Ronaldo looking to improve

Not content with four titles in 2014, including his second Champions League, prolific Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is determined to make next year an even bigger success.

Ronaldo netted 51 goals in 47 appearances last season, setting a record of 17 goals for one edition of Europe's elite club competition, as Real secured a record-extending 10th continental crown and the King's Cup.

The Portugal captain continued where he left off in 2014-15 as the world's richest club by income claimed the European Super Cup and Club World Cup and he has amassed an incredible 32 goals in 25 games in all competitions.

His haul of 25 in 14 La Liga matches is a Spanish record and he looks set to smash the biggest total for a season in Spain's top flight of 50 scored by Lionel Messi in 2011-12.

"It would be a dream if 2015 was like 2014 or even better," Ronaldo said in an interview published in sports daily As on Saturday.

"It is possible to do it because Madrid is always a candidate to win the competitions it is playing in," added the 29-year-old.

"We have a team spirit that can help us win the most titles possible and we will fight to the death to get them."

Ronaldo attributed much of Real's recent success to the arrival of coach Carlo Ancelotti, who replaced the divisive Jose Mourinho at the end of the 2012-13 season.

Italian Ancelotti immediately ended Real's 12-year wait for their 10th European title and, using the club's millions, has built a formidable side that is top of La Liga and one of the favourites to repeat their Champions League success this term.

"The coach has a lot of importance," Ronaldo told As.

"He is a great trainer and a great person and we are all delighted with him.

"Together we are a united family which will try to improve on the successes of 2014."

Ronaldo will find out whether he has won a third Fifa World Player of the Year award, and his second in a row, on 12 January when he is up against Argentina captain Messi and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

© Reuters

Atletico close to sealing Torres deal

Atletico Madrid are close to tying up a deal for Spain forward Fernando Torres to return to his boyhood club on loan from Chelsea, assistant coach German Burgos said on Saturday.

Torres, 30, joined AC Milan on a two-year loan in August but has yet to rediscover his form and has only managed one goal in 10 Serie A appearances.

"It (the Torres deal) is on the verge of completion and we are waiting for things to firm up," Burgos was quoted as saying in Spanish media.

"He will be a very important reinforcement for the second half of the season," added Diego Simeone's No 2.

"We will get the best out of him, the same as everyone, and he knows where he is coming to."

Atletico's Italy winger Alessio Cerci will move to Milan on loan as part of the deal, which will run until the end of the 2015-16 season, Spanish media reported.

Cerci said on his Facebook page on Saturday he had not yet signed with another club.

"I am an Atletico Madrid player and together with the club I am considering the best solution for both," he added. "I think that is right and normal."

A World Cup and double European Championship winner with Spain, Torres joined Atletico at the age of 11.

Known as "El Nino" (The Kid), he made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old in 2001 when Madrid's second club were in the Spanish second division.

When he left for Liverpool in July 2007 he pledged to return and is hoping a second stint at Atletico will help resurrect a career that has largely been a disappointment since he joined Chelsea in January 2011.

Atletico's next match is a La Liga game at home to Levante on January 3 before they host Real Madrid in the first leg of their King's Cup last 16 tie on January 7.

Pellegrini wants points, not milestones

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has downplayed the significance of his side standing on the brink of a club-record 10-game winning run ahead of Sunday's game against Burnley.

City's 3-1 Boxing Day success at West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League stretched their streak of victories to nine in a row in all competitions, leaving them on the verge of history ahead of Burnley' visit.

Pellegrini conceded that the statistic was news to him, but said that it was points, rather than records, that are his primary focus as his second-placed side look to keep the pressure on leaders Chelsea.

"I wasn't aware of that. I don't worry about records," the Chilean said. "I just continue trying to add points, because it'll be a close fight for the title this year.

"And we want to keep the title. Burnley have good players, but if you think that this is an easy game, then we'll have problems. We'll play against them as we would any other team."

The gap between City and Jose Mourinho's Chelsea remains three points after both sides claimed victories on Friday.

Fernando, Yaya Toure – from the penalty spot – and David Silva were on the score-sheet as Pellegrini's side provided an emphatic response to Chelsea's 2-0 victory over West Ham earlier in the day.

They had been gifted the initiative early on by a poor West Brom side and, such was their dominance, they already had the game won by the time heavy snow made for hazardous playing conditions in the second half.

What has been particularly impressive about City of late is that they are sweeping aside all before them without a recognised striker.

Midfielder James Milner again led City's front-line in the absence of the injured Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko, with the fit-again Stevan Jovetic only ready to be named among the substitutes.

Pellegrini added: "We scored three goals again, even though we never had a striker. That's not easy.

"When it was 3-0 it was important to avoid injuries. David Silva has a lot of skill inside the box, so we have options with him and other players, too.

"I'm not thinking about Chelsea at the moment. We need to win our games, we have to play against Burnley at home and there are 20 games to finish the title.

"The title is never finished in December. I am sure the race for the title is not just between two teams; there'll be others involved also.

