Lampard’s Chelsea held at home
| Date :19-Aug-2019 |
LONDON: CHELSEA manager Frank Lampard had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Leicester City in his first home match in charge on Sunday as a second-half header by Wilfred Ndidi cancelled out Mason Mount’s early goal on his home debut. Chelsea raced into a quick lead when the 20 year-old Mount, one of a crop of young players given their chance by Lampard, stole the ball from a dallying Ndidi and left Kasper Schmeichel with no chance with his shot in the seventh minute. The goal capped an opening onslaught by the new-look Blues who were roared on by the home fans excited at the return of Chelsea’s all-time top scorer Lampard as manager.
But Leicester grew into the game and equalised in the 67th minute when Ndidi atoned for his first-half error by heading home a James Maddison corner. Maddison, Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans spurned chances to win it for Leicester late on. Lundstram gives Sheffield first win JOHN Lundstram’s second-half goal gave Sheffield United a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, in the first Premier League game at Bramall Lane for 12 years. Palace manager Roy Hodgson restored Wilfred Zaha to his starting line-up after starting him on the bench for the scoreless opening-week draw against Everton, while Chris Wilder started with the same side that secured a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.
Zaha, who has been linked with a move away from the club before the European transfer window closes on September 2, was kept under control by the Sheffield defence as Palace once again struggled to create scoring opportunities. David McGoldrick missed a great opportunity to put the home side ahead just before halftime, but 25-year-old midfielder Lundstram made no mistake early in the second period, lashing the ball home after it was steered into his path by Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. Lundstram’s strike mean he has now scored a goal in each of England’s top four divisions.
Employing a more direct approach to try to force an equaliser, Palace had plenty of possession, but the Sheffield rearguard dealt comfortably with their attacks as they sealed their first win of the season. Sheffield United will host Leicester City next weekend while Palace, who have yet to score in the league, face a daunting trip to Manchester United. Man City stumbles, play out draw: MANCHESTER City stumbled at home against Tottenham here, squandering leads on a pair of occasions before the match ended in a 2-2 draw. The two-time defending Premier League champions were unable to secure three points at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night despite playing at a higher level overall than Mauricio Pochettino’s men, Efe news reports.
The key figure of the match was French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who broke up numerous chances created by the local side, while at the other end of the field the Spurs’ attackers were opportunistic in turning scoring opportunities into goals. The Citizens revved up their attack over a 15-minute stretch of the first half thanks to the play of Kevin De Bruyne, who set up both of the home team’s goals. The first came in the 20th minute when a curving pass from outside the area by the Belgian midfielder found Raheem Sterling, who got behind Tottenham’s defenders and headed the ball inside the far post from close range.
Spurs, however, struck back just three minutes later on an accurate shot from outside the area by Erik Lamela, who had been set up by a pass from Tanguy Ndombele. Manchester City took the lead back once again though on another play facilitated by De Bruyne, who sent in a ball from the right side that Sergio Aguero managed to poke into the left half of the goal past Lloris in the 35th minute. That advantage lasted around 20 minutes, but Tottenham managed to equalize a second time in minute 56 on a header by Lucas Moura, who scored off a corner kick sent in by Lamela just seconds after entering the game as a substitute. Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola opted to make a change shortly after the half-hour mark and send on Gabriel Jesus in place of Aguero, who promptly got into a heated sideline argument with the former FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager.
Jesus appeared to give City the win when he scored after a corner kick in second-half stoppage time, but the VAR system ruled that French defender Aymeric Laporte had touched the ball with his arm before it got to the Brazilian forward. Afterward, the Manchester City head coach praised his team’s performance. “We played incredible,” Guardiola said. “One of the best games we’ve played in our time together. We played good, but unfortunately we could not win. We’ll recover, train and prepare for the next game. We don’t have regrets. That’s the most important thing.” Manchester City (four points) are currently third in the Premier League standings behind Liverpool and Arsenal, who have six points apiece after two games. Tottenham (four points) provisionally stand in fifth place, behind City and Brighton and Hove Albion based on goal differential.