Arsenal boost top-four bid with win

Arsenal withstood a second-half onslaught from West Ham to boost their Champions League charge with a 2-1 victory at Upton Park on Sunday.

Arsene Wenger's side secured their second successive win over the festive period to move up to fifth in the Premier League, behind fourth placed Southampton only on goal difference.

West Ham, surprise contenders for the coveted European places, had been punching above their weight all season but back-to-back defeats have dented their challenge heading into 2015.

They were undone by two goals in three minutes late in the first half by Santi Cazorla and Danny Welbeck.

Senegal midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate scored his first West Ham goal to give the hosts renewed hope in the second half but, despite mounting pressure, the Gunners held on for a hard-fought win.

West Ham midfielder Alex Song thought he had opened the scoring against his old club in the sixth minute.

Song's 25-yard shot through a crowd left Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny stranded, but his view was obstructed by two West Ham players standing in an offside position.

Replays suggested the assistant referee had made the right call but Song protested angrily following the decision.

Wenger had opted to call up French centre-back Laurent Koscielny to help combat the aerial power of burly West Ham striker Andy Carroll.

But Carroll shrugged off the attentions of Koscielny before the former Liverpool player saw his low shot scrambled clear.

Arsenal had barely got out of their own half but Alexis Sanchez sparked them into life when he was afforded too much room before driving a deflected shot just wide of Adrian's left-hand post.

West Ham were still in control with James Tomkins wasting a glorious chance when he blazed over from a good position.

But the Hammers would regret not taking their chances as Arsenal opened the scoring through Cazorla in the 41st minute.

Cazorla was tripped up by Winston Reid's trailing leg for a clear penalty which the Spanish midfielder calmly converted.

And it went from bad to worse for the hosts as Welbeck struck two minutes later.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross saw the England striker have the simple task of slotting in at the far post in the 44th minute.

Stewart Downing should have done better than shoot wide just before the break as West Ham tried to respond.

But just eight minutes into the second-half, Kouyate gave Allardyce's men a lifeline.

Tomkins found room to deliver a cross and Kouyate rose above Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy to scramble his header home.

The hosts dominated possession as they pressed for an equaliser, but West Ham's Adrian was the busier goalkeeper.

He kept out Cazorla's shot and then denied Oxlade-Chamberlain's 74th minute header.

Sanchez and Welbeck wasted chances to give Arsenal some precious breathing space but, despite a surviving a scare when Enner Valencia headed over in the final attack of the game, the visitors held on.

Barnes thunderbolt keeps City trailing

Ashley Barnes's dramatic 81st-minute equaliser earned struggling Burnley a 2-2 draw at Manchester City on Sunday, preventing the defending champions from closing on Premier League leaders Chelsea.

First-half goals from David Silva and Fernandinho had apparently put Manuel Pellegrini's side well in control as they attempted to close the gap behind Chelsea to a solitary point.

But with influential City midfielder Yaya Toure absent, presumably rested, goals from George Boyd and Barnes earned Burnley an improbable draw and denied Pellegrini's side a club-record 10th consecutive win.

The supposed gulf in class between the sides was highlighted by the manner of City's opening goal in the 23rd minute, as Silva finished clinically to register his fourth goal in the last three games.

It came from a darting run down the right by the energetic Jesus Navas, who reached the dead-ball line and pulled the ball back for Silva.

The former Valencia player switched feet neatly, swivelled and sent an unstoppable finish past Tom Heaton in the Burnley goal.

Yet the goal followed a promising flurry of attacking activity from the visitors.

Kieran Trippier's cross into the box was just missed by Danny Ings, Dean Marney shot straight at Joe Hart and Ings was guilty of a wasteful 22-yard attempt when there were better options available.

It was not difficult to see why Burnley had scored just 12 goals in their previous 18 league games and the contest looked likely to follow the form book despite City starting without an orthodox forward.

The stand-in 'false nine' James Milner shot over from six yards, Martin Demichelis had an effort blocked by Jason Shackell from similar distance and Navas's angled drive rose over the bar before the opening goal.

Once again without the predatory Sergio Aguero in their side, City turned to an unlikely source for their second goal in the 33rd minute.

The visiting defence stood off the hosts on the edge of their own area, allowing Samir Nasri to move the ball along to Fernandinho.

With time and space, the Brazil midfielder switched the ball to his right foot and deposited a magnificent shot in off the underside of the crossbar from a step outside the 18-yard box.

With leaders Chelsea having earlier drawn 1-1 at Southampton, this appeared a perfect opportunity for City to close the gap and improve their goal difference.

But City were hugely disappointing, and Burnley much improved almost immediately from kick-off in the second half.

Pablo Zabaleta failed to tackle Ings and the forward's low, driven shot was glanced into the goal by Boyd, despite replays suggesting the Scotland international did so from an offside position.

