• Premier League round-up

Chelsea and Liverpool draw, Spurs hit back against City

ESPN staff
April 21, 2013
Luis Suarez had the final say after heading in a last-second equaliser to snatch the win away from Chelsea © PA Photos
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Rafael Benitez was denied a win on his return to Anfield as Liverpool drew 2-2 with Chelsea, while Tottenham staged a late fight back to get the better of Manchester City 3-1 at White Hart Lane.

With Arsenal winning on Saturday and applying the pressure by going above Chelsea and Tottenham, the latter two clubs knew they had to win to continue the fight for a place in next season's Champions League. Spurs did what they had to do, but Luis Suarez salvaged a point for Liverpool in the final few seconds to snatch victory away from Chelsea.

Chelsea went in front after Oscar headed in Juan Mata's corner as Daniel Agger was the guilty player who was tasked with marking the Chelsea man but dropped concentration for a split second.

Liverpool could easily have found themselves two goals down at the break when Pepe Reina fumbled David Luiz's free-kick. And down the other end, the home side were denied by Petr Cech when Suarez fired a shot straight at him.

Brendan Rodgers would have given his Liverpool players a stern talking to at the break, and the manager threw on Daniel Sturridge, with the former Chelsea man inspiring his team-mates at the start of the second half.

First, he fed in captain Steven Gerrard - who was thwarted by Cech's foot - and then smashed the post from a long-range effort.

The pressure was beginning to tell, and Liverpool were soon on level terms. Sturridge capped off his impact by calmly finishing when Suarez spotted his strike partner with a brilliant lofted ball over the Chelsea defence.

All of Liverpool's hard work was soon undone when Suarez clumsily handled in the penalty area, and Hazard stepped up to send Reina the wrong way to guide Chelsea into the lead once again.

Suarez was fortunate to remain on the pitch when he bit the arm of Branislav Ivanovic, but the Uruguayan would have the final say by heading in the equaliser with virtually the final moment of the game.

Tottenham struck three times in the space of seven second-half minutes as they overturned a 1-0 deficit to defeat Manchester City 3-1 at White Hart Lane.

Trailing to Samir Nasri's early goal, Tottenham with 15 minutes remaining flicked the switch and blasted their way to a vital victory which keeps them in the hunt for Champions League football next season as they are now just one point behind Chelsea in fourth spot.

The defeat for City means if Manchester United collect a point against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Monday night they will clinch their 20th league title.

After bitter North London rivals Arsenal opened up a five-point gap, it was imperative Tottenham made a positive start to the match. However, they endured the opposite as City silenced the home crowd by going a goal in front with only five minutes on the clock.

Carlos Tevez was the architect down by the corner flag. Seemingly pinned in with nowhere to go, the Argentinian played in James Milner, who cut the ball back to Nasri in the penalty area to allow the Frenchman to divert his well-controlled shot into the back of the net.

City's counter-attack play was putting the pressure on Spurs, and Andre Villas-Boas' men tried to conjure up an immediate equaliser.

However, City were value for their lead as Tottenham could not mount a challenge on Hart, with England's No. 1 having a relatively comfortable first half.

City were in control, but Tottenham raised their game and battled in the second period. Clint Dempsey netted the equaliser in the 75th minute, sliding in from close range after being picked out from a wonderful cross with the outside of his foot from Gareth Bale, with City captain Vincent Kompany caught out.

The lacklustre Emmanuel Adebayor was replaced by Jermain Defoe, and the substitute made an immediate impact as he cut inside onto his right foot and fired his shot beyond the outstretched Joe Hart.

Bale would stamp his mark on the tie late on by completing the Spurs blitz, neatly lifting the ball over Hart in Lionel Messi style to seal the victory.

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