"How many other teams? I don't know. (Manchester) United carry on winning. Anyone who can reach 86 points can win the title.

"It's a very important month, and a key week. We have to play for nine points.

"It's not the week that'll decide the Premier League, but it's important to be top of the table as soon as we can. That'll be an advantage for the second half of the season."

Alan Irvine's West Brom, who scored a late consolation via Brown Ideye, have won only one of their last eight games, leaving the club just two points above the relegation zone.

Asked if he feared for his future, Irvine replied: "The chairman will make a decision as far as that's concerned. I can't control it.

"Can I be confident about it? No, not necessarily, because I don't know what the thinking is. All I can do is keep working hard.

Wenger facing up to Giroud blow

Arsene Wenger admits losing Oliver Giroud once again is a body blow to Arsenal's Champions League push.

Giroud is facing three games out after his red card in the 2-1 Boxing Day win against QPR.

The Frenchman was sent off for a headbutt on Nedum Onuoha and his lack of discipline will see him first sit out Sunday's London derby at West Ham.

Having made a major impact since his return from ankle surgery that sidelined him for three months, Giroud's absence is the last thing the Arsenal manager needs at this pivotal stage of the season.

"Olivier touched him (Onuoha) and he should not have done it," said Wenger.

"He knows he made a mistake and I know him well enough to think that he will not do it again.

"He told me he was pushed in the back and projected against the 'keeper. Maybe the injury he had played on his mind and he was scared to be injured again. Usually he is a guy in control of his response.

"You never need that - that's for sure. In my job you have to deal with it with the strengths and sometimes the mistakes of people."

Wenger might have celebrated his 400th Premier League win in charge of Arsenal but he won't be raising a glass to Giroud.

The striker's physicality will be missed at Upton Park, especially with the aerial bombardment West Ham put teams under with Andy Carroll in their ranks.

Much will rest on the shoulders of Alexis Sanchez, who scored and then created Tomas Rosicky's goal in another man-of-the-match showing.

"Sanchez has shown his ability to create chances and his commitment to the side, which has made such a difference for us this season," said Wenger.

"He is a guy full of confidence and playing with some real style."

Despite the win, Arsenal are still 15 points behind leaders Chelsea and Wenger added: "We find ourselves detached from the teams above us at the moment, with a bit of ground to make up.

"We can't get too carried away with trying to make up that ground at the moment, just to concentrate on what we're doing.

"I don't give importance to the table at the moment. There are 20 games to go. It's very tight and it's down to consistency now. We know every game now is down to consistency and reproducing the performances."

After a record-equalling nine straight away defeats in the Premier League, QPR will be thankful to return to home soil when they face another London derby in Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Harry Redknapp will go head-to-head with Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock, the man who helped QPR win promotion in 2011 but was sacked just months later.

"He did a great job, didn't he, at QPR?," said Redknapp. "You can only do with what you have got.

"If you can go out and buy the best players you will have the best teams. If you have a small budget it's a different game.

"But I think Palace are a good side and he is doing a good job now.

Terry's all gold for Chelsea, Mourinho

Former England captain John Terry is performing as well in central defence as he was a decade ago, according to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Terry scored for the second time in five days when his first-half goal, the 61st of his club career, paved the way for Premier League leaders Chelsea to beat London rivals West Ham United 2-0 on Friday.

Just as pleasingly for Mourinho, the 34-year-old gave a masterclass in the art of defending as he subdued West Ham's in-form striker Andy Carroll.

"He is full of confidence," Mourinho told reporters after Chelsea kept up their 100 percent home record in the league this season to stay three points clear at the top.

"I see my John of 2004, 2005 and 2006, I don't see any difference. The only difference is seeing his twins when they go to the training ground, they had only just been born in that period but now they are running around and kicking balls.

"John is playing so good but I always say the same, when the team is playing so well it's easy for individuals," the Portuguese added.

Mourinho, who led Chelsea to the league title in 2005 and 2006 and returned for a second stint in charge 18 months ago, said the upbeat mood at Stamford Bridge was in stark contrast to the atmosphere that characterised the end of his time with previous club Real Madrid.

"Our results are good and the players are happy," he explained. "I'm happy as a coach because the team is playing well.

"I'm happy as a guy because I love my players. It's important to feel happy with the people that surround me, it's something I missed for a while."

Chelsea, who are also through to the Champions League last 16 and League Cup semifinals, narrowly missed out on the Premier League title last season but Mourinho believes there is a big difference in his side now.

"We are a much better team when we have the ball," he added. "Last year we were very strong defensively and very well organised but we lacked a bit of creativity when we had the ball.

"The challenge this year was to bring that creativity and dynamic without losing the defensive qualities of the team.

Warnock sacked by Crystal Palace

Neil Warnock on Saturday became the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season when he was sacked by strugglers Crystal Palace.

"Crystal Palace Football Club can today confirm that Neil Warnock has been relieved of his duties and is no longer first-team manager," a statement on the club's official website announced.

