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MANCHESTER, England: Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United enjoyed comfortable Premier League victories on Saturday as fans returned to the stadiums after an eight-month absence.
Chelsea beat Leeds United 3-1 in front of 2,000 spectators at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester United fought back from a goal down to beat West Ham United 3-1, their fifth straight victory back on the road, against the same crowd. .
Clubs in less restricted areas of England were allowed to welcome 2,000 fans, but in higher risk venues the matches were held behind closed doors with Manchester City beating Fulham 2-0 and Everton tied. 1-1 at Burnley.
Chelsea rose to the top of the table as they came from behind to beat Leeds United 3-1 at home, en route for a fifth goal in four days from French forward Olivier Giroud.
Giroud, 34, marked his first league start to the season, rewarding him for his four goals in Chelsea’s win over Sevilla in the Champions League, by stretching to convert a Reece James cross in the 27th minute.
That canceled a four-minute opener for Leeds by Patrick Bamford.
Chelsea took the lead in the 61st minute when Kurt Zouma jumped higher than all to propel a Mason Mount corner into the net and Christian Pulisic sealed the win in overtime when he converted a Timo Werner cross.
The victory took Chelsea to first place with 22 points, beating Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, who are 21 and play on Sunday.
Manchester United moved up to fourth place after recovering from a poor first-half performance at West Ham.
Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek put the hosts ahead in the 38th minute, spinning down the back post after Declan Rice headed in from a corner.
CRUNCH PARTY
United were well below their best, forcing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to bring in Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes from the bench at half-time and although the Norwegian hoped to rest his key players before the decisive League game of Tuesday’s Champions in Leipzig, the play paid off off.
Portuguese midfielder Fernandes prepared Paul Pogba for the equalizer in the 65th minute, the French midfielder scored with a brilliant side curler from outside the area.
Mason Greenwood put United ahead with a magnificent short into the corner and Rashford completed the comeback in the 78th minute with a delicate chip.
Manchester City are fifth after first-half goals from Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne secured a comfortable home win over Fulham.
Only a series of superb saves from Fulham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola prevented City from a bigger win after Sterling overtook the hosts and De Bruyne converted a penalty in the 26th minute.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin canceled Robbie Brady’s opener when Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton earned a point at Turf Moor.
Burnley took the lead in the third minute when Ashley Westwood fed to Brady, who sent the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Calvert-Lewin tied Everton at halftime, sliding to find a low center from Richarlison for his 11th league goal of the season.
