AFP
London
Manchester City twice missed penalties in a 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday as 10-man Arsenal went level with them on points at the top of the Premier League table after seeing off Swansea 3-2. Arsenal leapfrogged Tottenham Hotspur into second place after their arch north London rivals also dropped points in a 1-1 draw away to West Bromwich Albion.
Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg twice dived to his left to save penalties from Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero -- his second spot-kick failure this week after he was off target in Argentina's World Cup qualifying defeat by Paraguay. Toffees defender Phil Jagielka gave away both penalties, the first on the stroke of half-time, and it seemed Everton's luck was in when Romelu Lukaku fired the visitors in front in the 64th minute at Eastlands before substitute Aguero's miss.
But City, who've now gone three games without a win in all competitions, equalised in the 72nd minute when Nolito headed in Silva's cross as former Barcelona team-mates turned managers Pep Guardiola (City) and Ronald Koeman (Everton) had to settle for a point apiece.
At the Emirates, Theo Walcott scored twice as Arsenal defeated Swansea for a sixth straight win in all competitions. Walcott struck in the 27th minute after Jordi Amat failed to clear Hector Bellerin's headed cross. The England international doubled the Gunners' lead seven minutes later following Hull's failure to clear a corner.
Swansea, in former United States manager Bob Bradley's first game in charge, saw Gylfi Sigurdsson equalise in his 100th appearance for the Welsh club with a 38th-minute curling shot. But Mesut Ozil marked his 28th birthday by restoring Arsenal's two-goal advantage with a 57th minute-volley. Swansea substitute Borja Baston pulled a goal back for the visitors and Arsenal had to play the final 20 minutes a man down after Granit Xhaka received a straight red card.
Tottenham dominated possession at the Hawthorns without scoring and were made to pay the price when former Spurs star Nacer Chadli scored eight minutes from time. But Dele Alli's 89th-minute equaliser preserved Spurs' unbeaten league record. Liverpool will go level with the top two if they beat bitter rivals Manchester United on Monday.
Earlier, Chelsea dealt a fresh blow to champions Leicester City's hopes of a successful title defence with a 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge. Defeat meant the Foxes had won just two of their eight league games this season and manager Claudio Ranieri said: "We made mistakes... Our approach to the match was not good."
The result gave Antonio Conte, Ranieri's fellow Italian, a much-needed win after speculation he was about to be sacked as Chelsea manager. First-half goals from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard put hosts Chelsea in a strong position before Nigeria international Victor Moses's effort 10 minutes from time set the seal on an impressive win.
Stoke won in the league for the first time this season as Wales international Joe Allen made it four goals in his last three games by scoring twice in a 2-0 win at home to basement club Sunderland. Elsewhere, Bournemouth thrashed Hull 6-1 as Mike Phelan's first game in full-time charge of the Tigers ended in an a thumping defeat. The Cherries needed just five minutes to score, Charlie Daniels following up after Junior Stanislas's 20-yard free-kick rebounded off the post. Hull's Ryan Mason equalised in the 34th minute with a deflected shot. Bournemouth regained the lead thanks to Steve Cook's header and they were 3-1 up ahead of the break when Stanislas scored from the penalty spot. Stanislas made it 4-1 before Callum Wilson and Dan Gosling both scored late on.
RESULTS
Chelsea 3 (Costa 7, Hazard 33, Moses 80) Leicester 0; Arsenal 3 (Walcott 26, 33, Ozil 57) Swansea 2 (Sigurdsson 38, Baston 66); Bournemouth 6 (Daniels 5, Cook 41, Stanislas 45-pen, 65, Wilson 83, Gosling 88) Hull 1 (Mason 34); Manchester City 1 (Nolito 72) Everton 1 (Lukaku 64); Stoke 2 (Allen 8, 45+1) Sunderland 0; West Brom 1 (Chadli 82) Tottenham 1 (Alli 89)