The 66-year-old will be replaced by Keith Millen who takes over in a "caretaker role" for Sunday's game against Queens Park Rangers.

Warnock's dismissal comes less than 24 hours after Friday's 3-1 loss to Southampton, leaving the London club with just one win in their last 12 league matches.

This latest below par performance pushed the team which had shocked Liverpool last month into the relegation zone.

In their statement Palace added: "The club would like to put on record its thanks to Neil for all his hard work and energy over the past four months.

"Keith Millen will lead the team against Queens Park Rangers tomorrow as caretaker manager."

The Palace board will be keen to make a swift appointment given the transfer window is days away from reopening.

Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood and Tony Popovic are already standout candidates to replace Warnock, with the latter having last month led Western Sydney Wanderers to the Asian Champions League.

The former Australia international has strong ties with the Eagles, having played for the club for five seasons before returning in 2011 as part of Dougie Freedman's backroom set-up.

Sherwood is again in the running for a job he ruled himself out of in August, with the ex-Spurs head coach saying he would have wanted to succeed Pulis had he been offered the position after his interview.

Malky Mackay, now in charge at Wigan, had been the favourite to succeed Pulis, only for allegations of misconduct to see Palace end their interest.

Warnock began his second spell at Palace in August, replacing Tony Pulis.

Friday's defeat to Southampton saw Warnock incense home fans by bringing defender Martin Kelly on for winger Yannick Bolasie when they were three goals down, while there were also boos from the Selhurst Park faithful at the final whistle.

"When you lose a game you're responsible, I've no complaints about that," he said of the fans' reaction.

United bandwagon gathering pace

While Chelsea and Manchester City slug it out at the top of the Premier League, Louis van Gaal's Old Trafford revolution gathers ever more momentum in the red half of Manchester.

The Dutchman endured a tricky start to his reign but seven wins in eight league games have put United hot on the heels of the pacesetters.

If the current United side can emulate the teams of Alex Ferguson who were renowned for a strong second half of the season, Van Gaal's men could yet have their say in the destiny of the title.

United visit Tottenham Hotspur in a lunchtime kickoff on Sunday as the games continue to flow thick and fast over the festive period.

"The signs have been good in recent weeks," midfielder Michael Carrick told the club website (ManUtd.com).

"We were bitterly disappointed not to win last week (at Aston Villa) but we beat Newcastle and now have two big away games. They will be a good test for us to see where we are at."

After the trip to Spurs, United – seven points behind City and 10 adrift of Chelsea – are away at Stoke on New Year's Day.

"We're continuing to look up and will continue to try to catch them (City and Chelsea)," Carrick said.

"We're not satisfied with third – it's obviously an improvement and we're getting better, but we want to keep looking up."

Seventh-placed Spurs have won three on the bounce with striker Harry Kane emerging as one of the stars of the season, his first-minute strike in the 2-1 victory over Leicester on Friday taking his tally to 15 in all competitions.

"We've built up some momentum now with some wins," he said.

"United have picked up form. It's going to be a tough game but we are confident at the minute. We're ready for it."

Chelsea make the trip south to face a fourth-placed Southampton side who appear to have got over their blip following a flying start to the campaign.

"We have found the belief again," said Southampton manager Ronald Koeman after Saints followed up a 3-0 drubbing of Everton with a 3-1 success at Crystal Palace on Friday.

"We know Chelsea are strong. It will be a challenge."

Manuel Pellegrini's City will set a club record of 10 wins in succession in all competitions if they can take three points at home to Burnley.

Suarez upbeat despite lack of goals

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez is confident his scoring form will return and he can put a slow start to his debut season in Spain behind him.

Suarez needed eight La Liga games to open his Barca account with a goal against Cordoba last weekend and has two in three Champions League appearances, a meagre return for the player who was Premier League top scorer with 31 goals in his final campaign with Liverpool.

The Uruguay international plays in a three-man attack at Barca with Lionel Messi and Neymar and although he has not been as prolific as he or coach Luis Enrique would like he has been contributing with assists and has made four in La Liga and one in Europe's elite club competition.

"I am obviously a striker who likes to score a lot of goals and have done that in every team I have been with," Suarez said on Barca's website (www.fcbarcelona.es) on Friday.

"I'm not scoring much at the moment but I'm sure that with help from my teammates the goals will come," added the 27-year-old, who made his return from a four-month ban for biting an opponent at the end of October.

"But as long as the team is winning important games as it is then I'll be happy whether I score or not.

"A forward always has to help the team, either with assists or goals.

"Sometimes making good assists or passes makes you feel better than scoring easy goals."

Barca's first game after the two-week winter break is a La Liga match at Real Sociedad on January 4 before they host Elche in a King's Cup last-16 first-leg game on January 8.

Barca are also through to the Champions League last 16 where they will play Manchester City over two legs in February and March.

"We didn't want to meet them, but they didn't want to meet us either," Suarez said.

"We know that we are going to have to beat some strong teams if we want to win the Champions League.

