Arsenal laboured to victory over Newcastle to start 2016 with a win and move two points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.
The Gunners were largely outplayed by a visiting side desperate to start the new year with a surprise result to lift themselves out of the relegation zone.
Steve McClaren’s men certainly created more chances but they were undone when Laurent Koscielny scored his third of the season from close range to secure a 1-0 win for the hosts.
Petr Cech, fresh from sealing the Premier League clean-sheet record, kept out a number of Newcastle chances – most notably Georginio Wijnaldum’s early second-half shot.
And it was Arsene Wenger and his players left smiling at the full-time whistle as Koscielny’s effort, coupled with Leicester’s goalless draw at home to Bournemouth, saw them move clear at the summit
Manchester City rescued their Barclays Premier League title hopes with a late comeback in a 2-1 victory at Watford.
On an afternoon when wins for rivals Arsenal and Manchester United made a positive result even more crucial, Aleksandar Kolarov’s own goal appeared to have given Watford their latest win.
However, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero rescued City with two fine goals in the final 10 minutes to keep third-placed City within three points of leaders Arsenal.
Louis van Gaal hailed the “amazing” Wayne Rooney after his deft backheel ended Manchester United’s eight-match winless run and made the striker the second-highest goal scorer in the club’s history.
Rooney moved ahead of Denis Law in the United scoring charts when he flicked Anthony Martial’s cross into the net to seal a much-needed 2-1 win over Swansea on Saturday.
Rooney’s 238th goal for the clb could not have come at a better time for his manager. Van Gaal’s team looked set to extend their rotten joyless run to nine matches after Gylfi Sigurdsson had equalised Anthony Martial’s opener.
Chelsea got back to winning ways against Crystal Palace in the Premier League, collecting a well-deserved 3-0 win at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
A first-half goal from Oscar put the champions in charge of the fixture, and further strikes from Willian and Diego Costa wrapped up the needed points.
The Blues produced one of their best displays for a number of months as they dominated Palace for long spells of the match, moving up to 14th in the process.
Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink made two changes to the side that started against Manchester United, with Nemanja Matic and Pedro making way for Cesc Fabregas and Costa, who were both pivotal in the result.
Liverpool lost yet more ground on the Premier League top four in Saturday’s early kick-off as West Ham United put them to the sword with an impressive 2-0 victory at Upton Park.
The goals came 10 minutes into each half, with Michail Antonio nodding the hosts ahead early on and former Liverpool star Andy Carroll doubling the Hammers’ lead in the second period.
The Hammers got their tactics spot on and fully deserved the victory over the toothless Liverpool, for whom Christian Benteke was particularly poor.
After 20 Matches this is how the table look.
POS LP CLUB P W D L GF GA GD PTS 1 
(1) Arsenal 20 13 3 4 34 18 16 42 2 (2) Leicester City 20 11 7 2 37 25 12 40 3 (3) Manchester City 20 12 3 5 39 21 18 39 4 (4) Tottenham Hotspur 20 9 9 2 34 16 18 36 5 (5) Manchester United 20 9 6 5 24 17 7 33 6 (6) West Ham United 20 8 8 4 30 23 7 32 7 (7) Crystal Palace 20 9 4 7 23 19 4 31 8 (8) Liverpool 20 8 6 6 22 24 -2 30 9 (9) Watford 20 8 5 7 25 22 3 29 10 (10) Stoke City 20 8 5 7 21 21 0 29 11 (11) Everton 20 6 9 5 36 29 7 27 12 (12) West Bromwich Albion 20 7 5 8 20 25 -5 26 13 (13) Southampton 20 6 6 8 26 24 2 24 14 (16) Chelsea 20 6 5 9 26 29 -3 23 15 (14) Norwich City 20 6 5 9 23 32 -9 23 16 (15) Bournemouth 20 5 6 9 22 34 -12 21 17 (17) Swansea City 20 4 7 9 17 26 -9 19 18 (18) Newcastle United 20 4 5 11 19 35 -16 17 19 (19) Sunderland 20 4 3 13 22 39 -17 15 20 (20) Aston Villa 20 1 5 14 16 37 -21 8
Arsenal laboured to victory over Newcastle to start 2016 with a win and move two points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.
