Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the table to six points after dispatching Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday. Cesc Fabregas scored the only goal of the game with a sweetly taken strike five minutes to the first half.

The win also meant that Antonio Conte’s side have won 10 in a row. Liverpool were back to their clinical best at the Riverside against Middlesbrough. Buoyed by an Adam Lallana brace and Divock Origi’s fifth goal in as many games, the Reds cruised to a 3-0 win. Liverpool now lie second in the table, ahead of Arsenal on the virtue of having scored more goals.

West Bromwich Albion striker stood out with a hat-trick against Swansea, capped off by a brilliant header from a fair distance. Manchester City and Pep Guardiola got some much needed breathing space, dodging the Watford bullet with a 2-0 win.

Tottenham Hotspur bounced back in style from losing to Manchester United over the weekend. Led by a Christian Eriksen brace, cruised to a 3-0 win against Hull City at White Hart Lane. The 20-time champions too, got three points on the board after edging past Crystal Palace 2-1.

Chelsea march on

There was no stopping Chelsea, who put in a first-rate display against David Moyes’ Sunderland. The Blues were well organised at the back, aggressive in winning the ball in midfield, and led by Diego Costa, a force to reckon with while going forward.

It was Cesc Fabregas, reinstated in the starting lineup, who scored the winning goal. Despite being outplayed for much of the game, Sunderland could have made Chelsea pay for failing to add to their one-goal lead in the dying seconds of the game. However, Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois dived full length to his right to parry Patrick van Aanholt’s shot. This was Chelsea’s 10th win on the bounce and have conceded just two goals during this period.

Ibra’s late winner lifts Manchester United

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his ninth goal of the season as Manchester United warded off Crystal Palace to win 2-1 at Selhurst Park. The game was marred by controversy with two game-altering decisions not going the Red Devils’ way.

First, Joe Leadley’s was not penalised for a clear handball in his box. Minutes later, a perfectly legitimate goal from Juan Mata was incorrectly flagged offside. Justice prevailed for Jose Mourinho’s side when Ibrahimovic ran onto a through ball and sumptuously sidefooted the ball into the net from a difficult angle.

It was United who took the lead through Paul Pogba, who tapped in from close range. James McArthur scored the equaliser for Palace deep into second half.

Brief scores

  • Sunderland 0 lose to Chelsea 1 (Cesc Fabregas) 
  • Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Christian Eriksen x 2, Victor Wanyama) beat Hull City 0 
  • Middlesbrough 0 lose to Liverpool 3 (Adam Lallana x 2, Divock Origi)
  • West Bromwich Albion 3 (Salomon Rondon x 3) beat Swansea City 1 (Wayne Routledge)
  • West Ham United 1 (Mark Noble) beat Burnley 0
  • Stoke City 0 draw with Southampton 0
  • Crystal Palace 1 (James McArthur) lose to Manchester United 2 (Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic)
  • Manchester City 2 (Pablo Zabaleta, David Silva) beat Watford 0