PREMIER LEAGUE REVIEW
HULL suffered a first home defeat under Marco Silva at the most inopportune moment as their survival bid was hampered by relegated Sunderland.
The hosts created several chances, only for Lazar Markovic and Abel Hernandez – most notably – to be denied by impressive away keeper Jordan Pickford.
Sunderland took advantage to go ahead through Billy Jones’ closerange diving header after John O’Shea’s flick-on from a corner.
And the Black Cats sealed their first win in 11 league matches when Jermain Defoe converted from close range.
Predictably, the response from the Hull City dressing room after the final whistle was suitably sombre.
“The dressing room is down, we’re not happy,” said left-back Robertson. “It is not good enough to lose 2-0 at home to a team that has just been relegated.”
Elsewhere, Manchester City strengthened their grip on a top-four finish with a convincing win over Crystal Palace that moves them above Liverpool and into third place on goal difference.
David Silva opened the scoring inside two minutes with City’s quickest goal of the season, but it took a little longer before the scoreline reflected the home side’s dominance.
City could not extend their lead before the break, despite a lacklustre start from a Palace side who are not yet assured of Premier League safety.
The Eagles almost managed an unlikely equaliser with their first effort at goal when Christian Benteke’s header brought a fine reaction save from Willy Caballero.
But Pep Guardiola’s side made sure of the points after the break, starting when captain Vincent Kompany turned home Kevin de Bruyne’s cross with a fine first-time finish into the top corner.
De Bruyne, who also grazed the bar with a free-kick, made it 3-0 with a low shot from the edge of the area that Wayne Hennessey got a hand to, but could not keep out.
Raheem Sterling added a fourth, latching on to substitute Pablo Zabaleta’s clever header and smashing his shot into the bottom corner, before Nicolas Otamendi headed home De Bruyne’s free-kick to complete the rout.
Bournemouth and Stoke both secured their Premier League status following a well-fought 2-2 draw at Vitality Stadium. The stalemate, coupled with Hull’s 2-0 defeat at Sunderland, ensured both sides will remain in the top flight.
Meanwhile Leicester City guaranteed their Premier League survival with a deserved home victory over struggling Watford.
The 2015-16 champions took the lead when Wilfred Ndidi blasted in from 10 yards out after the Hornets had failed to clear Danny Drinkwater’s dinked cross following a short corner.
The Foxes twice hit the woodwork before Riyad Mahrez doubled the lead as he pounced on a mistake from Adrian Mariappa to shoot low past Heurelho Gomes.
Marc Albrighton added a third goal in injury time when he collected Jamie Vardy’s pass and shot into the net.
Elsewhere, West Brom drew 2-2 with Burnley.