London : Jadon Sancho scored against Chelsea as Manchester United held them to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. The Blues were the clear favourites but were hugely disappointed with just one point from their home clash against United. Elsewhere, Manchester City defeated West Ham by 2-1.
Sancho gave United a lead on 50 minutes when a free kick from Reece James was not cleared properly. Jorginho miscontrolled the ball which fell in the path of Sancho who had to run at the goal and slot the ball home past the opposition goalkeeper.
Although Jorginho somewhat made up for the misfire, by scoring the equaliser from the spot on 69 minutes, when Aaron Wan-Bissaka brought Thiago Silva down inside the box. Jorginho sent David de Gea the wrong way, making up from his earlier mixup.
“On the pitch, in the goal, I was feeling danger for nearly the whole game. We defended well, they missed big chances and the one they give us a chance we score. It is not enough to draw but at the moment it is a big point,” de Gea said post the match.
The other Manchester Club were victorious in spite of extreme climate conditions. It snowed heavily at Etihad, but could not stop Pep Guardiola’s men, who now closed the gap to table topper Chelsea to just one point.
It snowed so bad, that visibility was difficult at times. Ilkay Gundogan broke the deadlock on 33 minutes when Joao Cancelo passed the ball down the right to Riyad Mahrez, who set up Gundogan for a simple tap in. Fernandinho sealed the match on 90 minutes.
When City took a short corner it was defended by West Ham but only momentarily, which allowed Fernandinho to get a low shot, as he doubled City’s lead. West Ham also had some decent chances but only pulled one back deep into the extra time, scored by Manuel Lanzini.
The City boss praised the groundsmen for their work as the match was played out unlike Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley, which was cancelled. “We have incredible groundskeepers. Thanks to them we could play”,Guardiola said.
