London: Liverpool squandered a chance to exert some pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea as Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe converted two penalties to earn the Premier League strugglers a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light last night.
Sadio Mane’s goal looked to have earned Liverpool a win that would have moved them within three points of Chelsea but the forward later handled the ball in the area to give in-form striker Defoe the chance to salvage a draw for his side.
Ten-man Manchester City moved up to third place, two points behind Liverpool, as they beat Burnley 2-1 at home with Gael Clichy and substitute Sergio Aguero scoring second-half goals after Fernandinho was shown a red card before the interval.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck his 13th league goal of the season as Manchester United won 2-0 at West Ham United to stretch their winning league run to six games, although they were helped by a 15th-minute red card for the home side’s Sofiane Feghouli.
Juan Mata’s superb finish from Marcus Rashford’s cross had given sixth-placed United the lead as Jose Mourinho’s side moved level on 39 points with fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and 10 behind leaders Chelsea who visit rivals Spurs tomorrow.
Hull City’s relegation worries intensified when they lost 3-1 at West Bromwich Albion despite taking the lead, while Middlesbrough eeked out a point against champions Leicester City in a drab 0-0 draw at the Riverside Stadium.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman enjoyed a 3-0 victory over his former club Southampton, although the goals scored by Enner Valencia, Leighton Baines and Romelu Lukaku all came late on.