Had Ings's first touch not let him down moments later as he attempted to carry Barnes's through ball towards goal, Burnley might have claimed an equaliser even earlier.

Instead, Heaton was required to keep his team in the contest with a one-handed save at the foot of his right-hand post from Nasri.

Unmoved, Shackell headed just over and Ings shot narrowly wide for the visitors, prompting Pellegrini to bring on Stevan Jovetic and Frank Lampard.

Neither move improved matters greatly and Scott Arfield wasted a glorious chance to equalise after 78 minutes when his shot was blocked by Demichelis from only six yards.

No matter for Burnley. Within two minutes, Shackell's long free-kick into the City area was poorly defended and the ball rebounded kindly for Barnes to lash a deadly 12-yard shot into the top-left corner.

Diouf double keeps West Brom in trouble

Senegal's Mame Biram Diouf scored twice as Stoke City sharpened the focus on West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Irvine with a 2-0 win in the Premier League on Sunday.

Former Manchester United striker Diouf struck twice in 15 second-half minutes at the Britannia Stadium to give Stoke back-to-back wins for the first time this season after Friday's 1-0 success at Everton.

It was a third defeat in a row for West Brom, who have won only once in nine games, and follows Irvine's admission that he feared for his job at the Hawthorns.

The defeat saw Irvine's side fall one place to 16th and left them just a point above the relegation zone ahead of a trip to high-flying West Ham United on New Year's Day.

While Stoke manager Mark Hughes made only one change, replacing Jonathan Walters with Peter Crouch, Irvine drafted Brown Ideye, Chris Brunt, Graham Dorrans and Chris Baird into his starting XI.

The visitors enjoyed the best of the first half but it was Stoke who went closest to breaking the deadlock, with Bojan Krkic fizzing a shot narrowly wide in the 14th minute.

Bojan has been one of Stoke's most impressive performers in recent weeks and he was the catalyst for the home side's opening goal in the 51st minute.

The former Barcelona forward sprayed a pass wide to Erik Pieters on the Stoke left and the Dutch full-back's low cross was in turned in by Diouf via a slight deflection off Joleon Lescott.

Irvine responded with a double change, sending on Saido Berahino and Silvestre Varela, and saw his side hit the woodwork when Gareth McAuley stabbed a shot against the post following a goal-mouth scramble.

But in the 66th minute Diouf claimed his second goal when he fortuitously deflected a shot from Marko Arnautovic past Ben Foster to leave Irvine cursing his luck once again.

Cisse compounds Everton's woes

Senegalese striker Papiss Cisse kept up his impressive scoring record to inspire Newcastle United as they came from behind to beat Everton 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.

Cisse's fifth goal in six games sparked the recovery after Arouna Kone had found the net on his full Premier League debut for Roberto Martinez's Everton, an injury-ravaged 18 months after joining from Wigan Athletic.

Cisse levelled before the interval and second-half goals from Ayoze Perez and Jack Colback enabled Alan Pardew's men to end a four-game losing streak.

Substitute Kevin Mirallas gave Everton hope by reducing the arrears in the 84th minute from Leighton Baines's through-ball, but it was not enough to prevent Everton sliding to a third straight defeat.

The Merseyside club have won just once in their last seven league games, losing five.

Martinez made seven changes to the team beaten 1-0 by Stoke City on Boxing Day, notably handing a top-flight debut to England youth defender Luke Garbutt, and saw Everton take a fifth-minute lead.

Aiden McGeady's channel ball cut out Yoan Gouffran and found Seamus Coleman making progress down the right. The Irishman sent over an inviting low cross and Kone swept home confidently from six yards.

It was the Ivory Coast international's first goal since May 2013, his Goodison Park career having stalled after he suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out for most of last season.

Moussa Sissoko spurned a clear opening to draw Newcastle level, a heavy first touch allowing keeper Joel Robles to block as the midfielder bore down on goal from a Cisse flick.

But the hosts drew level 11 minutes before the break, as their increasing pressure finally told.

Cheick Tiote swapped passes with Colback and sent over a deep cross that Mike Williamson hooked back to Cisse, who made no mistake from close range.

Cisse was perhaps fortunate to still be on the field at that point, having earlier caught Coleman in the throat with a flailing arm in an off-the-ball incident that went unseen by the match officials.

Pardew's side ended the half in the ascendency, and it took a fine block from Sylvain Distin to deny Daryl Janmaat as the Dutch international latched onto Paul Dummett's knock-down from a Perez centre.

Robles produced a fine save low to his left to keep out a Gouffran effort early in the second half, but Newcastle did not have to wait long before taking a 51st-minute lead.

As with the first goal, Tiote was prominent in the build-up, finding Perez on the edge of the Everton area.

