Chelsea lose at Everton and Manchester derby ends in stalemate



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MANCHESTER, England: Chelsea’s 17-game unbeaten streak came to an end with a 1-0 loss at Everton, while the Manchester derby between United and City ended scoreless in the Premier League on Saturday (12 December ).

The results leave Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the table, 24 points behind Liverpool. José Mourinho’s Spurs visit Crystal Palace while champions Juergen Klopp are in Fulham on Sunday.

Chelsea had hoped to take first place for at least 24 hours, but a first-half penalty from Icelandic Gylfi Sigurdsson gave Everton victory after 2,000 fans returned at Goodison Park.

The hosts went ahead in the 22nd minute when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was brought down in the box by Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Sigurdsson kicked the penalty.

Chelsea’s Reece James hit a post with a low shot in the first half, while a Mason Mount free kick also hit the wood with 10 minutes to go in the second half as the visitors’ normally powerful attack missed in Merseyside.

Everton climbed to seventh in the standings with 20 points, while Chelsea remain third with 22 after 12 games.

The Manchester derby at an empty Old Trafford lacked the usual excitement with both sides cautious and few chances.

In the only major incident, United were awarded a penalty in the 48th minute when Kyle Walker kicked Marcus Rashford’s foot in the box, but the decision was overturned after the VAR found that the England forward had been in an off position. of game.

The closest an unusually flat City came to scoring was a first-half effort by Riyad Mahrez that was well saved by David De Gea, with Kevin De Bruyne unable to make the most of the fumble.

Following his exit from the Champions League at the hands of RB Leipzig on Tuesday, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needed to avoid the kind of result that could have raised serious questions about his role and was satisfied with his team’s performance. .

“The glass is always half full with me. That’s the way you have to look at it. In my time against Man City, that’s the best performance we’ve ever had. It is not the best result, but it is the best performance. I think so ”, said the Norwegian.

VILLA PENALTY

An injury time penalty from Anwar El-Ghazi gave Aston Villa victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers in a Midlands derby in which both teams finished with 10 men.

Villa had Douglas Luiz sent off in the 85th minute and Wolves midfielder Joao Moutinho was sent off shortly after the visitors scored against the game’s streak to record their fourth away win of the season.

Nelson Semedo dropped John McGinn in the penalty area and El-Ghazi made no mistake with the penalty when he threw the ball to goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

Newcastle United shook off the effects of a COVID-19 outbreak at the club as Miguel Almirón scored the fastest goal in the Premier League this season and Dwight Gayle scored a late goal in a 2-1 home win over West Bromwich Albion. .

Almirón put Newcastle ahead in the 20th minute when an error by defender Branislav Ivanovic allowed the hosts to counterattack and Joelinton found the Paraguayan midfielder unmarked in the area as West Brom recovered.

The visitors tied five minutes after the restart when a Matt Phillips cross was greeted by Darnell Furlong, who reached out to volley into the bottom corner.

Gayle scored the winning goal against his former club in the 82nd minute when he hit a cross from fellow substitute Jacob Murphy and his bullet header slammed into the bar.

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