PREMIER LEAGUE – Chelsea and Manchester City do not give up

Watford – Chelsea: 1-2

The European champions have moved forward and remain leaders. The Blues, however, had an eventful game on the lawn of the Hornets. The meeting was put on hold for half an hour after a spectator suffered heart failure reported by Marcos Alonso. This London derby was then able to resume and Mason Mount opened the scoring for Chelsea (29th). With a modified starting eleven, the visitors nevertheless struggled and Emmanuel Dennis equalized shortly before the break (43rd).

In the second half, Thomas Tuchel decided to launch Romelu Lukalu (69th). The Belgian did not score but attracted the attention of the Hornets defense and thus allowed Hakim Ziyech to restore the advantage to his team (72nd). Chelsea return to victory after their draw against Manchester United and keep one point ahead of Manchester City.

Aston Villa – Manchester City : 1-2

In Villa Park, the Citizens imitated the Blues and were difficult to impose themselves on the outside. However, they seemed to be heading for a quiet victory after the opener from Ruben Dias (23rd) and a goal from Bernardo Silva (43rd). The Villans reduced the score at the start of the second period thanks to Olie Watkins (47th) and completely restarted the match.

If the Mancunians remained the most threatening, they experienced several fears in front of a raging audience. Morgan Sanson returned to competition after a long absence. The former local darling, Jack Grealish, came into play to some applause but especially heavy whistles. Pep Guardiola finally inflicted Steven Gerrard his first Premier League defeat after two wins over Brighton (2-0) and Crystal Palace (1-2).

West Ham – Brighton : 1-1

While Liverpool, 3rd in the standings, went to punish their neighbor Everton (1-4) in particular thanks to a double from Mohamed Salah, West Ham let some points slip away at home. Shaken from the start by hungry Seagulls but clumsy at the finish, the Hammers gave them a lesson in realism by opening the scoring in the 5th minute thanks to a header from Tomas Soucek on a corner from Pablo Fornals.

The visitors pushed to the limit and were finally rewarded. Neal Maupay equalized with a superb acrobatic return on a cross from entering Tari Lamptey while Brighton, 7th in the standings, moved to ten after the injury of Adam Lallana (89th). West Ham remains 4th but with only a small lead over Arsenal who will challenge Manchester United on Thursday.

The other matches

Wolverhampton also retain their sixth place after having to settle for another goalless draw with Burnley following the one against Norwich last weekend. Maxwel Cornet and the Clarets, for their part, have a third sharing of points and are in 18th place before receiving the Newcastle red lantern.

The duel between Southampton and Leicester was more prolific (2-2). The Saints who remained on two defeats very quickly took matters into their own hands thanks to their central defender Jan Bednarek (3rd) but Jonny Evans answered him (22nd). Che Adams gave the advantage back to his team (34th) before James Maddison (49th) equalized again in a match also marked by the discomfort of a spectator. The Foxes are 8th, their opponents are 15th.