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EPL PIX: Palace stun Chelsea, Man United held

April 01, 2017

Images from the English Premier League matches played across England on Saturday

Palace stun Premier League leaders Chelsea with 2-1 win

IMAGE:  Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace celebrates scoring against Chelsea. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Image

Crystal Palace checked Chelsea's progress towards the Premier League title on Saturday, goals from Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke earning them a shock 2-1 win over their London rivals.

Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring for Chelsea, who had not lost at home since September, tapping in from an Eden Hazard cross in the fifth minute.

But speedy Palace, who had won their previous three games to climb away from the relegation zone, hit back with two in two minutes, Zaha angling a shot through Chelsea's defence to equalise and feeding Benteke who chipped home.

Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey made a series of fine saves behind a well organised defence to deny waves of attacking moves from the league leaders. The defeat allowed second-placed Tottenham Hotspur to move to within seven points of Chelsea with nine games remaining.

Mourinho fumes as tepid Man United held by West Brom

IMAGE:  Jose Salomon Rondon of West Bromwich Albion, centre, attempts to get past Michael Carrick of Manchester United, left, and Marouane Fellaini . Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was left to rue poor finishing as they were held to a dour 0-0 home draw by West Bromwich Albion to miss a chance to close in on the Premier League's top four.

The result left United in fifth on 53 points from 28 games, four behind fourth-placed Manchester City who visit Arsenal on Sunday. West Brom stayed eighth on 44 points from 30 matches.

"We have a lot of draws this season," Mourinho told the BBC after his side produced a toothless performance despite enjoying the lion's share of the possession.

"Teams come here just to defend. Goalkeepers come here to be man of the match. We cannot score a goal even when we are one-on-one," he added.

"We beat everyone on quality of play and direction of the game, possession, creation and ambition but we drew too many matches."

United, who were missing six regular starters through injury or suspension, stretched their unbeaten league run to 19 games but it will be scant consolation after they failed to carve out any clear-cut chances.

The home side, whose final pass kept going astray, had to wait until the 67th minute for their first shot on target when keeper Ben Foster denied Henrik Mkhitaryan.

Foster kept out two long-range Marcus Rashford strikes in the closing stages either side of West Brom's best chance, when former United midfielder Darren Fletcher almost stunned United keeper David De Gea who had had a very quiet afternoon.

Fletcher hit a looping shot from distance which De Gea fumbled and was relieved to see the ball bounce off the woodwork and back into his arms.

While he tried to make light of De Gea's error, a frustrated Mourinho also bemoaned West Brom's tactics based on a stonewall and well-organised defence.

"David de Gea was sleeping and he did the funny thing at the end, I was laughing with that," he said.

"One team had the ball, one team didn't. One team tried to win, the other tried to draw. One keeper did a funny thing, the other made three great saves."

He also hit out at the media after being asked if he thought the game was balanced.

"You think the game was equal? I can smile win, lose or draw. I am sorry to say, it is a silly question."

Coutinho inspires Liverpool to derby victory over Everton

IMAGE: Matthew Pennington of Everton, left, and Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool, centre, battle for possession during the Premier League match. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Philippe Coutinho inspired Liverpool to a comfortable 3-1 home win over Everton in the 228th Merseyside derby on Saturday to move provisionally up to third in the Premier League.

Sadio Mane's opener was cancelled out by Matthew Pennington's first Everton goal, but strikes from Coutinho and substitute Divock Origi confirmed Liverpool's league double over their neighbours.

Liverpool had not lost in their last 12 league derbies and took the lead in the eighth minute when Sadio Mane exploited poor Everton defending to net his 13th goal of the season, playing a one-two with Roberto Firmino and holding off two opponents before firing low past Joel Robles.

Everton were without injured defenders Ramiro Funes Mori and Seamus Coleman their unfamiliar back line struggled to cope with Liverpool's attackers.

But Everton's Pennington marked his first appearance of the season with an equaliser against the run of play in the 28th minute, prodding home from a corner after Dejan Lovren's clearance.

The inexperienced defender was caught out less than three minutes later when Coutinho tore past Idrissa Gueye, cut in past Pennington and slammed the ball into the far corner.

Anfield paid tribute to late Liverpool coach Ronnie Moran before the match and the emotion of the occasion carried over with Everton's Ross Barkley lucky to escape a red card for a high tackle on Lovren in the 39th minute.

