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London, December 14
Chelsea and Manchester City tightened their stranglehold on the Premier League title race, recording victories over struggling clubs to stretch further clear of their increasingly forlorn pursuers.
Normal service was resumed at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea maintained their three-point lead over City at the top with goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa sinking 10-man Hull City 2-0.
Champions City maintained their ever more convincing chase, sealing their fifth successive league win at bottom club Leicester City 1-0 courtesy of a 40th-minute goal from the evergreen Frank Lampard.
City's delight, though, was tempered by the likelihood of another spell on the sidelines for captain Vincent Kompany who, on his return after a three-game absence with a hamstring problem, limped off again with the same trouble.
As Arsenal completed a turbulent week with doubles from Olivier Giroud and birthday boy Santi Cazorla inspiring a 4-1 rout of Newcastle, fourth-placed West Ham's progress was checked by a 1-1 draw at Sunderland and Southampton lost 1-0 to an Ashley Barnes goal at Burnley. It all left the chasing pack, headed by Manchester United and West Ham, 11 points behind Chelsea and eight adrift of the champions and put pressure on Louis van Gaal's third-placed United before their match against Liverpool on Sunday.
Late Stamp
After Tom Huddlestone was dismissed for a nasty second half stamp on Filipe Luis, Costa scored his 12th league goal of the season from a Hazard assist after 68 minutes.
Already without Sergio Aguero, Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini had to blood 18-year-old Jose Pozo, the boy acclaimed as the 'Mini Messi', after Edin Dzeko was injured in the warm-up. Yet it was still left to the remarkable Lampard to make the breakthrough with a typical, beautifully-timed run into the box to sidefoot home after fine work from Samir Nasri.
De Gea shines as Man U beat Liverpool
Manchester United recorded a sixth successive win when they beat old rivals Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford. — Agencies
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