"The spirit and effort we put in was great. We have to take it on the chin."
Liverpool are one point behind leaders Chelsea after a hard fought 2-1 win against Sunderland in the Premier League.
Džeko scored a brace as Manchester City eased to a 3-0 win against Manchester United.
Flamini’s 90th minute own goal saw Arsenal settle for a 2-2 draw against Swansea City. Everton maintained an outside chance of a Champions League spot with a 3-0 win against Newcastle United.
Arsenal 2 Swansea City 2 – 7.45pm, KO Tuesday
After a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea, Arsenal had a horror start versus Swansea City. The hosts fell behind within eleven minutes through a Wilfried Bony bullet header, which flew past Wojciech Szcz?sny.
It took till the 73rd minute for the Gunners to shoot back, as Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski combining to perfection.
Two goals in sixty-six seconds and Arsenal were briefly back with a realistic shot at the Premier League title. This is just what the Dr had ordered for Arsenal. Olivier Giroud slammed the ball into the roof of the net, following a brilliant run and cross from Podolski.
But a 90th minute own goal from Mathieu Flamini forced Arsenal to settle for a shock 2-2 draw. It was a soft goal to concede, and it could very well be curtains for Arsenal’s title hopes.
Arsenal now trail Chelsea by six points and face Manchester City on Saturday 29 March, 2014.
After the match, Gunners boss Arsène Wenger said: “The result is very disappointing but the spirit and effort we put in was great. We have to take it on the chin.”
Manchester United 0 Manchester City 3 – 7.45pm KO, Tuesday
It took less than four-five seconds for Manchester City to stamp their authority at Old Trafford against Manchester United. Edin Džeko did the damage as he scored a goal in the 1st minute of the game.
The goal early in the first half was followed by a goal early in the second half. City doubled their lead once again through Bosnian International Džeko. This was his 5th derby goal in six derby appearances.
Manchester United’s defence was clueless as Yaya Touré added a third in stoppage time to help the blue side of Manchester remain in third place in the Premier League.
Manchester City lie three points behind Chelsea, with two games in hand.
A United fan from Pakistan said on Facebook: “This season has been disastrous, how much time do we give David Moyes but most importantly we do not want Liverpool to win the title.”
Newcastle United 0 Everton 3 – 7.45pm KO, Tuesday
Ross Barkley set Everton on their way to their biggest away win of the season with a sublime solo effort at St James Park.
Barkley took the ball from inside his own half and burst into the Newcastle box before unleashing a crisp finish past Tim Krul.
On loan Striker Romelu Lukaku doubled Everton’s lead just after the break with a close range effort and in doing so took his tally to thirteen goals. Leon Osman finished off Newcastle United with a thumping third following a lay off from Lukaku.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew completed his final game of his three match stadium ban.
Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 – 8.00pm KO, Wednesday
Liverpool closed the gap on leaders Chelsea to one point after beating Sunderland 2-1 at Anfield.
Gus Poyet’s Sunderland frustrated Liverpool from the off-set as the hosts failed to break down the visitors defence. Although on thirty-nine minutes Santiago Vergini was fortunate to stay on the pitch after mauling down Luis Suárez as he burst through on goal.
However from the resulting free kick Steven Gerrard found the top corner of the net from twenty-three yards.
Liverpool have now scored before half time in each of their last twenty-one Premier League games extending the all-time Premier League record.
The hosts doubled their lead just after the break as Daniel Sturridge took his season tally to twenty with a curling shot that took a slight deflection and flew past Vito Mannone.
Sunderland substitute Ki Sung Yeung headed in from a corner on seventy-six minutes to keep Liverpool on their toes.
There were some nervy moments towards the end but Liverpool held on for three precious points and their seventh consecutive win.
West Ham United 2 Hull City 1 – 7.45pm KO, Wednesday
West Ham United earned a priceless 2-1 victory against Hull City and moved nine points clear of the relegation zone.
West Ham united took the lead on twenty-six minutes through a penalty from Mark Noble. Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor was shown the red card after fouling Mohamed Diamé, which had resulted in the penalty.
After the break Nikica Jelavi? equalised for Hull City on forty-eight minutes with a slightly lucky deflection. But West Ham bounced straight back and got lucky themselves as a Guy Demel cross was deflected into his own net by James Chester.
Tom Huddlestone forced a fine save from Adrian but The Hammers held their nerve and in doing so gained three vital points.
Though West Ham won, fans showed their frustration at the final whistle. On social media one West Ham fan said: “In all my time watching West Ham, I’ve never booed when we’ve won but today the performance was ridiculous. Outplayed by 10 men #BigSamOut.”
With only a handful of games left, many believe the title race is going down to the wire.
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