PL roundup: Relentless City keep up title tilt, Chelsea get first win under Lampard
Bournemouth 1 Chelsea 3
Chelsea ended their six-match losing streak across all competitions as a 3-1 triumph over in-form Bournemouth saw the Blues secure their first points in the Premier League since the return of Frank Lampard at the helm.
Widely tipped for relegation at the start of April, a remarkable transformation on the South Coast has seen Bournemouth all but secure their top-flight status for another season after six wins from their last nine matches.
The visit of Lampard’s struggling Chelsea side seemed like an ideal opportunity for the Cherries to continue their upturn in form, however, it was the Blues who made the perfect start inside 10 minutes, with Conor Gallagher heading a brilliant delivery from N’Golo Kante into the bottom corner.
Despite the early setback, Bournemouth went in pursuit of a swift response and duly found an equaliser in the 21st minute, when a brilliant team move involving Dominic Solanke and Ryan Christie culminated in Matias Vina curling a sumptuous effort into the top corner.
After a closely-fought opening half-hour, the visitors looked to regain control of proceedings before the interval, however, the lively Noni Madueke saw a low strike comfortably saved by Neto, as the scores remained level going into the break.
Similar to the first half, it was Chelsea who emerged after the restart eager to gain an upper hand in the contest, although despite seeing plenty of the ball, clear-cut chances came at a premium for the Blues.
This continued into the final 20 minutes, with neither side able to find any kind of cutting edge in the final third, as Vina saw the hosts’ best opportunity thwarted by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
With the scoreline tantalisingly poised, the visitors went in search of a late winner, and after Kai Havertz spurned a glorious chance from close range, Benoit Badiashile poked home a clever finish from Hakim Ziyech’s delivery to put the Blues ahead with eight minutes remaining.
This sent Chelsea on the way to first victory in 10 matches and Joao Felix added further gloss to the scoreline in the closing moments to cap off a crucial triumph for Lampard and his under-fire side.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Noni Madueke (Chelsea)
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Manchester City 2 Leeds 1
Title favourites Manchester City made it 51 victories from their last 61 Premier League games, dispatching a spirited but outclassed Leeds United 2-1 in the Whites’ first game under new boss Sam Allardyce.
Having set a new league record for goals conceded in a month during April, after shipping 23 times across seven games, negotiating the opening 15 minutes with a clean sheet intact was a small win in itself for a Leeds side still significantly threatened by relegation and facing a tough run-in.
They certainly couldn’t afford to rest easy with Erling Haaland sniffing about, and the league’s record-breaking top scorer was soon up to his usual tricks, ghosting in behind but finding himself denied by Leeds stopper Joel Robles, who was making his first league start since 2017.
However, that only proved to be a temporary reprieve for Leeds on Sam Allardyce’s managerial bow with the Yorkshire side, and City soon reaped the rewards of their endeavours, when Ilkay Gundogan caressed home from the edge of the area.
Leeds clearly hadn’t learned their lesson from that opening goal either, as in almost identical circumstances, Riyad Mahrez laid the perfect ball on for Gundogan, who took one touch to control before doubling City’s advantage with his second.
After breaking the league record for most goals in a single season on Wednesday night, Haaland struggled in front of goal today, and this was highlighted no better than when the Norwegian powered a header against the bar of an unguarded goal from six yards.
It really was proving to be one of those days for Haaland, and he again hit the woodwork shortly after the hour mark, albeit in more difficult circumstances this time around.
Those misses gave Leeds some distant hope of a result, and after Gundogan missed the chance to round the game off from the spot, Rodrigo halved the deficit against the run of play to set up a grandstand finish.
Only 58 seconds separated the penalty miss and Leeds’ goal, but despite the fact Allardyce’s men couldn’t find a leveller, this result should serve as a source of inspiration in their quest for survival.