Mane was injured after a collision with Leighton Baines, but his replacement Origi scored three minutes after coming on with a thumping strike from outside the area after being played in by the outstanding Coutinho.

"The boys did everything," Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp told Sky Sports after extending his 100 percent record in Merseyside derbies. "It's a deserved win, we played good football and we coped well."

Everton's last league win at Anfield came in 1999, and Ronald Koeman's side showed little sign of finding a way back into the match, with 21-goal top scorer Romelu Lukaku cutting an isolated and anonymous figure.

"I'm am really proud about the team, we lost but the final result is not reflecting of our performance," Koeman said. "We conceded too easy the second and third."

The win took Liverpool up to 59 points, level with Tottenham Hotspur ahead of their match at Burnley later on Saturday and two points clear of Manchester City who are at Arsenal on Sunday.

Everton, who travel to Manchester United on Tuesday, remained in seventh on 50 points.

Ndidi scores stunner as Leicester sink Stoke 2-0

IMAGE:  Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City celebrates . Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Young Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi scored a stunning goal to set his side on the road to a fourth Premier League win in a row as they beat Stoke City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium.

The 20-year-old Nigerian, who arrived from Belgian side Genk in January, fired a stinging long-range shot into the top right corner to put caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare's side ahead in the 25th minute.

Jamie Vardy needed just two minutes of the second half to double his side's advantage, rifling the ball home with his right foot from the centre of the penalty area to secure all three points.

Leicester climbed to 13th in the table, four places below Stoke.

Dier and Son earn crucial Spurs win at Burnley

Eric Dier and Son Heung-min scored second-half goals to give Tottenham Hotspur a hard-earned win at Burnley's Turf Moor fortress and breathe new life into their pursuit of Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Dier struck his first league goal since December 2015 after 66 minutes to set Spurs on their way before South Korean international Son sealed the win 11 minutes later.

The crucial victory came on what had looked as if it might be a miserable afternoon for the Londoners after they lost midfielder Harry Winks to what appeared a serious ankle injury.

Dele Alli had enjoyed Spurs' best chance in the first half but skied a glaring opportunity and when they lost Victor Wanyama and Winks, who was carried off on a stretcher, before the interval, a win -- Harry Kane missing -- looked unlikely.

But after Dier had fired high past Tom Heaton after a well-worked corner and Son slotted home a cross from Alli, Spurs could celebrate moving to within seven points of the leaders.

Hull get relegation lifeline as Ranocchia downs West Ham

Hull City's Andrea Ranocchia headed home a late winner as they beat West Ham United 2-1 at home on Saturday to boost their Premier League survival hopes and extend the visitors' winless streak to six matches.

Ranocchia met a corner from substitute Kamil Grosicki and flicked his header past Darren Randolph in the 85th minute to take 18th-placed Hull up to 27 points, provisionally level with Swansea City in 17th, ahead of the Welsh side's home game against Middlesbrough on Sunday.

West Ham striker Andy Carroll opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Hull centre back Curtis Davies misjudged Aaron Cresswell's ambitious cross and the towering forward controlled the ball on his chest and finished calmly past Eldin Jakupovic.

Hull had never lost a Premier League home game against West Ham and Andrew Robertson dragged them level with his 53rd-minute equaliser against the run of play, firing low past Randolph after fine interplay with the impressive Grosicki.

West Ham are on 33 points and will hope to secure their first league victory since early February at Arsenal on Wednesday when Hull host Middlesbrough in a relegation six-pointer.

Britos nets first Watford goal to deepen Sunderland woes

Uruguayan defender Miguel Britos scored his first goal for Watford to secure a deserved 1-0 Premier League victory over Sunderland at Vicarage Road on Saturday and deepen the visitors' relegation woes.

The result left bottom side Sunderland with 20 points from 29 matches, seven adrift of safety, while Watford moved up to 10th with 34 points.

The home side were ahead on 59 minutes when Britos headed home at the back post. Stefano Okaka had headed a corner goalwards, but Sunderland's Fabio Borini deflected it on to the crossbar, only for Craig Cathcart to send the rebound to the back post where Britos rose above Jack Rodwell to score.

Substitute Isaac Success had an opportunity to make it 2-0 for the home side when he raced clear, but visiting goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a fine save.

Source: REUTERS
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