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Chelsea and United win, as Arsenal’s winning run ends at Palace - Soccer Times

Chelsea and United win, as Arsenal’s winning run ends at Palace

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Sunday was another action-packed day in the Premier League, with three games taking place in the English top-flight. Here is what happened in the trio of games:

Chelsea gives the Clarets the Blues

Chelsea continued their impressive start under Maurizio Sarri in one of the early kick-offs by recording a comfortable 4-0 win at Burnley’s Turf Moor.

Burnley started brightly attempting to unsettle the visitors but were a goal down after just 22 minutes. Brazilian winger Willian hit the post before Ross Barkley produced a sublime touch to find Alvaro Morata, who coolly finished past Joe Hart.

The Blues doubled their lead just before the half-hour mark, as Ross Barkley drove forward and smashed home a superb effort from 25 yards out. The visitors were three up on 62 minutes, as Willian hit a long-range bending effort that nicked a defender before beating Joe Hart. Sarri’s team completed the rout in stoppage-time, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored from close-range after Hart had brilliantly tipped a header from Olivier Giroud onto the post.

The win means that the Blues are second in the Premier League table, trailing visitors Liverpool by just two points. However, Chelsea still remain third-favourites for the Premier League title behind Liverpool and of course champions Manchester City.

Palace end Arsenal’s winning run

Arsenal’s 11-game winning run in all competitions ended on Sunday afternoon after Crystal Palace held the Gunners to a 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park.

Palace took the lead in first-half stoppage-time. Shkodran Mustafi tripped Cheikhou Kouyate in the penalty area and midfielder Luka Milivojevic fired home into the bottom corner of the net to make up for missing from the spot last weekend at Everton.

The Gunners rallied in the second period and equalised through a powerfully struck long-range free-kick from Grant Xhaka on 51 minutes.  The visitors regained the lead on 56 minutes, with a massively controversial goal.

Alexandre Lacazette looked to have used his hand to guide the ball to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose effort crept over the line. The effort was confirmed by goal-line technology. The Gunners looked set to claim maximum points until the 83rd minute.

Eagles winger Wilfried Zaha took on Xhaka, who brought him down in the penalty area. Milivojevic stepped up once again and made no mistake to rescue a point for Roy Hodgson’s team.

Arsenal remain in fourth place but could slip down to fifth if Spurs defeat Manchester City at Wembley on Monday night. Palace are 14th place in the top-flight table, just three points clear of the relegation zone.

United record unconvincing win over Everton

Manchester United recorded a somewhat unconvincing 2-1 win over Everton at Old Trafford in the late kick-off.

The game was pretty even until the 27th minute when the home side was awarded a penalty kick. French winger Anthony Martial went down rather dramatically under a challenge from Idrissa Gueye and referee Jon Moss inevitably pointed to the spot.

Paul Pogba stepped up to take the spot-kick with a stuttering run and saw his effort superbly saved by Jordan Pickford. However, the ball bounced back to the French midfielder who had the simple task of tapping home.

Martial doubled the Red Devils lead early in the second period, curling a sensational effort from 20 yards out passed Jordan Pickford. Everton should have been back in the game soon afterwards as Bernard was put through one-on-one with David De Gea. The Brazilian rounded the Spain goalkeeper only to fire into the side netting.

The Toffees were back in the game with 13 minutes remaining. Centre-back Chris Smalling hacked Richarlison down in the penalty area and was fortunate not to receive a second yellow card from referee Moss. Icelandic international Gylfi Sigurdsson stepped up and tucked away the penalty.

Despite a late rally from the away side, Jose Mourinho’s team held on and moved up to eighth place in the table, one spot ahead of the Toffees.

Who produced the best performance of Sunday in the Premier League?

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