City stunned by Crystal Palace at home; Chelsea go down too
Crystal Palace players celebrate a goal against Manchester City
Manchester City slumped to a second defeat in three Premier League games to hand Liverpool an early Christmas present in the title race as Crystal Palace shocked the Etihad with a 3-2 win on Saturday.
Chelsea were also stunned at home by Jamie Vardy's winner for Leicester City in a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge to allow Arsenal to move level on points with their London rivals in fourth after a 3-1 win over Burnley.
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Liverpool stay on top
Liverpool opened up a four-point lead at the top with a highly impressive 2-0 win at Wolves on Friday to extend their unbeaten start to the campaign. And City failed to cut the gap as they dropped points at home for the first time this season despite going ahead through Ilkay Gundogan's header.
Manchester City players are dejected after Crystal Palace's opening goal at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Pics/AFP
Jeffrey Schlupp levelled for Palace against the run of play just after the half-hour mark and two minutes later Andros Townsend thumped a stunning volley into the top corner from well outside the area. Pep Guardiola summoned Sergio Aguero from the bench soon after the break, but City had a mountain to climb when Kyle Walker chopped down Max Meyer and Luka Milivojevic dispatched the resulting penalty.
Kevin De Bruyne was also thrown on to try and turn the game around and his intended cross that flew in off the post brought City back into the game five minutes from time. But despite incessant pressure, the champions could not find an equaliser to hand Liverpool a huge boost ahead of their trip to City on January 3.
Chelsea were also beaten at Stamford Bridge for the first time under Maurizio Sarri as Vardy fired home James Maddison's pass to give the Foxes their first victory in five games.
Aubameyang shines for Arsenal
Defeat for the Blues allowed Arsenal to close on a top-four finish as two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang beat Burnley 3-1 in a bad-tempered clash. Mesut Ozil made his return to Unai Emery's starting line-up in the Premier League for the first time since November 11 and helped set up Aubameyang's opener.
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