Leicester leapfrogs Liverpool, Man City with win
Leicester City showed it could have a big say in the Premier League title race with a 2-0 win over Southampton on Saturday to move above defending champion Liverpool into second spot.
An early thunderbolt by James Maddison and a stoppage-time goal by the impressive Harvey Barnes sealed the points, although the hosts did not have everything their own way.
They suffered a late blow when striker Jamie Vardy limped off with a muscle injury but it was a positive night for Leicester, which picked up only their fourth home win this season.
All eyes will be on today's showdown between Liverpool and first-place Manchester United but a well-balanced Leicester squad looks capable of staying with them.
Brendan Rodgers' side has 35 points from 18 games, one point behind United and two better off than Liverpool. Manchester City, which also slipped below Leicester before their clash today with Crystal Palace, has 32.
Eighth-place Southampton, which beat Liverpool in their last game, was unlucky when Stuart Armstrong's longrange effort rattled the crossbar as the visitors pressed for an equalizer.
But Leicester, which started slowly, deserved the points.
“A great win for us. The first 25 minutes I thought we were socially distancing, we didn't get within two metres of them,” Rodgers, whose side was in the running this time last year before falling away, told BT Sport.
“Second half we were much better and should have scored more than two goals. At the same time we defended well.”
A late goal from Mason Mount gave Chelsea a laboured 1-0 win at 10-man Fulham on Saturday, easing some of the pressure off their manager Frank Lampard.
The result lifted Chelsea two places up to seventh on 29 points from 18 games.
Fulham, which suffered a loss after five successive draws, stayed 18th on 12 points from 17 games with a seemingly uphill task to avoid relegation.
Chelsea, winner of only one of their previous six games, dominated but lacked bite and was twice fortunate not to fall behind with Fulham striker Ivan Cavaleiro guilty of some poor finishing.
Home goalkeeper Alphonse Areola made two saves and Mount rattled the crossbar for Chelsea midway through the first half before Fulham had Antonee Robinson sent off in the 44th minute for a reckless tackle on Cesar Azpilicueta.
Mount finally broke the deadlock in the 78th minute with an unstoppable shot inside the near post after Areola could only palm an inviting Ben Chilwell cross from the left straight into the England midfielder's stride.
Michail Antonio's early goal proved enough for West Ham United to beat a toothless Burnley 1-0 and put them in touch with the top-four battle in the Premier League.
The powerhouse striker stabbed the ball home from close range in the ninth minute after Burnley defender James Tarkowski inexplicably failed to clear a cross.
West Ham had chances to increase their lead with Angelo Ogbonna hitting the woodwork and Jarrod Bowen going close before Burnley finally began to threaten late on.
Substitute Jay Rodriguez bundled one effort wide for Burnley but home keeper Lukasz Fabianski was rarely called into meaningful action as West Ham held out for the win to finish the day in ninth spot with 29 points from 18 games.
Burnley, which has yet to reach double figures in goals scored this season, is looking anxiously over their shoulders in 17th place, four points above Fulham, which is third from the bottom of the table.
In other Premier League matches Saturday, West Bromwich Albion edged Wolverhampton 3-2 and Brighton and Hove Albion blanked Leeds United 1-0.