Man City 4-0 Bournemouth:
Manchester City smashed Bournemouth to continue their record-breaking run with their 17th straight victory in the Premier League.
Sergio Aguero took his tally of Etihad Stadium goals past 100 with a double, as the top flight leaders swept past the Cherries.
Raheem Sterling also claimed his 16th goal of the season and Danilo his first for the club late on, as Pep Guardiola’s side took their 2017 tally to 101 goals.
City were not at their sparkling best but still had far too much for Bournemouth, who have now lost back-to-back games 4-0 after last week’s thrashing by Liverpool and are without a win in seven.
Another win moves Man City 14 points clear at the top of the table at the halfway stage of the season.
West Ham 2-3 Newcastle:
Newcastle came from behind and managed to hold on in a nervy finale to beat West Ham in a five-goal thriller at the London Stadium.
Marko Arnautovic continued his great run of form with the Hammers’ opening goal inside just six minutes, the former capitalising on a dreadful back-pass from Henri Saivet.
But Saivet redeemed himself with a wonderful free-kick to pull the Magpies level just four minutes later, and David Moyes’ men then found themselves behind when Mohamed Diame netted early in the second-half.
Newcastle then went 3-1 up when Christian Atsu finished off a neat counter-attacking move, and made the most of some woeful West Ham defending.
Andre Ayew, who had earlier missed a penalty, found the net in the 69th minute to give West Ham hope, but Rafa Benitez’s side managed to hold on to claim a vital three points.
Victory lifts Newcastle to 15th, two points clear of the bottom-three, with West Ham slipping to 17th and just a point off the relegation zone.
Brighton 1-0 Watford:
The hopeless Hornets suffered their fifth defeat in six games as Pascal Gross’s second-half strike earned Brighton a home victory.
It was a vital win for the Seagulls, who ended their seven-game winless streak with a deserved three points.
Albion had not found the net from open play for more than ten-and-a-half hours when German midfielder Gross cut on to his right foot and let fly with a 64th-minute drive which flew under Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.
The well-earned win was much needed for Seagulls manager Chris Hughton, ending a run of three points from a possible 27 while inflicting a fourth successive loss on the Hornets and putting a little more pressure on their boss Marco Silva.
Southampton 1-1 Huddersfield:
Charlie Austin could face a suspension after his challenge on Jonas Lossl left the Danish goalkeeper with a blood-soaked face as Southampton drew 1-1 with Huddersfield at St Mary’s.
Austin fired Saints into the lead but later avoided sanction despite catching Huddersfield keeper Lossl in the nose in a bad-tempered south coast affair.
The striker could face retrospective punishment from the Football Association for his actions, with a three-match ban a possibility, while Lossl managed to play on undeterred after lengthy treatment.
Austin’s fifth strike in five starts was cancelled out by Laurent Depoitre’s third goal in as many games however, as the Terriers fought back for a share of the spoils.
Saints frontman Austin later hobbled off with a leg issue as injury cut short his mixed afternoon.
The draw left Southampton with just one win in 10 Premier League encounters, maintaining pressure on manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
Stoke City 3-1 West Brom:
The pressure on Stoke manager Mark Hughes eased a little following a 3-1 home victory against West Brom.
Five defeats in the previous six Premier League matches had dragged Stoke towards the relegation battle, but Hughes said in the build-up to the game he did not feel defeat here would spell the end of his four and a half years in charge.
Chairman Peter Coates, however, described Saturday’s fixture against the second-from-bottom club as “one we need to win.”
It looked like Stoke would comfortably oblige after first-half goals from Joe Allen and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting put them firmly in control but West Brom rallied at the start of the second half and Salomon Rondon halved their deficit.
However, the Baggies were unable to get anything from the game and Alan Pardew is still looking for his first victory since taking over as manager five matches ago.
More worryingly, his group of players are without a Premier League win for 17 matches.
Swansea 1-1 Crystal Palace:
Leon Britton’s first game as Swansea caretaker manager ended in a 1-1 home draw against Crystal Palace.
Swansea had put club stalwart Britton in temporary charge after sacking Paul Clement on Wednesday, and there was a familiar feel about proceedings when Luka Milivojevic put Palace ahead on the hour.
But substitute Jordan Ayew rescued a point 13 minutes from time with a thunderous 20-yard drive – his second goal of the season, with his previous Premier League strike coming against Palace at Selhurst Park in August.
Britton – half the age of Palace boss Roy Hodgson – oversaw a vastly improved display from a Swansea side who had scored only 10 goals in 18 games under Clement this season.
But Swansea will still spend Christmas bottom of the league as they seek to make a swift managerial appointment.
–
Source: Talksport