The Spaniard turned and threaded a low shot through the legs of his marker Coleman and into the bottom-left corner past a rooted Robles.

Samuel Eto'o should have equalised just after the hour, but the former Cameroon striker wasted some determined approach play from Baines by firing the defender's low cross wastefully over.

They were made to pay with 23 minutes left as Newcastle stretched their advantage through Colback's first goal for the club.

Janmaat's ball into the Everton area should have easily been cut out by Ross Barkley.

But the substitute allowed the pass to reach Colback, a close-season signing from neighbours Sunderland, who rolled a left-foot shot past Robles.

Cisse almost made it four soon after, only to be denied by Robles, but despite Mirallas giving the visitors hope, it was to prove immaterial.

Lloris shines as Spurs, United draw

Leaders Chelsea and second-place Manchester City both succumbed to post-Christmas hangovers on Sunday as the two pace-setters dropped points in the Premier League title race.

Chelsea drew 1-1 at Southampton, which presented City with a chance to close to within a point of the summit, but the champions fluffed their lines by blowing a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at home to second-bottom Burnley.

The results preserved the status quo at the top, where Chelsea lead City by three points ahead of the New Year's Day programme.

Chelsea fell behind in the 17th minute at fourth-place Southampton when Dusan Tadic freed Sadio Mane, who coolly headed the ball away from John Terry before lobbing Thibaut Courtois.

Eden Hazard equalised in first-half injury time, scampering onto Cesc Fabregas's pass down the left wing and cutting inside two defenders before firing home with his right foot.

But despite Southampton losing Morgan Schneiderlin for two bookable offences in the closing stages, Jose Mourinho's side were unable to find a winner, two days on from their classy 2-0 win over West Ham United.

The closest they came was a shot from Hazard that flashed wide, while Fabregas was contentiously booked for diving when he went down in the Southampton box after apparently being caught by 19-year-old Matthew Targett.

Chelsea manager Mourinho complained that his players were being unfairly treated by referees following a recent spate of diving accusations.

"The reality is there are penalties and penalties – this one was a huge one," he told Sky Sports.

"Match after match, coaches are saying Chelsea players are diving. I will go to the referee and wish him a good year and tell him he will be ashamed."

At the Etihad Stadium, David Silva put City ahead in the 23rd minute and Samir Nasri teed up Fernandinho to crash home a stunning second goal from the edge of the box 10 minutes later.

But Burnley replied through George Boyd early in the second half, the Scottish forward tapping in a cross from Danny Ings, before Ashley Barnes slammed in an equaliser from 15 yards with nine minutes to play.

"It was a big opportunity to get two more points. Everybody would think the game was over, but I always say it is never over until the last minute," said City manager Manuel Pellegrini.

"We have 43 points. We have the second half of the season to decide who is the best team."

Burnley are now in the bottom three on goal difference alone.

Third-place Manchester United had earlier squandered an opportunity to put pressure on the top two after being held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur.

Louis van Gaal's side created a string of chances, with Juan Mata hitting the post and Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris producing a number of excellent saves, but had to settle for a point.

The draw extended United's unbeaten run to nine games, but left them 10 points below Chelsea and seven behind City, while Tottenham finished the day five points further back in seventh place.

"We lost two points I think," United manager Van Gaal told BT Sport.

"We had the best performance of Manchester United this season in the first half. We could have scored four or five goals and we didn't reward ourselves."

With the teams above them dropping points, Arsenal capitalised by leapfrogging West Ham into fifth place with a 2-1 victory at Upton Park.

Santi Cazorla put Arsenal in front with a 41st-minute penalty and three minutes later Danny Welbeck prodded in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's low cross to make it 2-0.

Cheikhou Kouyate headed in for West Ham early in the second half, but Arsene Wenger's side survived a late onslaught to record a win that took them level on points with Southampton.

Liverpool now trail the top four by eight points ahead of their home game with Swansea City on Monday.

Elsewhere, Everton slumped to a third straight defeat, losing 3-2 at Newcastle United, who prevailed through goals from Papiss Cisse, Ayoze Perez and Jack Colback.

Crystal Palace began life without sacked manager Neil Warnock by drawing 0-0 at Queens Park Rangers, which kept the Selhurst Park club in the bottom three.

Bottom team Leicester City gave their chances of avoiding relegation a shot in the arm by winning 1-0 at Hull City, with Riyad Mahrez's 32nd-minute strike leaving his side three points from safety.

Late red cards for Leicester's Paul Konchesky and Hull's Stephen Quinn meant that both sides finished the game with 10 men.

Senegalese striker Mame Biram Diouf scored twice as Stoke City beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0, while Fabian Delph was sent off for a foul on Jordi Gomez as Aston Villa drew 0-0 at home to Sunderland.

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.