Premier League round-up: Costa fires Chelsea back to winning ways as Vardy equals record
Chelsea handed under-fire manager Jose
Mourinho a lifeline as the Blues ended a run of
three consecutive defeats by beating Norwich
1-0 at Stamford Bridge, but the story of the day
belonged to Leicester striker Jamie Vardy as he
equalised a Premier League record.
For the Blues, it seemed it would be another
day of frustration against the stubborn Canaries
as Diego Costa , suffering from a severe lack of
confidence, first fired what seemed to be a
simple sidefooted finish over the bar and then
had an effort well saved by John Ruddy.
The defending champions, desperate to get
back to winning ways and climb up the table,
maintained pressure throughout with the likes of
Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Willian lively,
though the final ball often let them down.
Countless crosses were either miss-hit or easily
cleared, but their persistence paid off as Costa
finally broke the deadlock on 64 minutes with a
sweet curling finish into the bottom corner after
a neat turn from Fabregas’ clever pass.
Late chances came and went, with Kurt Zouma
rattling the crossbar with a backheel flick from
Willian’s free-kick, but the one goal was all
Chelsea needed to seal a much needed three
points, as they rise above Norwich into 15th
place.
It was a good result for the struggling Blues, but
the headlines will rightly be dominated by
England international Vardy, who scored in his
tenth consecutive league game – equalling
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s long-standing record in
the process – to guide Leicester to a 3-0
victory over Newcastle.
There were doubts over the striker’s fitness
after Vardy was forced to sit out of England’s
double-header against Spain and France, but
the 29-year-old showed no lack of sharpness as
he put Leicester in front with a routine goal on
the stoke of half-time, with second-half goals
from Leonardo Ulloa and Shinji Okazaki sealing
victory.
Meanwhile, it was a miserable afternoon for
Arsenal, who suffered a shock defeat away to
West Brom and also had two more names added
to their already lengthy injury list.
The game was barely ten minutes old when
Francis Coquelin was replaced by Mikel Arteta
after picking up an injury, though the away fans’
mood was soon lifted when Olivier Giroud
nodded the Gunners in front after 28 minutes
from Mesut Ozil’s free-kick.
The lead meant Arsenal went top of the as-it-
stands Premier League table, but it lasted only
a matter of minutes as James Morrison lobbed
Petr Cech with a miss-hit volley to level, and it
got even worse for Arsene Wenger’s side when
an Arteta own-goal handed the Baggies the
lead.
The Spaniard was later also forced off with
injury, with Mathieu Flamini coming on in his
place.
It was all Arsenal in the second-half, but they
were made to play for their wastefulness in
front of goal as West Brom escaped with a
memorable win.
Mesut Ozil hit the post from close-range, while
substitute Joel Campbell scuffed his lines to
miss with the goal at his mercy, and Santi
Cazorla then wasted the chance to claim a
point late on when he sent a penalty over the
bar – slipping ala John Tery in the Champions
League final.
Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley scored two
goals apiece as Everton thrashed Aston Villa 4-0
at Goodison Park to leave the Villans rock-
bottom of the Premier League, while Stoke star
Bojan marked his return from injury with the
winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Southampton.
Finally, Swansea fought back from 2-0 down to
rescue a point with a 2-2 draw against
Bournemouth, to perhaps save their boss Garry
Monk from the chop.
The manager is reportedly on the berge of the
sack following the Jacks’ poor run of form, and
it seemed it would continue when goals from
Joshua King and Dan Gosling, both the result of
poor Swansea defending, put the visitors ahead
at the Liberty Stadium.
But, in a frantic first-half, Swansea battle back
valiantly as Andre Ayew caught Bournemouth
unawares with a brilliant backheel to pull one
back before Jonjo Shelvey’s thumping penalty
sealed a share of the points.
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