- Aguero holds City three points behind
- Tottenham moves above Arsenal
LONDON — Jamie Vardy sent a screaming reminder that leader Leicester City is in the Premier league title race for the long haul with a sensational strike in a 2-0 win over Liverpool Tuesday.
After an hour of deadlock at the King Power Stadium, Vardy took matters into his own hands, latching on to a long ball pumped down the right, looking up and launching an unstoppable 25-meter rocket over stranded goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
The England striker then showed his poacher’s instinct in scoring his side’s second, his 18th league goal of the season, to keep Leicester three points clear of Manchester City, which made a meal of beating relegation-threatened Sunderland 1-0.
Sergio Aguero scored his 12th goal in his last 10 league matches to earn City the points a day after it was confirmed manager Manuel Pellegrini would be replaced by former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.
With 14 games of an enthralling season left, Leicester has 50 points with City on 47 ahead of its top-of-the-table blockbuster at the Etihad Stadium Saturday. North London rival Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal have 45.
Tottenham striker Harry Kane also struck twice, after Dele Alli’s early opener, as Spurs crushed Norwich City 3-0 away to leapfrog Arsenal into third spot, fuelling the club’s belief that a first title since 1961 is within reach.
Arsenal is stalling after a 0-0 home draw with Southampton left it without a league win in four games and without a goal in its last three, the first time since 2009.
Life is looking a little brighter for Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal after his side finally rediscovered a spark at Old Trafford.
It had not scored in the first half of its last 11 home matches, piling pressure on the Dutchman, but it turned on the style against Stoke City with Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial on target before halftime and Wayne Rooney completing a 3-0 win after the break with his 99th home league goal. United remains in fifth place with 40 points.
Man City was under the cosh for long periods at Sunderland but hung on for Pellegrini’s 65th win in 100 Premier League matches in charge — a record bettered only by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho (73).
Bottom club Aston Villa’s hopes of avoiding relegation suffered another setback when it had Jordan Ayew sent off after 17 minutes for elbowing Aaron Cresswell before slipping to a predictable 2-0 defeat at sixth-placed West Ham United.
Bournemouth gained three vital points with a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace, moving it seven points above the bottom three, while Swansea City is five points clear of the drop zone after drawing 1-1 at West Bromwich Albion.
Salah lifts Roma
In Italy, Mohamed Salah ended a three-month goalscoring drought to help Roma win 2-0 at Sassuolo and provisionally move fourth in Serie A Tuesday. Salah got Roma off to a great start in the 11th minute with his first league goal since Oct. 25. Stephan El Shaarawy sealed the win in stoppage time with his second goal.
Monaco wins
Monaco recovered from a heavy league loss with a 2-0 win over Bastia to strengthen its second place in the French league Tuesday. Back on loan to Marseille after just six months at Newcastle, winger Florian Thauvin lasted only 10 minutes on the pitch in Tuesday’s late match that saw his side secure a 1-0 win at Montpellier.
