Alderweireld adding a third shortly after the break. Matt Doherty was sent off at the death for two yellow cards.
● Alexandre Lacazette scored a brace as Arsenal beat West Brom 4-0 at the Hawthorns.
Scotland defender Kieran Tierney put the visitors up midway through the first half with a fine solo effort before Bukayo Saka combined with Emile Smith Rowe to double their lead five minutes later.
Lacazette then scored two goals in four secondhalf minutes as Mikel Arteta’s side secured their third win in as many matches to move up to 11th.
The Baggies, hammered 5- 0 by Leeds earlier this week, remain 19th in the table, six points adrift of safety.
● A wonder goal from Ebere Eze helped Crystal Palace inflict more misery on Sheffield United with a 2-0 victory at Selhurst Park.
Roy Hodgson’s side had not tasted success since thrashing West Brom at the start of December but Jeffrey Schlupp’s opener and Eze’s superb effort helped them to triumph in their first match of the year.
Blades boss Chris Wilder watched his team struggle to create chances in the capital, and their 15 th league defeat this season adds to their relegation worries.
● Struggling Brighton battled back from two goals down to snatch a point in a thrilling 3- 3 draw with Wolves at the Am ex Stadium.
Captain L ewis Dunk nodded in Albion’s 70thminute equaliser after Neal Maupay’s penalty early in the second half sparked an unlikely comeback.
Wolves had complete control of the contest at half-time thanks to Romain Saiss’ header, a Dan Burn own goal and Ruben Neves’ spot-kick following Aaron Connolly’s opener.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s visitors crumbled after the restart and may be thankful not to leave the south coast empty-handed as the Seagulls also struck the crossbar through Adam Webster during a vastlyimproved second-half showing.
Brighton, who remain without a top-flight home win this term, move three points clear of the bottom three.
● Leaders Liverpool visit Southampton tonight.
Saints goalkeeper Alex Mccarthy will miss out after testing positive for coronavirus.