Norwich 3-2 Newcastle
Full-back Martin Olsson might just have saved Norwich’s season as his injury-time goal saw the Canaries beat relegation rivals Newcastle in a dramatic five-goal thriller at Carrow Road.
The hosts were on top for most of the game, and, after Magpies goalkeeper Karl Darlow pulled off a number of good saves, Timm Klose’s header finally broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time.
Rafa Benitez responded after the break by introducing striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, and the replacement payed off as he nodded in an Andros Townsend cross to equalise on 71 minutes.
Norwich mustered an immediate reply as Dieumerci Mbokani slammed home to put the Canaries back in front, but Mitrovic nodded again on 86 minutes to seemingly hand Newcastle a crucial point in their battle for survival.
But Alex Neil’s spirited side refused to give up, and the manager was soon running onto the pitch in celebration as Olsson’s low drive late on sealed a dramatic three points for Norwich, and could well have condemned Newcastle to the drop.
West Ham 2-2 Crystal Palace
West Ham saw their hopes of a top-four finish dented by a frustrating 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Upton Park.
Leading 2-1, the Hammers looked on the road to three points before Cheikhou Kouyate’s harsh red card in the second-half handed the Eagles a lifeline.
And moments later Dwight Gayle took advantage of some really poor defending to level the scores and deny Slaven Bilic’s side all three points.
Damien Delaney put Palace ahead with a header on 15 minutes, but their lead last only a few minutes as Manuel Lanzini first fired home, before another stunning free-kick from Dimitri Payet then put the Hammers in front.
Bilic’s men looked comfortable after the break as they looked to close out the win to maintain their Champions League charge, but referee Mark Clattenburg changed the course of the game when he harshly showed Kouyate a straight red card for a challenge on Gayle.
It was rash but truly only looked worth a yellow. Palace made the most of their man advantage as Gayle struck the equaliser shortly after, slotting in from close-range after a mistake from Angelo Ogbonna to rescue a point for Alan Pardew’s side.
Arsenal 4-0 Watford
Arsenal pulled level on points with Tottenham in the table as they cruised to victory over Watford at the Emirates Stadium.
It took for three minutes for the Gunners to open the scoring; Alexis Sanchez coolly finishing at the second attempt after his initial header was saved by Heurelho Gomes.
Arsenal were rampant and forced Gomes into three good saves before they finally found their second of the game through youngster Alex Iwobi. A swift counter saw Sanchez sprint down the wing, and his neat pull-back was swept home by the 19-year-old with a simple finish from the centre of the box.
And they upped their lead just three minutes after the restart. Sanchez was all over the Watford back-four once again and while his cross was headed clear, the ball landed straight to Hector Bellerin whose deflected shot trickled in
They came close to a fourth when Iwobi later hit the bar with a curling effort, with Ozil skying the rebound. But a fourth did eventually come as susbstitute Theo Walcott slotted in from close range in the 90th minute to wrap up a straightforward three points.
Bournemouth 0-4 Man City
Manchester City also hit four in a rampant win over over Bournemouth at Dean Court.
Fernando finished from close-range to hand a dominant City an early lead, and Kevin De Bruyne then marked his return from injury with a fine finish to cap off a brilliant passing move.
Sergio Aguero then got in on the act to make it 3-0 shortly before the break with a neat header from Jesus Navas’ cross.
Bournemouth grew into the game in the second-half, but in truth did little to trouble Manuel Pellegrini’s side, and Aleksandar Kolarov rounded off the scoring in the 90th minute with an arrowed strike.
Three points keeps City in fourth place above West Ham and Manchester United.
Stoke 2-2 Swansea
Swansea came from two goals down to rescue a point thanks to second-half goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Alberto Paloschi.
Ibrahim Afellay’s header put Stoke in front before half-time, with Bojan Krkic doubling the Potters’ lead with a fine solo goal early in the second-half.
But Swansea soon rallied, with playmaker Sigurdsson pulling one back with a fine effort on the turn, before Paloschi’s deflected strike earned a point for the battling Jacks.
Sunderland 0-0 West Brom
Sunderland stay in the bottom-three and remain four points from safety after a frustrating goalless draw with West Brom.
The Black Cats had a host of chances to boost their fight for survival, but failed to take any as goalkeeper Ben Foster denied both Fabio Borini and Jermain Defoe with good saves.
The hosts also had a goal disallowed in injury-time when Dame N’Doye found the net, but he was correctly flagged for offside.
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Source: Talk Sport