Manchester City suffered a surprise 4-1 defeat by
Liverpool while Jamie Vardy equalled a Premier League goalscoring record to
leave Leicester as the shock leaders of English football's top-flight on
Saturday.
City started the late kick-off match at their Eastlands
ground knowing victory would see them go top on a day when the Premier League
paid tribute to the victims of the Paris terror attacks.
But instead Manuel Pellegrini's men found themselves
3-0 down inside 32 minutes after an Eliaquim Mangala own-goal preceded two
sweeping Liverpool moves finished by the Brazilian pair of Phillippe Coutinho
and Roberto Firmino respectively.
City pulled a goal back before the interval through
Sergio Aguero's 20-yard effort, but Jurgen Klopp's visitors had the last word
when Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel struck nine minutes from time.
England striker Vardy equalled Ruud van Nistelrooy's
record of scoring in 10 consecutive Premier League games for his club by
netting Leicester's opener in a 3-0 win over Newcastle during first-half
stoppage-time at St James' Park.
However, Vardy is still short of all the time English
top-flight record for goals in an unbroken run of 12 club matches set by Jimmy
Dunne of Sheffield United in the old First Division during the 1931/32 season.
Few would have tipped former non-league forward Vardy,
who scored just four goals last term, or Leicester to hit the heights they have
both achieved this season.
Leonardo Ulloa headed in the Foxes' second goal in the
62nd minute before Japanese substitute Shinji Okazaki assured Italian manager
Claudio Ranieri's side of victory seven minutes from time.
Arsenal, who could have gone top themselves, suffered
a shock 2-1 loss away to West Bromwich Albion.
It was just their third league defeat this season and
hardly ideal preparation for their must-win Champions League group match at
home to Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.
The Gunners took a 28th-minute lead through France
striker Olivier Giroud but found themselves 2-1 down before half-time after
James Morrison and an own-goal from Mikel Arteta put the Baggies in front.
Santi Cazorla had a chance to equalise late on but
blasted a penalty over the crossbar.
Champions Chelsea eased the pressure on manager Jose
Mourinho with just their fourth win in 13 league matches this season as they
beat Norwich 1-0 thanks to Diego Costa's 64th-minute goal at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester United made it eight games unbeaten in all
competitions with a 2-1 win away to Watford in Saturday's early kick-off - the
first Premier League match since the Paris terror attacks of November 13 which
killed 130 people.
'La Marseillaise', France's national anthem, was
played before kick-off at Vicarage Road as a mark of respect in a gesture that
was repeated ahead of all of Saturday's Premier League matches.
Watford captain Troy Deeney appeared to have gained a
point for the home side with an 87th-minute penalty only to deflect Bastian
Schewinsteiger's stoppage-time effort into his own net after United had taken
the lead through Memphis Depay.
Everton ensured Aston Villa stayed bottom of the table
with a 4-0 win at Goodison Park, with Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku scoring
two goals apiece.
Stoke striker Bojan Krkic gave his side a 1-0 win away
to Southampton while Swansea came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at home to
Bournemouth, a heartening result for under-fire manager Garry Monk
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