In another twist to this unpredictable English Premier League season, last-place Sunderland damaged Chelsea's title hopes with a 2-1 upset at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
After surprise losses to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in recent weeks, Chelsea again stuttered against weaker opposition, as Jose Mourinho's 77-match unbeaten home streak as Chelsea boss came to an end in a major boost for league leader Liverpool.
Chelsea could not hold onto its lead after Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring, as Connor Wickham leveled from the rebound six minutes later following Marcos Alonso's long-range effort. Fabio Borini then scored from the spot after Cesar Azpilicueta brought down U.S. forward Jozy Altidore in the box with eight minutes remaining.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace claimed a fifth consecutive win with a 1-0 defeat of West Ham to secure its place in the top flight next season and Swansea secured a vital 2-1 win at Newcastle that piled more pressure on Magpies manager Alan Pardew.
Peter Whittingham's second-half penalty gave Cardiff a precious point in a 1-1 draw against Stoke, and Aston Villa could record only a goalless home draw with Southampton.
Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone made 14 saves as Chelsea blew the opportunity to dislodge Liverpool from top spot. The Reds will have the chance to extend their lead to five points at Norwich on Sunday.
Other European leagues: Bayern Munich ground out a hard-fought 2-0 victory over last-place Eintracht Braunschweig to end the champions' three-game winless streak in the Bundesliga.
Claudio Pizarro broke the deadlock in the 75th minute and Mario Mandzukic secured the win with four minutes remaining.
-- Mario Balotelli set a career best with his 14th goal of the Serie A season and set up another score as AC Milan beat visiting Livorno 3-0 for its fifth straight win.
Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0.
Paul Pogba scored as Juventus stayed on course for a third consecutive title with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Bologna.
source: sfgate.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment