Sports

Brighton stun City; Manchester City Chelsea beat Leicester

Sentinel Digital Desk

LONDON: Brighton & Hove Albion scored three times in the second half to fight back from two goals down and beat Manchester City 3-2 at home on Tuesday in a thrilling Premier League encounter in which the champions lost Joao Cancelo to an early red card.

Ilkay Gundogan struck in the second minute, heading home a superb cross from Riyad Mahrez to briefly silence just under 8,000 Brighton fans who had been allowed to return to the stands following over a year away due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cancelo saw red in the 10th minute for a clumsy challenge on Danny Welbeck, but City struck again three minutes into the second half as Phil Foden won the ball inside his own half and out-sprinted the Brighton defence before slotting home his 15th goal of the season in all competitions.

Brighton's amazing comeback began almost immediately, with substitute Leandro Trossard dribbling across the box and drilling the ball in at the far post as the Seagulls began to make the most of their numerical advantage.

Adam Webster drew them level in the 72nd minute with a towering header before Dan Burn notched the winner four minutes later, scooping the ball into the net after his initial effort was blocked.

Brighton survived a late VAR check following Adam Lallana's challenge in the box on Gabriel Jesus and a late City onslaught to secure a win that lifts Graham Potter's side to 15th spot in the table on 41 points.

Chelsea gain revenge over Leicester

Chelsea seized control of their destiny in the Premier League top-four battle as they avenged their FA Cup final defeat by Leicester City to beat them 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Roared on by 8,000 fans Thomas Tuchel's side dominated and were rewarded after the break with Antonio Rudiger bundling in their opener before Jorginho rolled home a penalty.

Timo Werner twice had goals ruled out before the break while Leicester, who looked flat after Saturday's celebrations, offered little threat until Kelechi Iheanacho gave the visitors a lifeline with a cool finish in the 74th minute.

It was a nervy climax and Ayoze Perez wasted a glorious late chance to equalise but Chelsea clung on for a priceless win that moved them into third place on 67 points with one game remaining, meaning a win at Aston Villa on Sunday will guarantee them Champions League football next season.

Wasteful Man U held to 1-1 home draw by Fulham

Manchester United were held to a 1-1 home draw by relegated Fulham in their penultimate Premier League match of the season after visiting defender Joe Bryan cancelled out a stunning Edinson Cavani opener on Tuesday.

United stretched their winless league run to three games after home defeats by Leicester City and Liverpool but were already assured of a top-four finish, prompting manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to leave striker Marcus Rashford on the bench.

Cavani netted with a sublime lob from 40 metres in the 15th minute to delight 10,000 home fans at Old Trafford who returned to the stadium for the first time in 14 months as the British government eased COVID-19 lockdown measures.

But United wasted a string of chances to add to their tally and were punished in the 76th minute as Bryan got on the end of Bobby De Cordova-Reid's cross and headed it past goalkeeper David De Gea at the far post. Solskjaer conceded United had fallen short in the Premier League but expressed hope he would pick up his maiden silverware as the club's manager when they face Villarreal in the Europa League final on May 26.

The result left United second on 71 points from 37 games while Fulham stayed 18th on 28 as they managed only their second draw alongside seven defeats in the last nine league games.

Leeds United's Patrick Bamford and Tyler Roberts scored late on to spoil the party for Southampton fans as the visitors claimed a 2-0 victory in the Premier League match played in front of 8,000 supporters on Tuesday. Agencies

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