"Beating City is a good target for us and a good chance to show people why Barcelona are here."

Barca are second in La Liga after 16 matches, a point behind Real Madrid who have a game in hand.

Southampton move to top four

Southampton climbed back into the Premier League's top four with a 3-1 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Friday.

Ronald Koeman's side moved into the fourth and final Champions League place with their second successive victory to maintain their revival after a run of five games without a win.

Senegal winger Sadio Mane's third goal for Southampton, and his first since October, opened the scoring in rain-lashed south London and second half strikes from Ryan Bertrand and Toby Alderweireld sealed the points.

Palace have gone six matches without a win since their shock victory over Liverpool last month and Neil Warnock's team slipped into the relegation zone after a dispiriting performance.

Romania defender Florin Gardos was handed his first Premier League start in place of suspended former Eagles defender Jose Fonte, while Mane and Morgan Schneiderlin also came into the Saints line-up.

Southampton, buoyed by their win against Everton last time out, were quickly in their stride and almost took the lead when Alderweireld's looping effort hit the crossbar.

The visitors continued to dominate the early stages and deservedly went ahead in the 17th minute when Mane raced onto Steven Davis's pass and rounded Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni before slotting into the empty net.

Fraser Forster preserved Southampton's lead with saves from Mile Jedinak and Joel Ward.

Fraizer Campbell then hit the crossbar from Jedinak's header as Palace probed for an equaliser, but the effort wouldn't have counted as the flag had already gone up for offside.

Koeman's team could have added a second before the break when Bertrand's deflected cross was only half cleared by Jedinak and James Ward-Prowse headed just over.

But they didn't have to wait long to double their lead as former Chelsea defender Bertrand struck in the 48th minute.

Mane was the provider this time as he skipped past Ward and crossed for Graziano Pelle.

The Italian missed his shot but Bertrand was on hand to rifle a first-time effort into the top corner.

Southampton's third goal killed off the contest in the 53rd minute when Belgian defender Alderweireld powered a header past Speroni for his first Saints goal.

England right-back Nathaniel Clyne stung Speroni's hands with a blistering effort as Southampton almost added a fourth goal.

Dann's 86th minute header reduced the deficit but that was little consolation for well-beaten Palace.

© Sapa - AFP

Sigurdsson strike downs Villa

Iceland international Gylfi Sigurdsson delivered the goal that earned Swansea a 1-0 Boxing Day win over Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium on Friday.

Swansea manager Gary Monk made four changes from the side that beat Hull by the same scoreline last weekend.

Top scorer Wilfried Bony returned after being left on the bench against Hull, and also back after injury were Sigurdsson and Jefferson Montero.

Monk's Aston Villa counterpart Paul Lambert was able to field Gabriel Agbonlahor after his successful appeal against the red card he picked up in the draw with Manchester United last time out.

Alan Hutton and Tom Cleverley were back after suspension.

With heavy rain falling at the Liberty Stadium, Tottenham import Sigurdsson sent Swansea into a 13th minute lead, his free-kick narrowly escaping the clutches of Villa's keeper Brad Guzan on the American's 100th appearance for the club.

Villa were downed 4-1 on their last visit to the Liberty in April and in a bid to shake up his attack Lambert sent on striker Andreas Weimann to replace left-back Aly Cissokho for the second half

And in the 62nd minute he forced Swansea 'keeper Lukasz Fabianski into saving his left-footed shot from the right of the box.

Down at the other end, Sigurdsson almost turned provider, presenting Ki Sung-yueng with a chance to put Swansea further ahead but the South Korean sliced his shot wide.

In stoppage time, Christian Benteke almost nicked an equaliser, his header from the centre of the box only denied by good work from Fabianski.

The win pushed Swansea up a place into seventh, with Villa slipping a spot into 13th.

Everton suffer back-to-back defeats

Everton slumped to back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time this season as Stoke City came away with a 1-0 win at Goodison Park on Friday.

Having been humbled 3-1 at Southampton last Saturday, Everton were hoping to bounce back and make up ground on the top five, but a 38th minute penalty from Bojan Krkic sealed all three points for coach Mark Hughes on a return to one of his former clubs.

Bojan was fouled by James McCarthy and then stepped up to rifle home the spot-kick, right-footed into the bottom right-hand corner.

A number of injury delays in a physical first-half on a miserably cold, wet day on Merseyside led to almost 10 minutes being added on, but Stoke showed no sign of relinquishing their advantage, despite Everton having the lion's share of possession.

Martinez's side remained unable to show much intensity after the break, as Ross Barkley struck wide and Romelu Lukaku shot tamely to goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

There was more tough tackling before the end, though, with Gareth Barry being booked for clattering Steven Nzonzi and Stoke substitute Charlie Adam receiving the same punishment for bringing down Kevin Mirallas.

The result brought Everton's five-match unbeaten home run to an end and stemmed the slide for Stoke, who had taken just four points from a possible 18 in their previous six games.

