MANCHESTER: Two goals from Gabriel Jesus helped a nervy Manchester City earn a 2-1 victory over Everton at the Etihad Stadium last night, as new manager Carlo Ancelotti suffered his first Premier League defeat since taking charge of the Merseyside club.
Ancelotti had enjoyed two wins from two before the trip to Manchester, but the writing appeared to be on the wall as Phil Foden thought he gave City a 13th minute lead, only for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to spot an offside in the build up.
For the remainder of the first half, City were not at their best, but came out after the interval with added impetus, taking the lead in 51st minute through Gabriel Jesus – the Brazilian’s sixth goal in five matches against Everton.
That soon became seven in five as Jesus drilled home Riyad Mahrez’s pass seven minutes later to make it two, only for stand-in City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to gift Everton a way back into the match as Richarlison scored with 19 minutes left.
Danny Ings continued his fine scoring form to earn Southampton a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur – who had striker Harry Kane go off injured – while Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Brighton forward Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s brilliant equaliser denied Chelsea winning back-to-back league matches for the first time since November.
Despite early improvements under coach Jose Mourinho, Spurs have suffered from inconsistency of late, with their loss at St Mary’s derailing their push for a top-four finish.
Days after a laboured showing in a 2-2 draw at bottom side Norwich City, Spurs could not find a way back into the game after Ings’ goal in the 17th minute.
Kane thought he had equalised late in the second half, but he was adjudged to be offside. The England captain then limped off, seemingly with a hamstring injury.
Chelsea have also struggled for consistency over the festive period.
Cesar Azpilicueta celebrated his 100th start as Chelsea captain with a 10th-minute strike and the visitors held on to that lead until the 84th minute, with Iranian Jahanbakhsh coming off the bench to spectacularly earn his side a point, firing home an incredible overhead kick.
The result helped Brighton end a run of nine straight league defeats by Chelsea stretching back to 1983.
Leicester City recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory at Newcastle United – their second away win in as many games.
Former Newcastle forward Ayoze Perez got the ball rolling before a stunning strike from James Maddison made it two before halftime.
Hamza Choudhury’s first goal for the club was the icing on the cake for Leicester, who closed the gap to Liverpool at the top of the table to 10 points.
Davis Moyes got off to a flying start on his return to the West Ham helm, with a Mark Noble double helping the Hammers to thrash Bournemouth at London Stadium.
The result allowed West Ham to climb above Bournemouth, who are now in the bottom three having won one of their last 10 league games.