Wayne Rooney scored his seventh goal in seven games as Manchester United rediscovered their buzz in dispatching Stoke City 3-0 on Tuesday.
And Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City continued their remarkable run as Jamie Vardy scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season to overwhelm Liverpool 2-0 at the King Power Stadium to maintain their three-point advantage at the top of the Barclays Premier League over Manchester City.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini, who will make way for Pep Guardiola in the summer, would’ve been pleased with an away win as City outlasted Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light.
On an action-packed night of football across England, Arsenal were unable to keep up with Leicester and Manchester City after they dropped two points in a goalless home draw with Southampton at the Emirates Stadium.
That result saw Tottenham leapfrog their great London rivals into third place on goal difference after Spurs produced an excellent 3-0 victory over Norwich City at Carrow Road.
A Juan Mata-inspired United were all over a hapless Stoke side, whom are managed by former Manchester darling Mark Hughes, at Old Trafford.
The trademark pace and pizzazz was back in the Red Devils’ play, with Spanish star midfielder Mata, as well as captain Wayne Rooney and French forward Anthony Martial in top form.
The under-pressure manager Louis van Gaal utilised the traditional width in United’s game, and it paid off as they hit back following a 1-0 loss to Southampton in their last league game on January 23.
Martial in particular was a threat down the left flank, while English youngster Jesse Lingard was a breath of fresh air in the middle with his speed and skill.
He completed the former Chelsea master Mata, who orchestrated most of United’s forays into the Stoke box and also fired a few shots of his own at Potters’ goalkeeper Jack Butland.
Lingard opened the scoring for United when he latched on to a fantastic left-footed cross from left back Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and sent a low flying header past Butland in the 14th minute.
The Old Trafford faithful didn’t have to wait much longer in the driving rain for another as nine minutes later, Martial pulled off the goal of the match. It was a flowing move that saw Mata race down the right before finding Rooney on his inside with a deft pass.
The United skipper chipped the ball across the front of the Stoke box to Martial, who lashed home a terrific shot into the top corner.
Lingard, Mata and Martial had a number of shots at goal throughout, but couldn’t add to the score until after halftime when Rooney finally got the ball into the back of the net in the 53rd minute.
The England striker had a goal disallowed just a minute earlier when he pushed Glen Johnson before “scoring”, but he could celebrate his 99th goal at Old Trafford when Mata found Martial on the left, and the ball was squared for Rooney to side-foot it over the line.
At the King Power Stadium, Vardy brought the house down with a sensational volley from outside the box to break the deadlock on the hour mark against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
Star player Riyad Mahrez sent an inch-perfect long ball from well inside his own half that bounced in Vardy’s path, and the Englishman struck it from outside the box on the right-hand side to beat a back-pedalling Simon Mignolet in the Liverpool goal.
Shinji Okazaki then fired in a shot for Leicester 11 minutes later, and the deflection fell to Vardy, who coolly finished with his left foot this time.
In Sunderland, Argentine strike Sergio Aguero got the winner for Manchester City, while Dele Alli and a brace from Harry Kane – including a penalty – saw Spurs climb up to third as they enjoy a better goal difference of plus 10 over Arsenal.
@IndyCapeSport
Premier League Results
Manchester United 3 Stoke City 0, Arsenal 0 Southampton 0, Leicester City 2 Liverpool 0, Sunderland 0 Manchester City 1, Norwich City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3, West Ham United 2 Aston Villa 0, West Bromwich Albion 1 Swansea City 1, Crystal Palace 1 Bournemouth 2.
Top Six
1 Leicester City – Played 24, Points: 50
2 Manchester City – Played 24, Points: 47
3 Tottenham Hotspur – Played 24, Points: 45
4 Arsenal – Played 24, Points: 45
5 Manchester United – Played 24, Points: 40
6 West Ham United – Played 24, Points: 39