Leicester to second

FOOTBALL

LONDON: Leicester City maintained its impressive form as a 20 home win against Southampton extended its unbeaten Premier League run to five games, to lift it into second place yesterday.

Goals from James Maddison and Harvey Barnes saw off the Saints as Leicester moved above champion Liverpool, which hosts leader Manchester United in today’s big showdown.

Earlier in the day there was a first win for new West Bromwich Albion manager Sam Allardyce, as his side beat faltering Wolverhampton Wanderers 32 at Molineux.

There was also an important win for Chelsea, which got back on track after a dreadful run of form with a 10 victory at Fulham.

West Ham United beat Burnley 10.

Brendan Rodgers’s Leicester side now has 35 points from 18 games, one point behind United and two better off than Liverpool.

Manchester City, who also slipped below Leicester ahead of its clash today with Crystal Palace, has 32.

A day after Premier League chief Richard Masters called on players to set the right example by not celebrating goals with the usual hugs, both Leicester’s scorers adhered to the rules, as did West Ham United’s matchwinner Michail Antonio — who adopted a bizarre routine that looked like he was swimming backstroke across the London Stadium turf.

‘‘I said to them there is lots of negativity around it but see it as a positive and be creative,’’ Leicester manager Rodgers said of Maddison’s imaginary handshake routine.

‘‘Supporters still want to see players celebrate, the happiness, so be creative with it.’’ — Reuters