Premier League round-up: Manchester City keep pressure on Chelsea with win
A round-up of Sunday's early afternoon Premier League action, as Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side record a comfortable — albeit narrow — 2-1 win over West Ham.
Manchester City 2-1 West Ham
Champions Manchester City overcame heavy snow and a battling West Ham side to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory on Sunday.
Ilkay Gundogan tapped home after 33 minutes and Fernandinho added a late second at the Etihad Stadium as the champions kept up the pressure at the top of the Premier League.
West Ham pulled one back through Manuel Lanzini in stoppage time but it would prove no more than a consolation.
The match was characterised by snowfall throughout the first half and the interval had to be extended while the pitch was cleared.
Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez also hit the woodwork for City, who controlled the game for long spells, but West Ham proved difficult to kill off.
In the end, substitute Fernandinho’s last-minute strike brought much relief after Declan Rice had threatened to snatch a stunning equaliser moments earlier.
Brentford 1-0 Everton
Ivan Toney came back to haunt his old boss Rafael Benitez with his first-half penalty enough to give Brentford a 1-0 victory over Everton.
The result extended the Toffees’ winless run to seven matches and increased the pressure on the new manager at Goodison Park ahead of Wednesday’s Merseyside derby with his former club Liverpool.
A cool spot-kick by Toney in the 24th minute gave the Bees a first home league win since the opening day and it felt inevitable the forward would have a say on the game after Benitez had been his manager for the majority of his time at Newcastle where he was given limited opportunities.
The Toffees’ travelling faithful made their feelings known at full-time when the away side went over to thank them for their support but it was Brentford’s day, with Thomas Frank’s team securing a first league victory since October 3.
Leicester 4-2 Watford
James Maddison inspired Leicester to a swashbuckling 4-2 win over Watford to ruin Claudio Ranieri’s return.
The England international grabbed a goal and two assists for Jamie Vardy as the Foxes closed the gap to the top six.
Maddison, fresh from starring in Thursday’s Europa League win over Legia Warsaw, shone again while Ademola Lookman’s strike also helped Leicester claim just a third win in 10 Premier League games in blizzard conditions.
Ranieri was axed by Leicester in 2017, nine months after winning the title in a season which is likely to never be repeated.
Then, the Foxes were a point above the relegation zone. Now Ranieri returned with his fifth club since leaving the King Power Stadium aiming to keep Watford up.
He received a standing ovation from the home fans and took the acclaim as they sung his name but, aside from Josh King and Emmanuel Dennis’ goals, that was as good as it got for the 70-year-old.