Arsenal Halt Villas Streak as United and Chelsea Falter
Arsenal halted Aston Villas impressive 11 match winning sequence with a convincing 4 1 victory that extended their Premier League advantage to five points while Chelsea and Manchester United missed opportunities to enter the top four.
Wolves earned only their third point this season by drawing 1 1 at Old Trafford whereas Chelsea have managed just one league win in their last seven outings following a 2 2 stalemate against Bournemouth.
Arsenal settled the score for their sole loss in the past 25 matches across all tournaments that occurred earlier this month at Villa Park thereby seizing control of the title chase.
Concerns regarding Villas capacity to compete with Arsenal and Manchester City across a full 38 match campaign proved accurate as Unai Emerys squad was overwhelmed during the latter stages at the Emirates.
Following a competitive opening half where Villa created openings via Ollie Watkins Arsenal surged ahead.
Mikel Artetas squad once again capitalised on a corner kick to take the lead with Gabriel Magalhaes overpowering Emi Martinez to net upon his comeback to the first team after a hamstring setback.
Martin Odegaards precise pass then set up Martin Zubimendi to swiftly increase the Gunners advantage.
A pair of excellent long range efforts compounded Villas misery as Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus struck from distance.
Watkins managed a late response yet third placed Villa now trail the frontrunners by six points.
City have the opportunity to narrow the deficit to two points when they visit Sunderland on January 1.
Wolves Break Skid
United squandered yet another home opportunity at Old Trafford to enhance their prospects of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
Joshua Zirkzees deflected shot put the Red Devils ahead but Ladislav Krejcis headed equaliser ended Wolves 12 match winless run.
Ruben Amorims team hold sixth position still two points shy of the top four spots.
Chelsea could not dispel the negativity at Stamford Bridge as Enzo Marescas choice to withdraw Cole Palmer drew boos from the discontented supporters.
David Brooks handed the Cherries an ideal beginning but Bournemouth soon demonstrated their vulnerability away from home having shipped more goals on the road than any other Premier League outfit.
Palmer levelled from twelve yards before Enzo Fernandez exploited generous space to curl into the upper corner.
However Chelsea struggled to manage a lengthy throw in for the second instance within the initial 27 minutes allowing Justin Kluivert to convert Antoine Semenyos cross at the far post.
The supporters voiced their displeasure at Marescas move to substitute Palmer with Joao Pedro shortly past the hour as the Blues maintain fifth place.
Newcastle achieved merely their second league triumph on the road this season yet endured tension after a strong opening to overcome struggling Burnley 3 1.
Strikes from Joelinton and Yoane Wissa saw the Magpies lead 2 0 within seven minutes.
Josh Laurent reduced the margin in the first halves middle phase and Burnley struck the frame of the goal on two occasions late on in their bid for a tie before Bruno Guimaraes confirmed the win for Eddie Howes side.
A weakened Everton moved into the upper table half by overcoming ex manager Sean Dyche for the second occasion in a month against Nottingham Forest.
The Toffees had failed to score since their 3 0 triumph over Forest on December 6 but found the net via James Garner and Thierno Barry leaving Dyches outfit only four points clear of the drop zone.
Matters might have deteriorated further for Forest if West Ham had not relinquished their advantage on two occasions resulting in a 2 2 draw versus Brighton at home.