Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City all secured important victories on Saturday as they looked to stake their claims as serious contenders for the Title.
Manchester City kicked off the day with a hard-fought win at Turf Moor to briefly lead the table. Things didn’t start well for the sky blues as Burnley took the lead at the quarter-hour mark with a wonderful volley from Dean Marney. This came after Burnley felt they were denied a penalty after Otamendi pushed into the back off Jeff Hendrick. City’s pressure finally came to fruition late in the first-half when the ever reliable Sergio Aguero scrambled in the equaliser from a City corner. Aguero was at it again for City as another goal mouth scramble led to the Argentinian stabbing home from close range after good work from Fernandinho.
Liverpool’s win was equally hard-earned as the stubborn black cats almost held the reds at Anfield. The mood at Liverpool is likely to be dampened by the injury to Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian has been the star man for Klopp so far this season but his game was ended prematurely in the first half after falling awkwardly on his ankle while challenging for the ball. The reds clearly missed Coutinho’s vision and trickery as they struggled to break down a resilient Sunderland. It took until the 75th minute for Liverpool to finally make a breakthrough with substitute Divock Origi curling in an effort to finally beat Pickford. Moyes’ men tested Liverpool keeper Karius on several occasions but couldn’t get on the score sheet. The points were finally secured with a James Milner stoppage time Penalty after Sadio Mané was brought down.
? Words from Divock… pic.twitter.com/qPEeQFkWSU
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 27, 2016
Chelsea regained top spot after fighting back from a goal down to defeat Spurs in the evening game. Chelsea haven’t lost Spurs at home for 26 years but this record looked under threat when Christian Eriksen’s stunning strike put Tottenham ahead on 11 minutes. Conte’s men had not conceded a goal in six games beforehand since their switch to 3-4-3. Spurs had chances to double their lead, but they were punished close to half time with Pedro beating Lloris with a wonderful curling effort. The turnaround was complete when smart work from Diego Costa set up Victor Moses to slot home early in the second half. The Nigerian is enjoying his best run since joining the blues and has become a key part in Conte’s 3-4-3 system.
https://twitter.com/HazardFlicks/status/802583526327586818
The win means Chelsea lead Liverpool and City by a point with North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs following closely. Chelsea kick off the action next week with a huge fixture against Guardiola’s City and could go four points clear of City if they win at the Etihad. Liverpool travel to Bournemouth hoping to take advantage of their title rivals meeting.
