Premier League 15/01: Man Utd crumble at Aston Villa, Man City beat Chelsea & more
By Tom Gott
Welcome to 90min's roundup of all the Premier League action on Saturday.
Proceedings started with a real bang, with Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea travelling to the Etihad Stadium to face runaway leaders Manchester City in what was already being billed as a potential title decider.
The 3pm kick-offs saw Newcastle host Watford, Norwich battle Everton and Wolves face Southampton, before the action came to a close with Manchester United's trip to Aston Villa at 5:30.
Here's a roundup of Saturday's enthralling action...
Saturday's headlines
- Everton & Benitez agree to part ways
- Tuchel fires warning to Lukaku
- North London derby postponed
- Spurs furious with Arsenal and Premier League
- Ronaldo still struggling with hip injury
- Transfer blog - LIVE
- Man Utd transfer blog - LIVE
Man City 1-0 Chelsea
Man City moved 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Chelsea.
Thomas Tuchel admitted pre-match that he got the approach for the reverse fixture wrong, insisting the Blues were too defensive - but they made the same mistakes at the Etihad Stadium to effectively end the title race.
City dominated from start to finish and Chelsea even went into the break without having registered a shot on target.
They had at least managed to blunt City's attack, and it took a moment of magic from Kevin De Bruyne midway through the second half to ensure the hosts took the three points.
Newcastle United 1-1 Watford
Newcastle were denied just their second Premier League win of the season by a late Watford equaliser.
The Magpies were largely dominant in this relegation six-pointer, with Joelinton twice going close for the hosts in the first half.
They took the lead just after half-time through Allan Saint-Maximin, but didn't heed the warnings in their attempts to see the game out.
Pantomime villain Moussa Sissoko missed a late sitter, but Newcastle were punished when Joao Pedro headed home to earn Watford a vital point minutes from time.
Norwich City 2-1 Everton
Dean Smith's Norwich moved off the foot of the table with a deserved 2-1 win at home to Everton.
Some shocking defending from the Toffees saw the hosts race into a two-goal lead - Michael Keane managed to turn a cross into his own net before he allowed Adam Idah to score his first Premier League goal.
The visitors managed to pull one back through a stunning overhead kick from Richarlison, but Everton were unable to find the all-important equaliser, and Rafa Benitez will now leave the club in the coming days.
Wolves 3-1 Southampton
Wolves managed to hold off a late rally from Southampton to secure a 3-1 win and move up to eighth in the Premier League table.
Raul Jimenez had put Bruno Lage's ahead from the spot towards the end of the first half before Conor Coady - who had on chalked off for offside - doubled the lead just after the break.
A stunning free-kick from James Ward-Prowse pulled the Saints back into the contest, before substitute Adama Traore killed off any hopes of a comeback with a well-taken finish in stoppage time.
Aston Villa 2-2 Manchester United
Philippe Coutinho inspired a late comeback on his Aston Villa debut in a 2-2 draw at home to Man Utd.
The Red Devils were without Cristiano Ronaldo due to a hip injury, but flew out of the gates and took an early lead through Bruno Fernandes. The midfielder's speculative effort somehow squirmed through Emiliano Martinez.
And Fernandes doubled United's lead with an emphatic finish later in the second half, but that's where things started going pear-shaped for the visitors.
Steven Gerrard threw on Coutinho to try and salvage at least a point, and the Brazilian was involed in Jacob Ramsey's well-worked equaliser.
The Villa youngster then returned the favour by finding Coutinho peeling off the shoulder of Raphael Varane a few minutes later, with the former Liverpool man scoring from close range and ensuring the spoils were shared.