Day of draws leaves Chelsea three points up on Man City

LONDON— Chelsea kept its threepoint lead at the midpoint of the Premier League season Sunday despite a 1-1 draw at fourth-place Southampton.

Chelsea benefitted from a collapse by defending champion Manchester City, which squandered a 2-0 lead at home to draw 2-2 with 19th-place Burnley.

Chelsea yielded a goal in the 17th minute as Sadio Mane raced on to a pass from Dusan Tadic and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Eden Hazard struck for Chelsea just before halftime, running on to a pass from Cesc Fabregas.

“Southampton defended with everything and they defended a lot,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. “We tried everything and we dominated. We created a lot.”

Eighteen of the league’s 20 teams were in action less than 48 hours after playing Friday in this traditionally packed Christmas schedule. The top four all drew.

Manchester United also missed a chance to gain ground, remaining seven points behind City in third place after being held to a 0-0 tie at Tottenham.

Arsenal dislodged West Ham from fifth place by defeating its London rival 2-1. This was Arsenal’s second 2-1 victory in three days.

At the other end of the standings, Leicester remains last but raised its hopes of avoiding relegation by beating Hull 1-0 for its first victory since September.