Steven Naismith had a header cleared off the line, Kevin Mirallas passed up a decent-looking chance to equalise and Leighton Baines' drive was parried by Asmir Begovic, but Everton struggled overall to create much against a solid Stoke outfit.

In an inconsistent season, Everton have now lost three times at home and won only one of their last six league games.

Roberto Martinez's men slipped a place to 12th, with Stoke - following only their second victory in seven matches - replacing them in 11th.

City win to keep pressure on Chelsea

Manchester City kept the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea with a convincing 3-1 victory at West Bromwich Albion on Friday.

Fernando, Yaya Toure and David Silva were on the scoresheet as Manuel Pellegrini's second-placed side provided an emphatic response to Chelsea's win against West Ham earlier in the day.

It was a seventh successive win for the champions as they continued their excellent recent form and provided further evidence they remain firmly in the title race with just three points separating them from Chelsea.

They will have few easier games this campaign, however, after being gifted the initiative early on by a poor Baggies side and, such was City's dominance, they already had the game won by the time heavy snow started to make playing conditions difficult in the second half.

Alan Irvine's side, who scored a late consolation via Brown Ideye with his first Premier League goal, have now won just one of their last eight games and that sequence combined with their disappointing level of display, leaves the head coach's position under increasing pressure.

Midfielder James Milner again led City's attack for the Boxing Day trip in the absence of the injured Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko, with the fit-again Stevan Jovetic only ready to be named among the substitutes.

It made no difference, however, as Pellegrini's side raced into a two-goal lead within the opening 13 minutes.

Yet the Baggies had only themselves to blame after a pair of costly errors from two of their most experienced campaigners.

First, Ben Foster had a moment to forget in the eighth minute as he dropped what a appeared a routine Jesus Navas cross - gifting Fernando the simplest of finishes into the empty net.

Then five minutes later, Joleon Lescott - in his first appearance against the side he left for the Hawthorns in pre-season - mis-timed a challenge on Silva to hand the champions a penalty.

Toure made no mistake with the resulting spot-kick and, although Foster guessed the right way, the Ivory Coast midfielder's shot was precisely dispatched inside the left post to leave the goalkeeper with no chance.

So poor were their opponents, City looked capable of scoring every time they ventured forward and it was no surprise to see them add a third before the interval.

Fernando drove forward unopposed before slipping the ball out wide to Jesus Navas, he laid off neatly to Silva, on his inside, and the unmarked Spaniard curled expertly inside the far upright.

It was so straightforward for City that they were twice guilty of complacency moments later as Albion were gifted two gilt-edged opportunities.

First, a Toure challenge on Stephane Sessegnon inadvertently handed Craig Gardner a strike at goal only for the midfielder to fire straight at Joe Hart.

Then, just seconds later, James Morrison's slide-rule pass sent Saido Berahino through from the left channel yet he fired disappointingly wide.

City were capable of carving their opponents open at will and they came agonisingly close to a fourth when, after more slick combination play, Samir Nasri's shot deflected agonisingly wide.

With their next game against Burnley just 48 hours away, Pellegrini even had the luxury of being able to replace Silva just after the hour mark.

Lescott, who has admitted to disappointment at the way his five years at City ended despite winning the double with them last season, spurned a good chance when he headed over the crossbar.

Yet the home side pulled one back in scrappy circumstances with three minutes remaining when Hart flapped at a Baggies corner before the ball was inadvertently diverted goalwards by club-record signing Brown after a deflection off the back of Bacary Sagna's head.

Sterling strike gives Liverpool cheer

Raheem Sterling scored the winner as Liverpool won 1-0 at Burnley on Friday to end a three-game winless run and keep their opponents in the Premier League relegation zone.

It was a far from convincing performance by Brendan Rodgers's side and the outcome was tough on a Burnley team who lost at home for the first time in five outings.

But the result was all that mattered for Liverpool, whose position of 10th in the Premier League on Christmas Day was their lowest since 1992.

And it came thanks to Sterling, who, in the absence of the injured Daniel Sturridge and with the returning Mario Balotelli being trusted only with a place on the bench, is currently being asked to lead Liverpool's attack.

The 20-year-old had not scored in the league since September, but his superbly taken sixth goal of the season, 17 minutes into the second half, at least edged Liverpool closer to the top-four place Rodgers believes they are still capable of securing.

The last time Liverpool had visited Turf Moor, in 2010, a facile 4-0 win confirmed Burnley's relegation back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

But this time around, the Lancashire club look far better equipped to handle the top flight and in striker Danny Ings have a potential star in the making.

The England Under-21 international was instrumental in a dominant first-half performance by Sean Dyche's side, as Liverpool were made to look nothing like a team heading back in the right direction.

The three-man defence preferred by Rodgers in recent games was badly exposed, particularly down Liverpool's left side, where Mamadou Sakho and Lazar Markovic, who looked out of place as a wing-back, were targeted time and time again.

Liverpool also had to make an early change in goal, with Simon Mignolet, left out for the previous three games, replacing the injured Brad Jones after a quarter of an hour.

