Benteke strike takes the wind out of Leicester’s sails

LEICESTER City were given a Premier League reality check when the unlikely leaders lost 1-0 at Liverpool last night.

Christian Benteke’s secondhalf goal sealed the points at Anfield as Leicester suffered their first league defeat since September, when they lost to Arsenal. The Gunners had a chance to replace the Foxes at the top in a late kick-off against Southampton.

Third-placed Manchester City closed in on Leicester by crushing lowly Sunderland 4-1.

“I don’t think the score reflected the difference between the two teams,” said City boss Manuel Pellegrini.

“I am happy that the performance was good; we played attacking football, and I am happy with the individual performances. The only pity was Vincent Kompany’s injury.

“The team performance was the most important. I saw we were returning to our normal performance as a team. It is important to continue. We have just finished the first round of fixtures.

“Next we have to play against Leicester. Nobody wins the title in December, but it doesn’t mean it will be easy to beat Leicester.

“In the second half of the season we have to play teams around us. It is important to try to continue with this kind of performance.”

Tottenham Hotspur consolidated fourth place as Harry Kane scored twice in a 3-0 home victory over Norwich.

Guus Hiddink’s second spell as Chelsea’s interim manager began with a 2-2 draw at home to Watford.

Oscar wasted the chance to secure victory for the champions when he slipped and ballooned a late penalty at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea remained in 15th place.

“I think we had the possibility to win, but Chelsea played well,” said Watford manager Quique Flores.

“They pushed us a lot and were probably closer to the win than us. We defended well, we fought a lot in the 90 minutes, and for us this is a very important point.

“It was tough to play against Chelsea but I’m very happy with the players.

“I think the team has enough confidence for the future. It’s amazing for the story of Watford.

“Playing two games in three days is a new experience for me, but most important is the players. We will have a good recovery and in two days, again.”

Crystal Palace drew 0-0 with Bournemouth, moving above Manchester United into fifth spot.

“It’s not a scoreline you’d associate with us. It was a tough, tight game between two teams in form,” said Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe.

“Both defences played well. Both sides worked hard. We had the best chances – we’re disappointed not to have worked their keeper more.

“There’s been no tweak with how we’re playing – expansive football.

“We don’t have the biggest squad, so we’ll have to manage the players well and maybe tweak things around.”

At the bottom, Aston Villa drew 1-1 with West Ham to leave manager Remi Garde still awaiting a first win since taking over from Tim Sherwood.

Managerless Swansea won for the first time since October, beating West Brom 1-0 to climb out of the relegation zone, above Norwich and Newcastle.