Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/444527
36 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 JANUARY 2015 Sport FOOTBALL Chelsea pull clear at top after Newcastle victory Chelsea's Diego Costa (back) embraces teammate Oscar as they celebrate his goal during their English Premier League soccer match against Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge A review of Saturday's action in the Barclays Premier League as Chelsea beat Newcastle and Man City were held by Everton A review of the weekend's action so far in the Italian Serie A CHELSEA again have outright pos- session of top spot in the Barclays Premier League following a 2-0 victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho's side started the day ahead of Manchester City sim- ply via alphabetical order given the remarkable identical records of both sides after 20 matches of a so far captivating campaign. But whilst Chelsea maintained their 100 per cent league record on home soil with a 10th successive victory, City could only manage a 1-1 draw at Everton and are now two points adrift. For Chelsea, Oscar made the all-important breakthrough three minutes before half-time with a right-foot drive from 10 yards be- fore Diego Costa netted his 15th goal of the season in the 57th minute to seal the win. At Goodison Park, Manuel Pel- legrini's side had to settle for a point, with Fernandinho's 74th- minute opener cancelled out within four minutes by Steven Naismith. At the bottom of the table, Leices- ter are just two points adrift of safety as they beat Aston Villa 1-0 at the King Power Stadium, and have now taken seven points from their last three matches. Paul Konchesky, sent off in the 2-1 defeat at Villa in early Decem- ber after a clash with Alan Hutton - a decision later overturned on ap- peal - netted the only goal in first- half injury time. There were further red cards in the dying stages of another feisty encounter when City's Matty James and Villa's Ciaran Clark were both dismissed following a centre-circle melee. In another vital relegation battle at Turf Moor, it was hosts Burnley who clinched the three points with a 2-1 win to lift themselves out of the bottom three and drop QPR back into the danger zone, with Harry Redknapp's side setting a new Premier League record of 10 successive away defeats. Scott Arfield scored his first goal since the opening-day with a strike in the 12th minute, only for Char- lie Austin to equalise from the spot just after the half hour. Picking himself up after being brought down by Dean Marney, Austin scored his 13th goal of the campaign, but his joy was short- lived as Danny Ings scored what proved to be the winner four min- utes later. Alan Pardew enjoyed a winning start to his reign as Crystal Palace boss as his side came from behind to beat Tottenham 2-1 at Selhurst Park. Following a goalless first half, Harry Kane's 17th goal of the sea- son four minutes after the break gave the visitors the advantage. But Palace then poured forward in search of an equaliser, with Dwight Gayle making the breakthrough in the 69th minute before Jason Puncheon scored his first goal for more than four months to seal a memorable day for Pardew. In his first league match in charge of West Brom, head coach Tony Pulis conjured up a 1-0 victory over Hull at The Hawthorns thanks to Saido Berahino. Berahino, who failed to celebrate any of his four goals in Albion's 7-0 FA Cup romp over Gateshead last weekend, certainly did so on this occasion when he fired home the only goal from 12 yards in the 78th minute. West Ham found themselves managerless for the day with Sam Allardyce absent with a chest in- fection, and had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. The Hammers opened the scoring in the 43rd minute when Andy Car- roll f loated home a superb strike. But Swansea, without Wilfried Bony in their line-up with their top scorer away on international duty in the African Nations Cup, grabbed a deserved point when pressure saw Mark Noble net an own goal 16 minutes from time. In the early kick-off at the Sta- dium of Light, Lazar Markovic's ninth-minute opener was just enough for Liverpool to claim a 1-0 win 10-man Sunderland, who had Liam Bridcutt sent off early in the second half. Despite the numerical advantage for the Reds, who lost captain Ste- ven Gerrard to a hamstring injury at half-time, it was the hosts who came closest to adding to the scor- ing when Adam Johnson struck the crossbar from 30 yards. Brendan Rodgers' side, however, managed to hold on for their third league win in four games to move within four points of the top four. 10-man Milan pegged back KAMIL Glik headed home a de- served late equaliser for Torino as 10-man AC Milan's fortune finally ran out at the Stadio Olimpico. Jeremy Menez's third-minute penalty put Milan ahead but they then found themselves having to weather a fierce Torino storm, a situation not helped by the visi- tors' loss of Mattia De Sciglio to a red card before half-time. However, with Milan's goal lead- ing a charmed life, Menez's strike looked set to earn them all three points - only for Glik to rise high- est nine minutes from time to power home the equaliser in a 1-1 draw. Sassuolo and Udinese took a point each from a 1-1 draw which the hosts will feel should have ended in their favour. Simone Zaza continued his excellent recent form by giving Eusebio De Francesco's side the lead, but Cyril Thereau replied soon after to earn a point for And- rea Stramaccioni's visitors, whose last win came more than a month ago.