Manchester United continued their rich vein of form to land their sixth straight win in as many English Premier League games, beating West Ham United 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium.
The Hammers were a man down for much of the contest when Sofiane Feghouli was sent off for a rash two-footed tackled on United’s Phil Jones. Jose Mourinho’s side went ahead through a quality one-touch finish from Juan Mata. The in-form Zlatan Ibrahimovic made it 2-0 ten minutes from time with an unstoppable side-footer.
Being a man down didn’t stop Manchester City from starting the new year with a win. Fernandinho was sent off in the second half but concerted pressure from the Sky Blues sent them to the third spot in the table. Gael Clichy and Sergio Aguero scored the goals.
Liverpool lost pace in the title race after drawing 2-2 to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. West Bromwich Albion scored three second half goals to come from behind against Hull City. Leicester City were frustrated away from home, as they draw 0-0 against Middlesbrough. There were no such problems for the blue half of Merseyside. Everton outclassed Southampton to register a 3-0 win.
United extend winning run
West Ham United are a tough nut to crack at home and Slaven Bilic’s side looked promising in the early part of the game. The Hammers were living on the edge with their tackles and paid for it dearly when referee Mike Dean sent off Feghouli midway through the first half.
The London side continued to make it tough for the Red Devils but a Jose Mourinho masterstroke at half-time changed proceedings. The energy and pace of Marcus Rashford was too much to handle for West Ham, and Mata smashed the ball home off a first-time shot, getting on the end of a cut-back from the Englishman.
David de Gea made an important save with his legs from Mikhail Antionio and Ibrahimovic sealed the game late with a powerful finish. Replays showed that the Swede was a touch offside. This is United’s best run since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Liverpool lose steam in title race
It was one of days when Liverpool dominated the ball and the box, but didn’t do enough to finish the chances they created. Sunderland keeper Vito Mannone made a number of critical saves to earn his side a valuable point. However, Sunderland still languish in the red zone.
The Reds went ahead in the 20th minute through an opportunistic header from Daniel Sturridge. Minutes later, Ragnar Klavan’s reckless tackle gifted the Black Cats with a penalty. Jermaine Defoe made no mistake from the spot.
Sadio Mane was a hero and a villain in the second half. The former Southampton man put his side in the lead and handed the ball to hand the home side another penalty. With six minutes left on the clock, the pressure was on Sunderland but the calm Defoe made no mistake once again.
Brief scores:
- Everton 3 (Enner Valencia, Leighton Baines, Romelu Lukaku) beat Southampton 0
- Manchester City 2 (Gael Clichy, Sergio Aguero) beat Burnley 1 (Ben Mee)
- Sunderland 2 (Jermaine Defoe x 2) draw with Liverpool 2 (Daniel Sturridge, Sadio Mane)
- West Bromwich Albion 3 (Chris Brunt, Gareth McAuley, James Morrison) beat Hull City 1 (Robert Snodgrass)
- Middlesbrough 0 draw with Leicester City 0
- West Ham United 0 lose to Manchester United 2 (Juan Mata, Zlatan Ibrahimovic)
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