Moments earlier, Jones had been only a spectator as Ings shot against the foot of a post.

From virtually Mignolet's first touch, the Belgium international allowed Ings to charge down his attempted clearance, which did little to help bring any calm to Rodgers' jittery rearguard.

Burnley's energy and clever use of the ball frequently had Liverpool on the back foot and Ashley Barnes and George Boyd both threatened with efforts that went over the top.

Liverpool had offered little at the other end, despite the darting runs of Sterling, and it should have been the home side who led at the break.

Scott Arfield went close when his goal-bound volley was diverted just wide following a corner via a vital toe from Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva.

Rodgers made a change at the start of the second half, but did not alter his formation, as midfielder Emre Can replaced Kolo Toure in the back three.

It did little to add any authority to Liverpool's performance, but in Sterling they always have a potential match-winner.

The England international has not done his talent justice with sufficient goals this season, but when his side needed him to deliver, he duly did.

From Philippe Coutinho's lofted pass, Sterling sprinted away, rounded goalkeeper Tom Heaton, and finished calmly from a diminishing angle.

Burnley must have feared such an outcome after not being able to score themselves.

Their last hope of any reward disappeared when on-loan Manchester United defender Michael Keane headed into the side-netting from a Kieran Trippier cross following another mistake by Mignolet.

© Sapa - AFP

Eriksen keeps Spurs in top four chase

Tottenham claimed their third successive Premier League win as Christian Eriksen's free kick sealed a 2-1 success at bottom-of-the-table Leicester on Friday.

Mauricio Pochettino's side had goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to thank for an outstanding performance as Leicester dominated for long periods after Leonardo Ulloa cancelled out Harry Kane's first-minute opener for Spurs.

The north Londoners' gritty win means they are in sixth place and just two points behind Southampton in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish.

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson was serving a one-match touchline ban following his recent confrontation with a supporter and he watched his out-of-form team, now without a victory in 12 games, get off to the worst possible start.

Nabir Chadi's cross found Kane who coolly beat Wes Morgan before finishing well past Ben Hamer for his 14th goal of the season against the side he played for on loan two seasons ago.

Tottenham appeared to be in total control when Nabol Bentaleb fired wide after a fine run.

But Leicester were close to a leveller when Jeffrey Schlupp broke from his own penalty area and found Ulloa, whose spectacular volley was pushed over by Lloris.

From the resulting Riyad Mahrez corner Marcin Wasilewski headed over following David Nugent's flick-on.

Tottenham went close again when Eriksen forced Hamer into a save while at the other end Danny Drinkwater dragged a shot wide.

The visitors should have made it 2-0 just past the half hour with Bentaleb running through but Paul Konchesky raced back to make a last-ditch tackle.

Leicester continued to threaten and Schlupp's shot deflected into the hands of Lloris before Ulloa drove wide after a well-worked move involving Drinkwater.

Mahrez saw his left-footed effort well saved by Lloris as the hosts started to turn the screw, and Ulloa then headed against the post from Mahrez's inch-perfect cross.

Tottenham, though, could have scored a second in first-half stoppage-time with Kane heading Erik Lamela's free kick fractionally wide.

Nugent had the first chance for the hosts after the break as he volleyed over following a long kick by Hamer.

The hosts were level on 48 minutes as Danny Simpson's deflected pass fell nicely to Mahrez who beat Bentaleb before crossing for Ulloa who flicked home his seventh goal of the season.

Within moments Mahrez had struck the bar with a 25-yard free kick as Leicester looked to have swung the game their way.

Leicester continued to press with Schlupp's low cross well held by Lloris as the cold and wet conditions became more treacherous.

Lloris came to Tottenham's rescue again when he saved a powerful Schlupp drive but Tottenham took the lead against the run of play on 71 minutes.

Eriksen's low free kick from 25 yards beat Hamer at his near post, finding the net via the woodwork for his seventh of the season.

Kane struck the side-netting shortly afterwards with another long range effort but Leicester continued to attack with Drinkwater's left-foot drive going just wide and Mahrez blazing over from Schlupp's cross.

Substitute Jamie Vardy then headed Mahrez's free kick just over and Wes Morgan was unable to scramble home another Mahrez cross.

Lloris kept out another Morgan header from Anthony Knockaert's corner, but Leicester could not a force an equaliser despite Hamer going up for two late corners.

Mourinho appeases Chelsea players

Jose Mourinho was purring like a cat that had devoured the leftovers from Christmas dinner but it did not stop him showing his professional claws after his Chelsea side eased past West Ham United 2-0 on Friday.

Not content with basking in the glow of one of Chelsea's best 90-minute performances of the season, the single-minded Portuguese coach ordered his players to do two light training session in 24 hours to prepare for Sunday's trip to Southampton.

"I had two training sessions planned for tomorrow but my players are crying so much in the dressing room that I decided to make a change," Mourinho joked to reporters after his team remained three points clear at the top of the Premier League.