As for City, Pep’s men know they have better performances in the proverbial locker, as their push to secure a third successive league title continues.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City)
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Tottenham Hotspur 1 Crystal Palace 0
Harry Kane’s 26th Premier League goal of the campaign temporarily moved Tottenham Hotspur up to sixth in the Premier League as they secured a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Spurs headed into this fixture against the Eagles on the back of four consecutive Premier League games without victory, conceding an alarming 15 goals in the process, as interim boss Ryan Mason sought to keep his side in the hunt for European football next season.
Once the national anthem was belted out to honour King Charles III’s coronation, the match got underway, with Richarlison testing Sam Johnstone early on before the offside flag was raised.
As the first half progressed, both London-based outfits traded possession, but neither side was able to find the all-important breakthrough, although Spurs defender Cristian Romero saw his header crash against the woodwork following a corner.
The two teams continued to ask questions of the opposition goalkeeper, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg firing a close-range effort over after a neat one-two with Harry Kane before Fraser Forster comfortably denied Michael Olise’s half-volley from the edge of the area.
Kane, though, eventually broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, nodding in his 209th league strike - overtaking Wayne Rooney as the league’s second all-time top goalscorer - after getting on the end of Pedro Porro’s dangerous ball into the box.
Spurs were a little sloppy after emerging from the tunnel following the interval, allowing Roy Hodgson’s side to build some momentum, but Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze failed to find the target with their respective attempts.
As Tottenham grew back into the game, Sam Johnstone superbly tipped Porro’s deflected strike out for a corner shortly after the hour mark before the Spanish international flashed a free-kick wide of the target minutes later.
Johnstone was on hand once again shortly after to thwart Heung-Min Son when the South Korean forward attempted to go around him inside the area.
Spurs had already done enough, though, to hold on to their eighth successive H2H PL home victory, a run which stretches back to 2015.
Meanwhile, Roy Hodgson’s team, who have already extended their League stay for at least another campaign, tasted defeat for just the second time in their last seven league outings.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
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Wolves 1 Aston Villa 0
The 135th West Midlands derby between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa ended with a 1-0 victory for Julen Lopetegui’s side - a thunderous early header from Toti handing Wolves a fourth consecutive win without conceding at Molineux.
Fresh off their 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Brighton last weekend, Wolves were looking for an immediate response, and this looked to be the perfect opportunity against a Villa side whom they have defeated in four of their last five home matches.
The visitors started off livelier than their opponents, but the home side dusted off the South coast cobwebs with an opener in the first 10 minutes.
With most players distracted by the incessant tussling going on in the Villa box, Toti ghosted in behind Tyrone Mings to head Ruben Neves’ corner in off the bar to get those in Old Gold in the stands up on their feet.
Only two Premier League sides had scored fewer league goals than Wolves this season, and so they were content to defend their lead rather than push to extend it.
Villa seized control, and Jose Sa had to produce a fantastic save to prevent Emiliano Buendía’s long range strike from arrowing into the far corner.
Buendia continued to be a nuisance, and when he wasn’t taking on chances himself he was setting them up, including when Ollie Watkins hit acrobatically wide.
There was another chance for Watkins before the break, but he couldn’t end his run of three games without a goal as he headed Jacob Ramsey’s cross straight at Sa.
With their surge from relegation candidates to European contenders under Unai Emery, Villa hadn’t trailed at the break in 11 league matches before last week, but they now found themselves in that position in two outings in a row.
However, their intent to avoid the same fate as they did at Manchester United last weekend resulted in their being vulnerable to the Wolves counter, and chances for Diego Costa and Matheus Cunha on the break went begging.
The visitors struggled to forge meaningful chances as Wolves defended valiantly, but they came closest when Mings hit Douglas Luiz’s ball over the bar.
Villa peppered the opposition box with crosses in the final 10 minutes, but Wolves’ defenders put their bodies on the line to preserve yet another clean sheet on home turf.
The three points might be all Lopetegui needs to see his side secure a PL berth for next season, and that might be guaranteed this weekend based on results elsewhere.
Villa meanwhile suffered another blow to their European aspirations, with their 10-match unbeaten streak followed by two consecutive defeats that have seen them fail to score.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers)