Manchester City shocked by Burnley; Barcelona maintain lead at the top
Chelsea was held by 1-1 by Southampton in an exciting match at Stamford Bridge while chasers Manchester United sent 6th place Tottenham Hotspur home crying. Arsenal also retained 3rd position when they defeated West Ham 3-0 at the Emirates. Barcelona held their one-point advantage at the helm of the La Liga with a win against Eibar while Real Madrid beat Levante to keep up with their rivals.
Chelsea took their lead at the top of the Premier League to 6 points in an entertaining draw against Southampton. Diego Costa opened the scoring in typical fashion heading in a cross from Ivanovic to score his 18th goal of the season. Chelsea’s joy was short-lived when Matic felled Sadio Mane in the box and referee Mike Dean awarded a penalty. Dusan Tadic coolly converted the spot-kick to equalize. Fraser Forster made a string of key saves to deny Oscar and Hazard to keep the match on level terms. Jose Mourinho wasn’t too disappointed with this performance though, primarily due the 6 point lead and the two games Chelsea have in hand.
Chelsea’s win made matters worse for Manchester City, who slumped to an embarrassing defeat against relegation-threatened Burnley. George Boyd scored a half-volley in the 61st minute to give Burnley a historic win over the holders Manchester City. City created lots of chances but were wasteful in front of goal.
Manchester United scored 3 first-half goals to continue their quest for Champions League football. Tottenham put in a ghastly display against a clinical United and two goals from Fellaini and Carrick put the contest to rest by the 20th minute. Captain Wayne Rooney scored his team’s third after Nadil Bentaleb gifted a pass to the Englishman who struck past a stuttering Hugo Llloris. Harry Kane was kept quiet for the entirety of the match and Tottenham managed their only shot in target in the 89th minute.
Barcelona continued their good run of form with an easy win over Eibar, maintaining their position at the summit of the La Liga. Messi scored a penalty in the first-half and a diving header in the second-half to take his season’s goal tally to 43. And with Manchester City and Real Madrid visiting the Camp Nou next week, this was just the win Luis Enrique’s side hoped for.
Gareth Bale silenced his critics, scoring a brace in a 2-0 win against Levante to end his 9-game goal drought. The Welshman had been a sullen figure for the majority of the season and he has hit top form at the best time imaginable with crucial encounters to follow in the Champions League and the La Liga, including the El Clasico.
PSG were stunned by a resilient Bordeaux in Ligue 1, when Diego Rodin scored an 88th minute winner for the home side, leaving the champions PSG two points behind leaders Lyon. Ibrahimovic, who scored a double in the 3-2 loss, was at his controversial best ranting on how ‘France does not deserve PSG’ and severely criticized referee Lionel Jaffredo after the match.