"They are training now and tomorrow they will have only one session."

The crammed festive programme means Chelsea are in the middle of a run of five fixtures in 14 days and Mourinho acknowledged it was a tough schedule for every team in the league.

"My players are human, Southampton's are human, so it will be very difficult for us, very difficult for them, very difficult for West Ham against Arsenal on Sunday, very difficult for everybody but we have to do it," he added.

"But before this match I had the same feeling I always have on a Boxing Day, I was so proud. We get the salaries we get because people are in love with the game so if people want football we must give them football and I'm so happy to do it."

Chelsea dominated from start to finish against West Ham and it was only an inspired goalkeeping performance from Adrian that kept the scoreline respectable for the visitors.

Captain John Terry was on target in the first half with his second goal in five days, tapping the ball in from close range after a towering Diego Costa header from a corner.

Costa made the points safe when he latched on to a pass from livewire winger Eden Hazard and planted a left-foot shot into the bottom corner of the net for his 13th league goal of the season.

Chelsea went close to winning the title last term but Mourinho believes this season's vintage is a vastly improved side.

"We are a much better team when we have the ball," he said. "Last year we were very strong defensively and very well organised but we lacked a bit of creativity when we had the ball.

Cherries stay top after Fulham stroll

Bournemouth remain on course for the Premier League after the surprise Championship leaders cruised to a 2-0 win over Fulham on Friday.

Eddie Howe's team maintained their one-point lead over second-placed Ipswich as goals from Brett Pitman and Harry Arter saw off Fulham at Dean Court.

The Cherries have now won nine successive second tier matches and were always in control from the moment Pitman sent a glancing header into the top corner past Marcus Bettinelli from Matt Ritchie's eighth-minute cross.

Five minutes after the break Bournemouth wasted a gift-wrapped chance to double their lead from the penalty spot.

Callum Wilson's pace took him in from the left before Jack Grimmer bought him down.

But Pitman drilled his spot-kick straight at Fulham goalkeeper Bettinelli.

Arter clinched the points in stoppage-time when he ran deep into Fulham territory before sending a left-foot shot into the bottom corner.

"The challenge for us going forward is to stay there. Everyone wants to knock us off," Howe said.

"We are a scalp now. We faced that situation in the past couple of weeks now. We're a lot more well-known now, so the element of surprise has gone.

"But we were always going to have to cross that bridge and the players are going to come under more pressure now in different ways."

Ipswich continued their charge for automatic promotion with a 4-2 win at Brentford.

A brace from Daryl Murphy and one apiece from Paul Anderson and Tommy Smith were too much the fifth-placed Bees.

Brentford substitute Sam Saunders added some respectability to the scoreline with two late strikes, but it was always a canter for the Tractor Boys as they picked up their 12th league win of the season.

"To get a start like that against a team that's been dominant at home gives you a major advantage," Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy said.

"Brentford are a really good team and they were pressing to get back in the game, took chances and left Murph one-on-one which is always a mistake."

Derby are in third place, two points behind Ipswich, after goals from Jordon Ibe, Chris Martin, Craig Forsyth and Johnny Russell clinched a 4-0 win at Birmingham.

Middlesbrough scored three times in the second half to record a 3-0 win over 10-man Nottingham Forest in front of their biggest home crowd in five years at the Riverside Stadium.

An attendance of 32 277 turned out as the Teessiders bounced back from their defeat at Ipswich last week with an impressive display against Stuart Pearce's side, who have now gone five games without a win.

After a goalless first half, George Friend, Jelle Vossen and Grant Leadbitter all found the net to keep Boro fourth, while Forest defender Kelvin Wilson was dismissed midway through the second half.

Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey scored his first goal in England for 40 months as Bolton came from behind to beat Blackburn 2-1.

Heskey, who recently had an unsuccessful trial with Blackburn, netted just 14 minutes into his Wanderers debut before Darren Pratley's second goal in a week extended Wanderers' unbeaten run to eight games.

Elsewhere, Norwich boosted their challenge for a play-off place with a 6-1 thrashing of Millwall at Carrow Road.

Inigo Calderon hit a 90th minute equaliser to give managerless Brighton a 2-2 draw against Reading, who blew a two-goal lead given to them by former Seagulls forward Glenn Murray inside 26 minutes.

Sheffield Wednesday beat Blackpool 1-0, Wigan won 2-0 at Leeds, Rotherham drew 2-2 with Huddersfield and Charlton drew 1-1 with Cardiff.

Ramirez fires Hull out of danger

Gaston Ramirez scored one goal and made another as Hull City escaped the Premier League relegation zone by coming from behind to win 3-1 at Sunderland on Friday.

Adam Johnson had put Newcastle United to the sword with a last-minute winner last weekend and he gave Sunderland the edge against another of their north-east rivals with a first-minute opener at the Stadium of Light.

But on-loan Uruguayan playmaker Ramirez equalised with a speculative 32nd-minute shot and then crossed for James Chester to head Hull in front before substitute Nikica Jelavic added a third in stoppage time.

