Ivanovic Barcelona held by stuns Serena battling Levante MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014 18 19 New Zealand beat India in ODI opener Page 16 LONDON: Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel (right) challenges Manchester United’s Phil Jones during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge. — AP Eto’s treble leaves United reeling chances of securing the consolation Gathering the ball wide on the right, game was over and once again, the visi- prize of a top-four finish. With hopes of the Cameroon star tricked his way inside tors’ defensive shortcomings were laid EPL results/standings Chelsea 3 success via the league fading further, Phil Jones and then dispatched a left- bare. Chelsea 3 (Eto’o 17, 45, 49) Manchester United 1 (Hernandez 78); Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final sec- foot shot that flicked off Michael Cahill easily lost his marker to meet a Swansea 1 (Bony 78) Tottenham 3 (Adebayor 35, 71, Flores 53-og). ond leg against Sunderland, when Carrick’s toes and looped over David de right-wing corner with a downward United will look to overturn a 2-1 deficit, Gea. header and although De Gea blocked, Playing today West Brom v Everton Man United 1 now assumes even greater importance. With David Luiz providing a muscular Eto’o was on hand to hook the ball home. It was a fifth successive league win for presence in front of the Chelsea back Moyes introduced Chris Smalling and English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, Chelsea, meanwhile, who returned to four, occasionally to the consternation of Hernandez in place of Evra and Young, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): within two points of Arsenal and a point the United bench, the hosts began to but even when United did procure a Arsenal 22 16 3 3 43 19 51 LONDON: Manchester United’s Premier of second-place Manchester City. assert greater control, but the visitors chance, fortune deserted them. Man City 22 16 2 4 63 25 50 League title defence died another death With Wayne Rooney and Robin van remained a threat. Patrice Evra fired into With 20 minutes remaining, Cech mis- Chelsea 22 15 4 3 43 20 49 yesterday as Samuel Eto’o’s hat-trick Persie both still injured, United fielded the side-netting after blocking an controlled a back-pass in a perilous posi- Liverpool 22 13 4 5 53 28 43 Tottenham 22 13 4 5 29 26 43 earned Chelsea a 3-1 win that left the Adnan Januzaj in support of Danny attempted pass from Oscar, while tion, but as Hernandez slid in, the Everton 21 11 8 2 34 19 41 champions 14 points off the pace. Welbeck, but they quickly found a route Welbeck could only shovel a shot Chelsea goalkeeper somehow contrived Man Utd 22 11 4 7 36 27 37 Eto’o’s treble, his first in English foot- through the Chelsea defence on a brisk straight at Cech from Januzaj’s driven to hook the ball away from him. Newcastle 22 11 3 8 32 28 36 ball, gave manager Jose Mourinho his afternoon at Stamford Bridge. left-wing cross. United finally found the net with 12 Southampton 22 8 7 7 29 25 31 Aston Villa 22 6 6 10 22 29 24 100th Premier League victory, while A neat one-two between Ashley It was to prove a costly missed oppor- minutes remaining when Hernandez Hull 22 6 5 11 22 28 23 United, who replied through Javier Young and Welbeck presented Young tunity. After Oscar had sent an acrobatic touched in Jones’s low centre, but by Norwich 22 6 5 11 18 35 23 Hernandez, slumped to their seventh with a clear sight of goal in the second volley wide, Eto’o doubled Chelsea’s lead then the damage was done. Stoke 22 5 7 10 22 36 22 Swansea 22 5 6 11 27 33 21 loss of the campaign and saw captain minute, but his effort was parried by Petr on the stroke of half-time when he stole The visitors’ misery was completed in West Brom 21 4 9 8 23 28 21 Nemanja Vidic sent off in stoppage time. Cech. in behind a static defence to clip home a injury time when Vidic was shown a Crystal Palace 22 6 2 14 14 31 20 As well as the gulf that separates It was an enterprising start, and cross from Gary Cahill after United failed straight red card for chopping down Fulham 22 6 1 15 22 48 19 them from leaders Arsenal, United are Chelsea found themselves on the back to clear a corner. Eden Hazard, while Rafael da Silva was West Ham 22 4 6 12 22 33 18 Sunderland 22 4 6 12 21 36 18 also six points below the Champions foot until Eto’o broke the deadlock in the Moyes sent United out early for the fortunate to avoid the same fate for a Cardiff 22 4 6 12 17 38 18 League places, further jeopardising their 17th minute with a bolt from the blue. second half, but within four minutes the rash two-footed lunge on Cahill. — AFP Adebayor double sees Spurs down Swansea fate. Togo striker Adebayor made the game doubly of the box. But when the Ivorian pulled the trigger, safe, 20 minutes from time, with his second goal of Lloris watched the ball skid past his far post. Swansea 1 the game and his fifth in his last six league games. He went close still to breaking the deadlock in the Wilfried Bony bagged a late consolation but it was 24th minute when he hit the ball like an arrow only to too little, too late for the Swans. see his 30 yard strike to rebound back off the bar with With injuries dictating Michael Laudrup’s selec- France international Lloris well beaten. Tottenham 3 tion, the Dane adopted a five man midfield with cen- Swansea’s Achilles heel this season has been their tre half Jordi Amat employed as one of two holding failure to score when on top and 11 minutes before players, alongside Leon Britton. half time, they once again paid the price. For all the length of Swansea’s winless run in the Eriksen found enough time and space on the right league, there were no signs of anxiety amongst the to pick out Adebayor at the far post. Tremmel had no SWANSEA: Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice as ranks early on with Jonjo Shelvey shooting wide after chance as the striker’s downward header bounced up Tottenham Hotspur maintained their impressive a training ground move from a Wayne Routledge cor- into the roof of the net. Premier League run under manager Tim Sherwood ner. Shelvey was off-target again after a Ben Davies When Shelvey limped off, five minutes after half with a 3-1 win away to Swansea yesterday. Victory break along the left and the former Liverpool mid- time, Swansea were facing an even tougher battle to saw Tottenham make it five wins and a draw in the fielder went close once more in the 14th minute get back into a contest that Spurs were beginning to league since Sherwood replaced the sacked Andre when he brought out the best in Hugo Lloris from 25 dominate. Amat’s frustration earned him a yellow Villas-Boas as they went level on points with fourth- yards. Sherwood wanted more from his midfield and card, for a rash challenge on Vlad Chiriches and three placed Liverpool. when Britton gave away possession on half way, he minutes later, a cross from Walker was turned into his But this defeat at the Liberty Stadium meant got it. own net by the unfortunate Flores. Swansea had now gone eight league games without Christian Eriksen picked his way through three Bony, once again, brought out the best in Lloris a win and were left just three points above the relega- defenders before forcing Gerhard Tremmel to pick a with a crisp shot on the hour, but it was Spurs who tion zone. Adebayor’s first-half header sent decent cross off the forehead of Adebayor at the far scored next. Mousa Dembele missed a sitter, with Sherwood’s side on their way, with Chico Flores inad- post. At the other end, it was Bony who had hearts only Tremmel to beat, when he might well have LONDON: Swansea City’s Chico (left) and Tottenham Hotspur’s Emmanuel Adebayor vertently turning a Kyle Walker cross into his own net racing in the Spurs’ back four. More clever play from squared the ball to the unmarked and subsequently battle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match. — AP eight minutes into the second half to seal Swansea’s £12million striker created a yard of space on the edge furious Adebayor. — AFP.