Burnley produced a stunning comeback at the Etihad Stadium to put a dent in Manchester City’s title bid. Having seen rivals Chelsea held by Southampton earlier in the day, City would have closed to within a point of the Premier League leaders with a win against the struggling Clarets.
First-half goals from David Silva and Fernandinho put Manuel Pellegrini’s side firmly in control at half-time. But Burnley hit back almost immediately after the break through George Boyd before Ashley Barnes struck late on to snatch a 2-2 draw and a deserved point for Sean Dyche’s battling side.
City remain second, three points behind Chelsea, while Burnley stay second from bottom but edge ever closer to safety.
Manchester spurned several golden opportunities in the first half at White Hart Lane, but they could not get past Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and had to settle for a 0-0 draw.
Arsenal leapfrogged West Ham into fifth spot with a nervy 2-1 victory over the Hammers at Upton Park. Santi Cazorla put the visitors ahead from the penalty spot before Danny Welbeck added a quickfire second to put the Gunners in command at the break.
Cheikhou Kouyate’s header set up A grandstand finish as the Hammers finished the game strongly, but Arsene Wenger’s side held out to take the win. Arsenal are now level on points with fourth-placed Southampton, whom they meet on New Year’s Day, while West Ham drop to sixth.
Mame Diouf scored twice as Stoke piled the pressure on Alan Irvine with a 2-0 victory over West Brom at the Britannia Stadium. Diouf slotted home in the 51st minute and added a second 15 minutes later, thanks to a lucky deflection off Marko Arnautovic’s shot, to down the Baggies.
West Brom have now lost seven of their last nine league matches and Irvine’s days is expected to be fired in the next couple of days as West Brom try to avoid relegation.
Nigel Pearson, meanwhile, eased the pressure on his shoulders as Leicester secured a first victory in 14 games by beating Hull 1-0. Riyad Mahrez scored the only goal of the game at the KC Stadium, with both sides finishing with 10 men after late red cards for Paul Konchesky and Stephen Quinn. The Foxes remain bottom of the table but are now just three points behind the 17th-placed Tigers.
Aston Villa survived Fabian Delph’s sending off to scrape a 0-0 draw against Sunderland at Villa Park. Delph became the third Villa player to be shown his marching orders this month when he saw red for a late foul on Jordi Gomez early in the second half.
But Sunderland, who have drawn 11 times in the league, failed to cash in on their advantage, with Gomez missing a good chance for them to snatch a win late on.
Finally, managerless Crystal Palace held out for a goalless draw at QPR. The Eagles remain in the bottom three on goal difference, while Harry Redknapp’s Hoops are up to 15th.
