London, Feb 22 (IANS) Manchester City maintained their 10-point lead at the Premier League after extending their winning run to 18 games with a 1-0 triumph away to Arsenal on Sunday.
Raheem Sterling’s header after just 90 seconds was enough to give Pep Guardiola three points against the side coached by his former assistant Mikel Arteta.
Although Arsenal showed moments of good football, City always looked to have another gear as they continued to cruise towards the league title.
Manchester United remain second after a 3-1 win at home to Newcastle United, who are now firmly in a battle to avoid relegation.
Marcus Rashford put United ahead in a poor first half from the home side after cutting in from the left and firing into the corner, but Allan Saint-Maximin flashed home an equalizer just six minutes later following a corner.
The visitors used a lot of energy in the first 45 minutes and paid for it after the break when Daniel James smashed home 12 minutes into the half, and Bruno Fernandes sealed the win from the penalty spot with 15 minutes left to play as Newcastle wilted.
Leicester City strengthened their grip on third place with a 2-1 victory away to Aston Villa thanks to two goals in four first-half minutes from James Maddison and the impressive Harvey Barnes.
Bertrand Traore pulled a goal back in the 48th minute for the home side, but without Jack Grealish, Villa lacked the little bit extra they needed to take a point from the game. Meanwhile, Leicester will have to see how bad Maddison’s injury is after he was forced off midway through the second half.
West Ham climbed over Chelsea into fourth place thanks to a 2-1 win at home to Tottenham, who have now lost five of their last six Premier League matches.
West Ham were quick off the mark in both halves with Michail Antonio putting them ahead in the fifth minute and on-loan Jesse Lingard doubled their lead two minutes into the second half.
Lucas Moura gave Spurs hope after he headed in from a corner, but West Ham’s luck held as both Gareth Bale and Son Heung-min saw efforts bounce back off the woodwork in the closing minutes.
Ademola Lookman’s individual goal just after the break gave Fulham a vital 1-0 win at home to Sheffield United, who once again failed to score.
Fulham’s win lifts them to just three points behind Newcastle United, while Sheffield United are a massive 14 points from safety.
Burnley were unable to beat West Brom in a game that ended up 0-0 at Turf Moor, although West Brom missed a lot of chances despite playing with 10 men for an hour, after Semi Ajayi was sent off for denying Burnley a goalscoring chance with a deliberate handball after just half an hour.
–IANS
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