Premier League round-up: Ayew magic seals Palace win, Ancelotti makes winning start
ByReuters
Updated 26/12/2019 at 22:49 GMT
Jordan Ayew hit a late winner for Crystal Palace and Carlo Ancelotti began his Everton tenure with a win. It is the Premier League round-up.
Jordan Ayew of Crystal Palace celebrate with hes team mates James McArthur and James McCarthy after scoring goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and West Ham United at Selhurst Park on December 26, 2019 in London, United Kingdom.
Image credit: Getty Images
Ayew magic seals win for Palace over West Ham
Jordan Ayew's magnificent late solo goal earned Crystal Palace a 2-1 come-from-behind home win against West Ham United in a lively festive derby at Selhurst Park.
It looked as though honours would be even but Ayew produced an incredible moment of skill, pirouetting on the edge of the area, jinking past a West Ham defender and dinking a cool finish over West Ham keeper Roberto Jimenez.
West Ham, who had enjoyed a 12-day rest ahead of the Christmas programme, took the lead against the run of play in the 57th minute when Robert Snodgrass curled home left-footed.
Palace reacted impressively though and equalised 11 minutes later when Ayew nodded down for former West Ham midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate to volley home from close range.
Victory was Palace's first in four Premier League games and lifted them into the top half of the table while West Ham remain hovering just above the relegation zone.
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Ancelotti gets winning start as Everton beat Burnley
Carlo Ancelotti enjoyed a winning start as Everton manager with an 80th-minute Dominic Calvert-Lewin header earning a 1-0 Premier League win over Burnley at Goodison Park.
Burnley had been typically resilient in defence, while posing few questions of Everton, and it took a high-quality finish to separate the sides.
Djibril Sidibe whipped in a cross from the right which Calvert-Lewin met with a superb angled diving header which flew in off the inside of the far post.
Italian Ancelotti, a Champions League winner with AC Milan and Real Madrid, was appointed by Everton on Saturday to replace the sacked Marco Silva.
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Battling Watford hold Sheffield United to 1-1 draw
Watford moved off the bottom of the Premier League after a spirited performance earned them a 1-1 draw at dominant Sheffield United on Thursday.
The visitors took a 27th-minute lead through Gerard Deulofeu against the run of play before Oliver Norwood levelled with a 36th-minute penalty after Will Hughes tripped George Baldock.
The result left Watford 19th on 13 points from 19 games, one ahead of bottom team Norwich City, while Sheffield United slipped one place down to sixth on 29 points.
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Hourihane strikes as Villa edge Norwich in relegation battle
Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane gave his side a 1-0 home win over Norwich City on Thursday to move them one step closer to safety in the Premier League.
The result lifted Villa to 18 points from 19 games -- within a point of 17th-placed West Ham United -- while Norwich dropped down to the bottom after fellow strugglers Watford came away from Sheffield United with a point.
Anwar El Ghazi had two good chances to put Villa ahead in the opening period, failing to sort out his feet when attempting a shot from Trezeguet's header across the box before another first-time effort from Matt Target's cross went wide.
Norwich constantly targeted Villa skipper Jack Grealish, who was their main outlet to move the ball forward, and the midfielder was fouled numerous times to prevent him from mounting attacks.
The visitors started the second half on the front foot with a string of corners but Villa stood strong to keep them at bay, with Heaton denying goalbound shots on the line in quick succession.
Villa finally made the breakthrough when Grealish and substitute Hourihane combined in the box for the latter to sweep a left-footed strike past Tim Krul into the far corner.
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Aubameyang goal earns Arteta's Arsenal draw at Bournemouth
A second-half equaliser from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Mikel Arteta a point in his first game as Arsenal manager as his side came back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The two sides came into the game in poor form, with Bournemouth having lost six of their last seven and Arsenal only winning once since beating Bournemouth 1-0 at the Emirates on October 6.
Arsenal's sloppiness was punished when they gave the ball away cheaply on the left wing and Bournemouth sliced through them quickly, midfielder Dan Gosling stabbing home Jack Stacey's centre from close range to give the home side the lead.
The Gunners equalised in the 63rd minute as Reiss Nelson's shot deflected into the path of Aubameyang, and he swivelled to rifle the ball home before a wild celebration with the travelling fans that earned him a yellow card.
Both sides created opportunities in the pouring rain, but neither could grab a winner and the draw left Arsenal in 10th place on 24 points, with Bournemouth four points further back in 15th.
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Improving Saints stun Chelsea with 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge
Goals from Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond earned Southampton a surprise 2-0 win at Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday.
Obafemi broke the deadlock with his first goal of the season, bursting inside from the right and curling into the top corner after a tight opening half hour.
Frank Lampard changed his side's formation from 3-4-3 to 4-2-3-1 at the break and nearly earned an instant dividend as substitute Mason Mount set up Tammy Abraham, who flashed a shot into the side netting.
Saints winger Redmond was denied by Kepa Arrizabalaga on the break but coolly finished for the visitors' second after an impressive team move to silence Stamford Bridge.
The hosts struggled to break down Southampton's tight defence, and Ralph Hasenhuttl's side rise to 14th, three points clear of the relegation zone, building on last weekend's win over Aston Villa.
Chelsea stay fourth with 32 points from 19 games and must pick themselves up for their visit to Arsenal on Sunday.
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Kane, Alli strike as Spurs fight back to sink Brighton
Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Dele Alli scored in the second half as Jose Mourinho's side came from behind to claim a 2-1 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.
Kane followed up his own shot to equalise in the 53rd minute and cancel out Adam Webster's first-half header and Alli put Spurs ahead in the 72nd, knocking in a pass from Serge Aurier to complete a move inspired by substitute Christian Eriksen.
The victory took Tottenham up to fifth in the standings on 29 points after 19 games and left Brighton in 13th on 20.
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United smash Newcastle
Anthony Martial scored twice as Manchester United hit back in emphatic fashion from a rocky start against a benevolent Newcastle United to open their Christmas programme with a 4-1 victory at Old Trafford on Thursday.
After a 2-0 loss at Watford last weekend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had demanded a response from his players but a yellow card for Scott McTominay after 24 seconds and going behind to Matty Longstaff's 17th-minute goal was not what he had in mind.
It was all smiles later though as Newcastle folded and Martial, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford all struck before halftime before Martial scored again early in the second half as United moved back to seventh, four points off the top four.
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Liverpool crush Leicester to go 13 points clear
Rampant Liverpool moved 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League after Roberto Firmino struck twice in an emphatic 4-0 win at second-placed Leicester City.
The victory was inspired in large part by attacking right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold who created three goals and scored one himself.
Popping up in the inside-left position, Alexander-Arnold floated a pinpoint cross to the backpost for Brazilian Firmino to head Liverpool into the lead in the 31st minute.
Liverpool were utterly dominant but had to wait until the 71st minute to extend their lead when Alexander-Arnold's corner was handled by Caglar Soyuncu and substitute James Milner slotted home the penalty with his first touch of the ball.
Firmino then made it 3-0, collecting and firing home a powerfully struck low-cross from Alexander-Arnold before the 21-year-old rounded off the rout, hammering a low shot into the far, bottom corner at the end of a swift counter-attack.
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