Premier League: Man City survive Leeds scare, wins for Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Wolves

• Man City 2-1 Leeds
• Liverpool 1-0 Brentford
• Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea
• Tottenham 1- 0 Crystal Palace
• Wolves 1-0 Aston Villa

Gundogan double sinks Leeds

Ilkay Gundogan scored twice but missed a penalty as Manchester City survived a late scare to maintain their title charge with a 2-1 win over relegation-threatened Leeds.

The German midfielder swept home from the edge of the area in the 19th and 27th minutes at the Etihad Stadium to put the champions on course for what seemed a comfortable victory at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

City then spurned a host of chances, with Erling Haaland twice hitting the woodwork and Gundogan being denied by goalkeeper Joel Robles, before Rodrigo gave Leeds late hope in Sam Allardyce’s first match in charge.

The hosts held on for a victory that lifts them four points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, with both sides having four games remaining, but manager Pep Guardiola will be concerned it was not emphatically closed out.

Such was their dominance, City had all but reduced the game to walking pace before Rodrigo changed the picture in the 85th minute.

Allardyce, who made four changes including bringing in Robles for Illan Meslier, will at least take encouragement from that, although for the majority of the game Leeds were comprehensively outplayed.

Five in a row for Liverpool

Mohamed Salah's goal secured a fifth straight win for Liverpool as they beat Brentford 1-0 to keep their slim hopes of a top-four finish alive.

The Egyptian struck in the 13th minute, turning home from a close range after Virgil van Dijk rose highest at a corner, and it proved to be enough in a game the Reds controlled throughout.

Victory leaves them fifth in the Premier League table and just a point behind Manchester United with three matches left to play, although Liverpool have played two games more than their old rivals.

Lampard’s miserable run finally ended

Frank Lampard marked his 100th game in Premier League management by picking up his first points since returning to Chelsea thanks to two late goals in a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth.

Strikes from Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix in the final eight minutes at Vitality Stadium earned the Blues a first success in almost two months to halt their six-game losing streak under interim boss Lampard.

The west London club looked like they would have to settle for a draw on the south coast after Cherries defender Matias Vina cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s early header.

Bournemouth also had the better of the chances before the late drama, with Dango Ouattara squandering a golden opening by heading over from inside the six-yard box.

Yet Badiashile and Felix punished that profligacy, leaving visiting fans to salute the overdue triumph with ironic chants of “we are staying up”.

Victory in Dorset moved the two-time European champions on to 42 points, three ahead of their hosts, albeit they remain in the bottom half of the table.

For Lampard personally, it was a first victory in 17 matches including his Everton days and his first with Chelsea in 832 days dating back to a 3-1 FA Cup success over Luton in January 2021 during his initial spell as manager.

Kane keeps Spurs’ Europa League hopes alive

Harry Kane’s first-half header helped Tottenham earn a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace that keeps alive their faint Europa League hopes.

Kane’s 28th goal of the season in all competitions settled a drab contest and also moved him ahead of Wayne Rooney into outright second on the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer list with 209 goals.

It was enough for Ryan Mason to secure a first victory in his second spell in charge of Spurs, who have jumped up to sixth but seventh-placed Brighton have three games in hand and are only two points off the London club.

Wolves edge past Villa

Resilient Wolves edged derby rivals Aston Villa 1-0 to end any lingering fears of relegation from the Premier League.

Toti Gomes’ first Wolves goal secured a fourth straight home win and leave them 10 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

It would now take a staggering set of results to send Wolves, who are 13th, down on 40 points.

Villa’s European hopes suffered a potentially fatal blow as it leaves them eighth, a point behind Brighton – who they host on the final day – having played three games more.

That they were even in European contention remains a tribute to the work Unai Emery has done since replacing Steven Gerrard in October.

Villa do at least face Tottenham, Liverpool and the Seagulls – those immediately above them – in their final three games but any hopes of Europe are fading.

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