Arsenal strengthened their qualification for the EPL title with a 4-1 win over Aston Villa, while Manchester United limped off against lowly Wolves.
Arsenal ended Aston Villa’s 11-game winning streak with a resounding 4-1 victory and extended their lead in the Premier League to five points, as Chelsea and Manchester United squandered their chances to move into the top four.
Wolves picked up their third goal of the season with a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, while Chelsea now have just one win in seven league games after being held 2-2 by Bournemouth in the final match of the English top flight on Saturday.
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Arsenal suffered their only defeat in their last 25 games in all competitions at Villa Park earlier this month, putting them firmly in control of the title race.
Questions about whether Villa could play more than 38 games for Arsenal and Manchester City were realized after Unai Emery’s side were blown away in the second half against the Emirates.
It was a close game for the first 45 minutes, but after Villa had a chance through Ollie Watkins, Arsenal found their footing.
Mikel Arteta’s side could once again rely on set-pieces to break the deadlock, with Gabriel Magalhães outscoring Emi Martínez after returning to the starting XI from a hamstring injury.
Martin Odegaard’s wonderful through ball found Martin Zvimendi and quickly doubled the Gunners’ lead.
Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus then fired from outside the box, two quality shots rubbing salt in the visitors’ wounds.
Watkins secured the win, but third-placed Villa were six points behind the leaders.
City can close the gap at the top of the table to two points when they face Sunderland on January 1.
Wolves end losing streak against a limp Manchester United side
United wasted yet another chance at Old Trafford to boost their chances of returning to the Champions League next season.
A deflected shot from Joshua Zirkzee gave the Red Devils the lead, but Ladislav Krejci’s header ended Wolves’ losing streak at 12.
Ruben Amorim’s team remain in sixth place, two points out of the top four.
Chelsea’s decision to substitute Enzo Maresca for Cole Palmer was booed by frustrated home fans, but it did little to lift the gloom at Stamford Bridge.
David Brooks gave the Cherries a perfect start, but Bournemouth quickly showed why they conceded more away goals than any other English first team.
After Palmer scored the equalizer from the penalty spot, Enzo Fernandes was given space to fire a shot into the top corner.
However, Chelsea were unable to respond to their second long throw in the 27th minute when Justin Kluivert connected Antoine Semenyo’s pass to the back post.
With the Blues remaining fifth in the table, home fans expressed their displeasure at Maresca’s decision to replace Palmer with Joao Pedro in the final moments.
It was Newcastle’s second away league win of the season, but they sweated it out after a dreamlike start to defeating lowly Burnley 3-1.
Goals from Joelinton and Ioan Wissa gave the Magpies a 2-0 lead within seven minutes.
Josh Laurent halved the arrears midway through the first half and Burnley looked to equalize with two late goals before Bruno Guimarães sealed victory for Eddie Howe’s side.
A depleted Everton side defeated former manager Sean Dyche at Nottingham Forest for the second time in a month, moving them into the top half of the table.
The Toffees had not scored since their 3-0 win over Forest on December 6, but goals from James Garner and Tierno Barry left Dyche’s side just four points above the relegation zone.
The result could have been much worse for Forest had West Ham not taken the lead twice, drawing 2-2 at home with Brighton.
