London (AFP)
The Leicester Foxes consolidate their second place by winning in Newcastle (3-0), on the 21st day of the championship of England, disputed Wednesday. Tottenham and Wolverhampton, beaten in Southampton (1-0) and Watford (2-1), miss the opportunity to get closer to Chelsea, held in check in Brighton (1-1) on this day when the VAR has again created polemic.
. Leicester freewheeling
Too far from Liverpool (ten points) to hope to win the title and too far ahead of Manchester United (fourteen points) to fear seeing qualification for the Champions League soar, Leicester continues to have fun, without pressure. The Foxes easily won in Newcastle (3-0), a victory won in the first period thanks to two goals from Ayoze Pérez (36th) and James Maddison (39th). Hamza Choudhury added the third goal late in the game (87th).
. Tottenham no longer advances
Second consecutive poor performance for Tottenham, beaten at Southampton (1-0) four days after losing two points on the field of the red lantern, Norwich (2-2). Led in the 17th minute after a goal from Danny Ings, the Spurs delivered a very disturbing second period, with only three shots including one on target. The Spurs also saw two of their executives come out, center forward Harry Kane, who left the field holding the back of the thigh, and French midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, injured by adductors. José Mourinho's squad misses a golden opportunity to close the gap with fourth, Chelsea, who have six more points.
. Wolverhampton plummets
Very close to the qualifying places for the C1 five days ago, after his feat against Manchester City (3-2), Wolverhampton tumbled very quickly, with a second consecutive defeat, at Watford (2-1), which follows that conceded to Liverpool (1-0). Even at eleven against ten after the expulsion of Christian Kabasele (70th), the players of Nuno Espirito Santo failed to catch up.
. Another failure for Chelsea
Recently victorious at Tottenham (0-2) and Arsenal (1-2), Chelsea, on the other hand, has culpable weaknesses against the teams within its reach. The draw conceded on Wednesday on the field of Brighton (1-1) recalls the three defeats of last month against Everton, Bournemouth and Southampton. Without a reflex stop from Kepa at the very last minute on a strike from Neal Maupay, the Blues would still be left empty-handed. As at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, the defensive sector (Zouma, Rudiger, Jorginho, Kanté) seemed perfectly solid during most of the match, but it crumbled in the last quarter of an hour. "We allowed them to stay in the match," said manager Frank Lampard. "In the end, it was a goal from elsewhere, but we were fortunate not to lose this game. The lack of consistency is a problem, and we absolutely must solve it."
This first day of the decade was marked by two new controversies over the use of VAR for offside, for the sixth time since Saturday. In the defeat of his team 2-1 at Burnley, a goal from Aston Villa player Jack Grealish was indeed canceled after two minutes of interruption for an alleged offside off the heel of one of his teammates . A goal from Harry Kane was also denied in similar circumstances.
This 21st day continues in the late afternoon with Manchester City - Everton (17:30 GMT) and Arsenal - Manchester United (20:00 GMT), waiting for Liverpool - Sheffield United Thursday evening.
Results of the 21st day:
Wednesday
Burnley - Aston Villa 1 - 2
Brighton - Chelsea 1 - 1
Newcastle - Leicester 0 - 3
Watford - Wolverhampton 2 - 1
Southampton - Tottenham 1 - 0
(5.30 p.m. GMT) West Ham - Bournemouth
Norwich City - Crystal Palace
Manchester City - Everton
(8 p.m. GMT) Arsenal - Manchester United
Thursday
(8:00 p.m. GMT) Liverpool - Sheffield United
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