Liverpool and Manchester City gained some ground on league leader Chelsea after the Blues dropped points in Week 13 of the Premier League. Liverpool eased past Southampton in a high-scoring encounter while Manchester City defeated West Ham at the Etihad Stadium. They took full advantage of Chelsea's draw against Manchester United on Sunday.
Chelsea, Manchester United battle to 1-1 draw
Chelsea regained the Premier League lead on Sunday, but it was not the result the Blues wanted as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Manchester United in their blockbuster showdown at Stamford Bridge.
It could have been much worse for Thomas Tuchel's men as United grabbed a shock 1-0 lead in the 50th minute after an opportunistic goal by Jadon Sancho. Jorginho made a hash of United's long defensive clearance, with Sancho pouncing on the Chelsea star's poor control to race through a goal. With only Edouard Mendy to beat, Sancho delivered a fine finish to hand the Red Devils the advantage.
It was a gut punch for the Blues, who dominated possession before Sancho's goal. The Blues piled on the pressure to get the goal back, and they were handed a lifeline in the 69th minute when Aaron Wan-Bissaka fouled Thiago Silva inside the box after a mistimed clearance. Jorginho made amends for his earlier mistake, drilling the penalty kick past David de Gea to even score 1-1.
Unfortunately for the Blues, they could not grab the winner late on as they settled for a one-point lead at the top of the Premier League after 13 matches played. It was still a good result for interim manager Michael Carrick as the stalemate snapped the Red Devils' two-game losing skid in the Premier League.
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Manchester City, Liverpool grab wins to gain ground on Chelsea
Chelsea's draw with Manchester United was great news for title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, who grabbed wins on Matchday 13 to trim the Blues' lead at the top of the standings. Manchester City continued their dominance over West Ham, recording a 2-1 win on Sunday. Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandino scored for the Citizens, who have now won 10 of their 11 top-flight meetings with the Hammers under manager Pep Guardiola.
Weather conditions were brutal in this match, with a snowstorm hitting the venue before half-time. The second half was delayed by almost 10 minutes as the grounds crew cleared the snow from the pitch. That did not stop City from recording yet another win as they jumped past Liverpool into second place in the league.
The Reds earlier moved into second place when they crushed Southampton, 4-0, on Saturday. Diogo Jota starred for Liverpool in the one-sided win, scoring twice in the first half to give the Reds an early 2-0 lead. Thiago Alcantara and Virgil van Dijk completed the rout for Liverpool with goals on either side of half-time.
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