Guus Hiddink enjoyed his first victory since taking over as Chelsea interim manager as the troubled Premier League champions crushed Crystal Palace 3-0 on Sunday.
Guus Hiddink enjoyed his first victory since taking over as Chelsea interim manager as the troubled Premier League champions crushed Crystal Palace 3-0 on Sunday.
After draws against Watford and Manchester United following his arrival as short-term replacement for the sacked Jose Mourinho, Hiddink was at last able to celebrate three points at Selhurst Park.
Oscar opened the scoring in the first half before Willian’s cracker and a Diego Costa strike extended Chelsea’s unbeaten run since Mourinho’s departure to four matches.
In such turmoil for much of a season ruined by the breakdown of Mourinho’s relationship with his squad, the Blues are slowly getting back in the groove under Hiddink and moved six points clear of the relegation zone after their first away league success in eight attempts.
After climbing into contention for a European place, Palace’s first defeat in seven matches left Alan Pardew’s men without a win or a goal in their last three games.
Koscielny sends Arsenal clear
Laurent Koscielny’s goal saw Arsenal pull two points clear of second-place Leicester City at the summit on Saturday, while Wayne Rooney scored a milestone winner for Manchester United.
Koscielny stabbed home a flick-on from France team-mate Olivier Giroud in the 72nd minute at the Emirates Stadium to earn a below-par Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United.
Leicester drew 0-0 at home to Bournemouth and now have just a one-point lead over Manchester City, who produced a rousing comeback to win 2-1 at Watford via late goals by Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero.
Manchester City were heading for a seventh successive winless away game after Aleksandar Kolarov’s 55th-minute own goal put them behind at Watford.
But Kolarov teed up Toure to volley in an adroit 82nd-minute equaliser and Aguero then headed in an 84th-minute winner from Bacary Sagna’s cross as Manuel Pellegrini’s side reignited their title challenge.
At Old Trafford, Rooney gave United a 2-1 win over Swansea City with a brilliant 77th-minute back-heel that made him the outright second-highest goal-scorer in both Premier League (188 goals) and United (238) history.
After Anthony Martial’s header was cancelled out by Gylfi Sigurdsson, Martial teed up Rooney to score, ending United’s eight-game winless run and further easing the pressure on manager Louis van Gaal.
The result lifted United to fifth place, two points below fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur. Aston Villa spurned another chance to close on safety after losing 3-1 at second-bottom Sunderland, with Jermain Defoe scoring twice to leave Remi Garde’s side seven points adrift at the foot of the table.
Jonny Evans’s stoppage-time goal earned West Bromwich Albion a last-gasp 2-1 win over Stoke City.
