Rest is not a word in the vocabulary of the English Premier League this time of year. After playing on the weekend, 12 Premier League clubs were thrown right back onto the pitch on Monday to close out their respective holiday schedules.
Manchester United benefited from some questionable refereeing to extend its unbeaten run to 13 matches as the Red Devils pulled away from 10-man West Ham United to secure a 2-0 win at the London Stadium.
The latest twist in the title race was presented to us on Monday, as Liverpool slipped up at the Stadium of Light, while Manchester City recovered from a Fernandinho red card to down Burnley and pull back within two points of the Reds in the race for second place.
Below is a closer look at a few of the marquee matches on Monday across England.
MAN UNITED CONTINUES TO ROLL
Jose Mourinho’s men left London with a 2-0 victory over West Ham United after going up a man early in the first half. Sofiane Feghouli was sent off for a studs-up tackle on Phil Jones in the 15th minute that drew questions from the Hammers bench since both players went in hard for the 50-50 ball on the edge of the box.
The Red Devils capitalized on the man advantage in the 63rd minute as substitutes Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata combined on a strike. Fifteen minutes after the Spaniard opened the scoring, Zlatan Ibrahimovic found the back of the net for his 18th goal in all competitions for the Red Devils.
The 13-game unbeaten run United is on is the longest at the club since the Sir Alex Ferguson era. Monday’s victory brought Mourinho’s side level on points with Tottenham Hotspur for the time being. West Ham currently sit in 13th place on 22 points.
LIVERPOOL DROP POINTS TO SUNDERLAND
A pair of penalties given to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light could turn out to be a bloody big deal in the Premier League title race when all is said and done. Jermain Defoe slotted a pair of penalties past Simon Mignolet to hand the Black Cats a valuable point on home soil.
Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring for the visiting side in the 20th minute, but the lead was short lived, as Defoe knocked in first goal from the spot five minutes later. Liverpool appeared to be headed for three points after Sadio Mane’s 72nd-minute strike, but Mane was whistled for a handball on a free kick in the 83rd minute.
Defoe’s second goal from the spot put Liverpool five points back of Chelsea, who play on Wednesday against Spurs. The critical home point inched Sunderland closer to Crystal Palace in 17th place. Defoe’s pair of tallies moved him over 10 goals for the season. He joined Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard as the only players to score 10 or more goals in 10 Premier League seasons.
MAN CITY RECOVERS FROM SENDING OFF TO DOWN BURNLEY
Fernandinho’s reckless disciplinary record received another addition on Monday, as he received his third red card in six matches in the 32nd minute of Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over Burnley at the Etihad Stadium.
Gael Clichy broke the deadlock in the 58th minute with his first goal of the league campaign for the Citizens. Sergio Aguero, who is fresh off a four-game suspension, came off the bench to put away City’s second in the 62nd minute. Ben Mee added a late strike for the Clarets in the 70th minute, but that was all Sean Dyche’s side could muster on their trip to the blue half of Manchester.
City enter the FA Cup break in third place with 42 points, while Burnley is 11th in the Premier League with 23 points and wins in two of its last three contests.
Middlesbrough 0-0 Leicester City
West Bromwich Albion 3-1 Hull City
Everton 3-0 Southampton
This is an insane holiday schedule.
yeah, these guys are working on 2 days rest between games.