Manchester City enjoyed another goal glut against Tottenham Hotspur, winning 5-1 away to go top of the Premier League as Chelsea’s title ambitions were hit by a 0-0 home draw against West Ham United last night.
Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic and Vincent Kompany were on target as City followed their 6-0 thrashing of Spurs in the reverse fixture with another thrilling exhibition of their attacking talents.
They were helped on their way by a controversial decision to send off Tottenham defender Danny Rose for a foul on Dzeko, for which City were awarded the penalty that Toure converted for the second goal.
Yet, they ruthlessly exploited the extra man to move to 53 points, one clear of Arsenal and three ahead of Chelsea, who were frustrated by a determined West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
On Tuesday, Jose Mourinho played down his side’s title chances this term and the Blues saw a seven-game winning run ended by a team battling relegation and, after leaking goals in recent weeks, defensively resolute.
City, Chelsea’s opponents next Monday, scored nine in the two-legged League Cup semi-final with the Hammers, but the Blues faced a defensive wall they could not breach.
Chelsea had won five successive league games and were anticipated to have a comfortable evening against a West Ham side with five points from the previous nine games and deep in the relegation mire.
Yet it was anything but easy as the Blues, who won 3-0 at Upton Park in November, found West Ham to be defensively resilient and organised, while also posing an early threat.
Aston Villa emerged with the spoils from the night’s most entertaining fixture, edging a seven-goal thriller 4-3 against midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion having fallen 2-0 down after nine minutes.
Elsewhere, Adam Johnson continued his mission to single-handedly fire Sunderland to Premier League safety as 10-man Stoke were dragged back into the mix.
The £10 million England midfielder’s sixth goal in as many games secured a 1-0 win – the Black Cats’ first in the league in six attempts at the Stadium of Light – and in the process eased them out of the relegation zone for the first time since August.
Johnson struck from close range with 17 minutes gone after Potters keeper Asmir Begovic had spilled Fabio Borini’s effort, to the delight of the home crowd.
Results
English Premier League
Aston Villa 4
Weimann 12; Bacuna 25; Delph 37; Benteke 64 pen;
West Brom 3
Brunt 4; Delph 9og; Mulumbu 43;
HT: 3-3. Att: 36,083.
Chelsea 0
West Ham 0
Att: 41,376.
Sunderland 1
Johnson 17;
Stoke City 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 34,745.
Red card: Nzonzi (SC) 53.
Tottenham 1
Capoue 59;
Man. City 5
Aguero 15; Toure 51 pen; Dzeko 54; Jovetic 78; Kompany 89;
HT: 0-1. Att: 36,071.
Red card: Rose (T) 50.
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man. City | 23 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 68 | 26 | 53 |
| Arsenal | 23 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 21 | 52 |
| Chelsea | 23 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 43 | 20 | 50 |
| Liverpool | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 57 | 28 | 46 |
| Tottenham | 23 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 30 | 31 | 43 |
| Everton | 23 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 35 | 24 | 42 |
| Man. United | 23 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 38 | 27 | 40 |
| Newcastle | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 32 | 28 | 37 |
| Southampton | 23 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 27 | 32 |
| Aston Villa | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 32 | 27 |
| Swansea City | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 29 | 33 | 24 |
| Norwich City | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 35 | 24 |
| Hull City | 23 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 22 | 29 | 23 |
| C. Palace | 23 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 15 | 31 | 23 |
| West Brom | 23 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 27 | 33 | 22 |
| Stoke City | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 37 | 22 |
| Sunderland | 23 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 22 | 36 | 21 |
| West Ham | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 22 | 33 | 19 |
| Fulham | 23 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 22 | 50 | 19 |
| Cardiff City | 23 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 17 | 40 | 18 |
League One
Sheff. United p - Peterborough p (waterlogged pitch)