The Gunners were largely outplayed by a visiting side desperate to start the new year with a surprise result to lift themselves out of the relegation zone.
Steve McClaren’s men certainly created more chances but they were undone when Laurent Koscielny scored his third of the season from close range to secure a 1-0 win for the hosts.
Petr Cech, fresh from sealing the Premier League clean-sheet record, kept out a number of Newcastle chances – most notably Georginio Wijnaldum’s early second-half shot.
And it was Arsene Wenger and his players left smiling at the full-time whistle as Koscielny’s effort, coupled with Leicester’s goalless draw at home to Bournemouth, saw them move clear at the summit
Manchester City rescued their Barclays Premier League title hopes with a late comeback in a 2-1 victory at Watford.
On an afternoon when wins for rivals Arsenal and Manchester United made a positive result even more crucial, Aleksandar Kolarov’s own goal appeared to have given Watford their latest win.
However, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero rescued City with two fine goals in the final 10 minutes to keep third-placed City within three points of leaders Arsenal.
Louis van Gaal hailed the “amazing” Wayne Rooney after his deft backheel ended Manchester United’s eight-match winless run and made the striker the second-highest goal scorer in the club’s history.
Rooney moved ahead of Denis Law in the United scoring charts when he flicked Anthony Martial’s cross into the net to seal a much-needed 2-1 win over Swansea on Saturday.
Rooney’s 238th goal for the clb could not have come at a better time for his manager. Van Gaal’s team looked set to extend their rotten joyless run to nine matches after Gylfi Sigurdsson had equalised Anthony Martial’s opener.
Chelsea got back to winning ways against Crystal Palace in the Premier League, collecting a well-deserved 3-0 win at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
A first-half goal from Oscar put the champions in charge of the fixture, and further strikes from Willian and Diego Costa wrapped up the needed points.
The Blues produced one of their best displays for a number of months as they dominated Palace for long spells of the match, moving up to 14th in the process.
Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink made two changes to the side that started against Manchester United, with Nemanja Matic and Pedro making way for Cesc Fabregas and Costa, who were both pivotal in the result.
Liverpool lost yet more ground on the Premier League top four in Saturday’s early kick-off as West Ham United put them to the sword with an impressive 2-0 victory at Upton Park.
The goals came 10 minutes into each half, with Michail Antonio nodding the hosts ahead early on and former Liverpool star Andy Carroll doubling the Hammers’ lead in the second period.
The Hammers got their tactics spot on and fully deserved the victory over the toothless Liverpool, for whom Christian Benteke was particularly poor.
After 20 Matches this is how the table look.
| POS | LP | CLUB | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | (1) | Arsenal | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 18 | 16 | 42 |
| 2 | | (2) | Leicester City | 20 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 37 | 25 | 12 | 40 |
| 3 | | (3) | Manchester City | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 39 | 21 | 18 | 39 |
| 4 | | (4) | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 34 | 16 | 18 | 36 |
| 5 | | (5) | Manchester United | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 33 |
| 6 | | (6) | West Ham United | 20 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 30 | 23 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | | (7) | Crystal Palace | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 19 | 4 | 31 |
| 8 | | (8) | Liverpool | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 24 | -2 | 30 |
| 9 | | (9) | Watford | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 25 | 22 | 3 | 29 |
| 10 | | (10) | Stoke City | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 29 |
| 11 | | (11) | Everton | 20 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 36 | 29 | 7 | 27 |
| 12 | | (12) | West Bromwich Albion | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 25 | -5 | 26 |
| 13 | | (13) | Southampton | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 26 | 24 | 2 | 24 |
| 14 | | (16) | Chelsea | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 29 | -3 | 23 |
| 15 | | (14) | Norwich City | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 32 | -9 | 23 |
| 16 | | (15) | Bournemouth | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 22 | 34 | -12 | 21 |
| 17 | | (17) | Swansea City | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 19 |
| 18 | | (18) | Newcastle United | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 35 | -16 | 17 |
| 19 | | (19) | Sunderland | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 22 | 39 | -17 | 15 |
| 20 | | (20) | Aston Villa | 20 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 37 | -21 | 8 |
