Premier League leaders Manchester City and nearest
challengers Arsenal were both held to draws on Sunday as they each dropped
points in the title race.
City, surprisingly, could only manage a goalless draw
away to bottom-of-the-table Aston Villa, the Birmingham club marking new French
manager Remi Garde's first match in charge with a point that owed much to a
fine display by goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
Arsenal, who kicked off later on Sunday, knew that if
they beat arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby they would
leapfrog City, who they still trail on goal difference, at the top of the table
with a victory at the Emirates Stadium.
But instead they had to make do with a 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile, Liverpool suffered their first defeat in
seven games under new manager Jurgen Klopp with a 2-1 loss at home to Crystal
Palace.
Manuel Pellegrini lost the services of Wilfried Bony
to a hamstring injury and then watched in frustration as City failed to make
their second-half domination count in a match where Villa ended a dismal run of
seven successive defeats.
City had to operate without a recognised frontman for
more than an hour, although Raheem Sterling, Kevin de Bruyne and Fernando all
wasted gilt-edged chances to secure victory in the closing stages at Villa
Park.
A delighted Garde, appointed after Villa sacked former
manager Tim Sherwood, told the BBC. "It was a nice experience and a
fantastic atmosphere. It was a tough game. I can be very happy with my team
today.
"Making sure we were well organised defensively
was my priority," the former Arsenal and France midfielder added.
City were left ruing the missed chances, and the
continued absence of Sergio Aguero.
"Of course we're frustrated," said City
manager Pellegrini. "We deserved to win the game.
"They (Villa) had one shot in the whole game. I
was happy with the way we played, especially in the second half but we were
unlucky not to score."
At the Emirates, Arsenal fell behind to a 32nd-minute
goal from Spurs' Harry Kane, who got on the end of a clever ball over the top
from Danny Rose and went past Laurent Koscielny, mistakenly trying to play the
England forward offside, before rolling a shot across Petr Cech.
At that stage, Arsenal hadn't managed a single shot on
target and they had to wait until the 77th minute to draw level when substitute
Kieran Gibbs bundled in a volley at the far post from Mesut Ozil's cross,
although Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris ought to have saved the shot.
In the mid-table clash at Anfield, visitors Palace
went ahead when Yannick Bolasie scored from 12 yards in the 21st minute.
Liverpool, however, were level shortly before the
interval through Brazil playmaker Philippe Coutinho's close-range effort.
Palace bounced back to score the winner eight minutes
from time when Liverpool-born Scott Dann saw his header from a corner blocked
by Reds goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, only for the Eagles defender to nod in the
rebound.
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