Premier League review: Vital wins for Leeds and West Ham
A review of Saturday's action in the Premier League, with vital wins for Leeds and West Ham at the bottom end of the table.
Bournemouth 1-4 Manchester City
- Scorers: Lerma 83'; Alvarez 15', Haaland 29', Foden 45', Mepham OG 51'
Manchester City kept the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Bournemouth.
Julian Alvarez - one of four changes from last week's draw against Forest - opened the scoring as he converted from close range after Erling Haaland's effort hit the crossbar.
Haaland then got one of his own, before Phil Foden capitalised on a loose pass to give the champions a commanding 3-0 advantage at the break.
Alvarez was denied a second as his shot was adjudged to be off target when hitting Chris Mepham before finding the back of the net early into the second-half.
Jefferson Lerma converted late on, but it was nothing more than a mere consolation in a contest that looked decided just 30 minutes in.
West Ham 4-0 Nottingham Forest
- Scorers: Ings 70' 72', Rice 78', Antonio 85'
A remarkable late blitz from West Ham secured a crucial three points in emphatic fashion with a 4-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest.
Reports in the week leading up to the contest surrounded David Moyes and his future, with major outlets believing that defeat here would have seen him sacked.
His team responded in the best way possible, as Danny Ings' quickfire brace started an avalanche of scoring. Declan Rice and Michail Antonio grabbed the others - with the latter doing so a minute after coming on.
It's a result that pushed the Hammers out of the relegation zone, following dropped points for Everton in their home encounter with Aston Villa.
Leeds 1-0 Southampton
- Scorers: Firpo 77'
Javi Gracia's spell as Leeds boss started in the best possible fashion with a crucial three points in a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Southampton.
Junior Firpo's late strike gave the Whites their first league win since November 5, in a performance that would have been met with relief as much as celebration around Elland Road.
Leeds were largely dominant in their first game under the new head coach, as Gracia's side were well organised with the much-needed structure that has been absent for large parts of the campaign.
Southampton remain bottom of the Premier League - now four points adrift of safety. Their dire situation would have been much worse had Chelsea converted one of numerous chances last week.
Leicester 0-1 Arsenal
- Scorers: Martinelli 46'
Arsenal ensured they retained top spot in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory away at Leicester.
Gabriel Martinelli's strike just after half-time was the difference between the two sides, with Bukayo Saka seeing a goal ruled out for offside less than ten minutes later.
His goal made it back-to-back strikes following the empty net effort against Aston Villa last time out - his first following a run of six consecutive league games with no goal involvement.
It was a one-sided affair in terms of chances created - as would be expected pre-match - with Arsenal's ability to limit opportunities equally as impressive as their work in creating them at the other end.
Everton 0-2 Aston Villa
- Scorers: Watkins (pen) 63', Buendia 81'
Aston Villa put a couple of weeks of frustrating performances behind them to secure a 2-0 victory away at struggling Everton.
Ollie Watkins' penalty just past the hour mark gave them the lead, before Emi Buendia's effort late in normal time secured a crucial three points - bringing an end to a three-game losing run.
For Everton, it's now two wins and two defeats under Sean Dyche, with the Toffees unable to follow up last week's three points over Leeds with a repeat in front of their own supporters.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool
Liverpool's underwhelming campaign continued as they played out a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in Saturday's late, late kick-off.
Both sides struck the woodwork in the first-half, although Jean-Philippe Mateta's close range effort was far more dangerous than the tight angled header from Diogo Jota.
It's a result that will have been greeted far more positively by Palace than Liverpool, with five of the last six games involving Patrick Vieira's men ending in a draw.
Jurgen Klopp's side were unable to provide the performance that was needed following their Champions League humiliation at the hands of Real Madrid in midweek, instead failing to truly test Vicente Guaita in the Palace goal.
MOST READ FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL TIPS
