By ADAM TROXTELL
On the first day of 2015, it’s all square at the top of the Barclays Premier League table.
Chelsea and Manchester City are locked with the same amount of points, goals scored and goals conceded after the Blues suffered a 5-3 destruction at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. The usually reliable Chelsea defense was torn apart by Spurs striker Harry Kane and his two goals.
Tottenham have now gone seven games without a loss, and their confidence was clear to see. In the face of Diego Costa’s opening goal, Spurs bounced back to equalize a half-hour into the match through Kane before Danny Rose gave them the lead with a minute left until halftime.
A rampant Kane was fouled running into the box in first half stoppage time to set up a penalty dispatched by Andros Townsend. Kane made it 4-1 seven minutes after the restart before Nacer Chadli added one for good measure.
That win takes Spurs above rivals Arsenal, who lost 2-0 at the hands of Southampton earlier in the day. Elsewhere, Manchester United could only draw at Stoke, Liverpool went up two goals before Leicester came back for a draw, and a Frank Lampard header handed Manchester City all three points.
Here’s all the action from New Year’s Day:
If the league ended today, Chelsea and Man City would be forced to play a one-game playoff.
In contrast to how tight things are at the top of the league standings, Chelsea were anything but tight against a rampant Tottenham. White Hart Lane was the happiest its been in months as Spurs piled on the goals in a 5-3 win over their London rivals.
Everything seemed to be going smooth for Chelsea when Diego Costa deflected Nemaja Matic’s shot into the net for a Blues lead. By then, Spurs had the look of a vulnerable team beginning to crumble against the title favorites.
Up stepped Harry Kane to make space for himself just outside the Chelsea goal area and fire a shot into the bottom corner on 30 minutes. They had the lead 14 minutes later through Rose and a converted penalty had the tables turned on the Blues.
Kane ensured that trend continued with his second goal after halftime, but Chelsea showed some fight when Eden Hazard finished off a wonderful attacking move. John Terry snuck to the back post for a late Chelsea consolation, but Spurs were too much.
Tottenham took advantage of the moment to seize fifth place from arch rivals Arsenal, who earlier fell 2-0 to a resurgent Southampton. Sadio Mane’s opener signified things were going the Saints’ way in the 34th minute when he took the ball into the right corner beyond goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny before curling it back toward goal and into the far corner.
Dusan Tadic’s goal in the 56th minute handed Arsenal their first defeat in five matches.
Two converted penalties from Steven Gerrard had Liverpool flying high against Leicester, but the Foxes sniffed out a 2-2 draw. Two goals in two minutes from David Nugent and Jeffrey Schlupp pinned the Reds back.
The same thing was happening to Manchester City in their home match against Sunderland, but they found the difference maker. Former City players Jack Rodwell and Adam Johnson erased a 2-0 lead in a flurry of three goals in five minutes.
Three minutes after coming on, Frank Lampard — now committed to Man City until the end of the season — headed Gael Clichy’s cross into the bottom corner to seal all three points and tie things up at the top.
In the early game, Manchester United struggled to create chances in their 1-1 draw away to Stoke. Ryan Shawcross deflected Peter Crouch’s header into the goal in just the second minute, but Radamel Falcao struck in similar fashion to tie things in the 26th minute. Stoke put four shots on target compared to Man United’s two, but neither team could produce a winner.
Here’s all the scores from New Year’s Day in England:
Stoke 1, Manchester United 1
Aston Villa 0, Crystal Palace 0
Hull City 2, Everton 0
Liverpool 2, Leicester City 2
Manchester City 3, Sunderland 2
Newcastle United 3, Burnley 3
QPR 1, Swansea 1
Southampton 2, Arsenal 0
West Ham 1, West Brom 1
Tottenham 5, Chelsea 3