Chelsea held by United, Man City brave snowstorm to beat West Ham

Chelsea, seeking to maintain their lead at the top of the table over Manchester City and Liverpool, dominated the first half against a United side playing their first Premier League match under caretaker manager Michael Carrick after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking last weekend.

The Blues were punished for failing to turn possession into goals five minutes after the restart when United cleared and Jorginho, alone near the half-way line, miscontrolled and Sancho raced past him to beat the helpless Edouard Mendy. Chelsea were rocked by the goal against the run of play but Jorginho repaid his debt to the Stamford Bridge faithful in the 69th minute when he coolly converted a penalty after Aaron Wan-Bissaka fouled Thiago Silva. The hosts pushed for a winner and brought on Romelu Lukaku, returning from injury as a substitute for the last 10 minutes, but they failed to find a way through United’s defence.

The result leaves Chelsea top of the table, a point ahead of Manchester City and two clear of Liverpool. United sit in eighth place, 12 points behind Chelsea.

Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan struck in the midst of a first-half snowstorm before a late goal from substitute Fernandinho proved enough to secure a 2-1 home victory over West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday.

The win lifts City back up to second place and level on 29 points with leaders Chelsea, who host Manchester United in the late game. West Ham, who snatched an added-time consolation with a superb Manuel Lanzini strike, stay fourth on 23 points.

“It was a very difficult day because of the weather conditions but it is always difficult against this team,” City midfielder Rodri told the BBC.

Leicester City thumped Watford 4-2 in the Premier League amid heavy snowfall which reduced visibility and made playing conditions difficult at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.

Watford boss Claudio Ranieri, who guided Leicester to their only league title against overwhelming odds in 2015-16, was given a warm welcome by the home fans but he was in for a cold afternoon as his former striker Jamie Vardy scored twice.

Brentford striker Ivan Toney’s first-half penalty secured a 1-0 win over ailing Everton in the Premier League on Sunday, heaping more misery on the visitors ahead of their midweek Merseyside derby with Liverpool.

Toney converted from the spot for his first home goal of the season, ending Brentford’s five-game winless league run and taking them up to 12th. It was the Bees’ first clean sheet at home since their opening-day 2-0 win over Arsenal.

Injury-depleted Everton are now without a victory in their last seven league games, five of which have been lost, and they slipped to 14th.

The Premier League match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor was called off less than an hour before kickoff due to heavy snowfall on Sunday.

“Due to concerns with the playing surface and surrounding areas, it’s been deemed that the game can’t go ahead safely,” Burnley said on twitter.

Groundstaff were working to clear the snowfall from the field when the announcement was made after consultation between the referee and the two managers.

“As you can see the pitch re-covers every time they clear it. The referee explained the safety angle as well so it was important to make a decision early,” said Burnley manager Sean Dyche.

“It fell that quick and that heavy. It’s still quite strong now. (The pitch) can’t get rid of the snow that quick. It’s the lines being cleared as well – we would have to stop and clear them. It’s a joint decision with everyone concerned.

REUTERS