It gave Hull manager Steve Bruce a much-needed victory over his former club, after a run of 10 games without a win that had seen last season's beaten FA Cup finalists slide into the drop zone.

Gus Poyet's Sunderland remain 14th, four points above the bottom three.

While Poyet made two changes, bringing in Billy Jones for Wes Brown and Ricardo Alvarez for the suspended Connor Wickham, Bruce shuffled his pack.

In came five new faces, with Curtis Davies, Liam Rosenior, Stephen Quinn, Robbie Brady and Sone Aluko coming replacing Andy Robertson, the suspended Jake Livermore, Abel Hernandez and Jelavic.

It seemed to little avail as Johnson struck after only 30 seconds, intercepting Davies's under-hit back-pass and rounding Allan McGregor before walking the ball over the line.

But Ramirez equalised 13 minutes before halftime, taking aim from 25 yards with a shot that skipped off a bobble and left Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon clutching thin air.

Sunderland had a succession of strong penalty appeals waved away by Andre Marriner before halftime, with Alex Bruce and then Quinn appearing to handle the ball inside the Hull box.

And six minutes into the second half, Hull completed the turnaround when Chester met Ramirez's corner with a powerful near-post header.

With Sunderland pushing forward, Jelavic killed the game off in the sixth minute of injury time, dropping his shoulder and drilling a low shot past Pantilimon.

LVG rewarded for Christmas offering

Louis van Gaal's carrot and stick approach worked wonders on Friday as his rapidly-improving Manchester United beat Newcastle United 3-1 to cement third spot in the Premier League.

A double from Wayne Rooney before halftime and another goal by Robin van Persie after the break earned a confortable three points and fully justified Van Gaal's decision to give his players the day off with their families on Christmas Day.

"It's a fantastic Christmas because we dominated for 90 minutes, we didnt't give away many chances and we created plenty," the Dutch coach told the BBC.

"I don't think giving the players the day off was strange. It's a very important day for families in England and it's only one training session. Anyway, the substitutes are all doing a training session now."

United's seventh win in eight league games, the other was drawn, underlined their improvement since a sticky start to the season which often left Van Gaal looking grumpy.

He had lots to smile about on Friday although, just like Scrooge, he was not handing out too many Christmas presents.

"No. Because we also did a lot of bad things, I have to say that," the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach said with almost a smile.

"You saw their penalty. It was a throw for us. That's not possible. We gave that goal away again so we can improve."

Papiss Cisse's consolation from the spot failed to take the shine off an impressive United display though.

Rooney, revelling in a roaming midfield role, put United in front from Radamel Falcao's cross and added a second after good work by Juan Mata.

England marksman Rooney could not complete his hat-trick but did set up Van Persie after the break.

"Against Aston Villa (on Saturday) Rooney was a little bit too defensive and I asked for him to be more attacking," Van Gaal said. "He then scores two goals and gets an assist. What more can you demand as a manager?

"We are improving every match and that's the most important thing. It's a process and the process is not for one day, the process is for a year and we are seeing that Manchester is better every week."

United next visit sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Adriano set to join French side

Former Inter Milan and Brazil striker Adriano is set to revive his troubled career at the oldest French professional club after second division Le Havre struck a deal to sign him.

The 32-year-old Adriano, whose career has fallen apart in recent years due to disciplinary problems, wished a "Merry Christmas to (his) new fans at Le Havre" on his Twitter feed.

The Ligue 2 club confirmed they had an agreement, adding that it would be effective only once the club's takeover by French businessman Christophe Maillol is completed.

"The deal is subject to the transfer of Christophe Maillol's funds to Le Havre bank accounts and the validation (of the takeover) by the French financial body," they said on their website (www.hac-foot.com).

Adriano was once one of Brazil's most prolific strikers, recording 29 goals in 52 internationals and helping them win the Copa America in 2004 and the Confederations Cup in 2005, alongside Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos.

He won four consecutive Serie A titles with Inter Milan, earning the nickname "The Emperor" among Italian fans, but has struggles since, spending short spells at five different teams since 2010 amid allegations of binge eating and drinking.

Neuer cautious over award prospects

Germany's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer on Friday played down his prospects of securing the World Player of the Year award over holder Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

"I'm certainly not favourite," the Bayern Munich star told German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.

"The other two are international 'marques', they've clearly got an advantage."

If Neuer does receive the Ballon d'Or he will be the first of his countrymen to do so since Lothar Matthaus in 1990 and only the second goalkeeper after Lev Yashin, of the then Soviet Union, in 1963.

For Germany coach Joachim Loew, the 28-year-old would be a worthy recipient.

"Manuel deserves this reward, he's taken the game to a new dimension," Loew told domestic news agency SID, subsidiary to AFP.

Neuer, Ronaldo, who has claimed the Fifa honour twice, and Messi, a four-time winner, are the three finalists for the 2014 Ballon d'Or with the winner announced on January 12.