Premier League combined: The top three wins all on penalties

Source: Xinhua Net

LONDON, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, the top three in the Premier League, won on the 11th to continue to maintain their formation in the standings with 38, 37 and 36 points, and the victory of the top three was all inseparable from penalties.

Defending champions Manchester City, who have led the way in two consecutive rounds, played Wolves at home that day. Wolves forward Jimenez received two consecutive yellow cards before the end of the first half, and Wolves, who were one less to play, made it more difficult for City to play with a more determined defense. However, after a lengthy VAR (Video Assistant Referee) intervention, Moutinho was found to have handballed while defending a pass by Bey Silva, and Sterling took a penalty in the 66th minute to help City break the deadlock with his 100th Premier League goal.

City won 1-0, with Liverpool sending off Aston Villa, former Reds captain Steven Gerrard, by the same score. Villa had a good performance and successfully contained the attacking Liverpool, but Salah burst into the box and fell to the ground in the confrontation with Mins, the referee awarded a penalty, and the Egyptian personally took the penalty.

Chelsea's victory was tougher by comparison. At Stamford Bridge, Leeds United took the lead with Rafinha's penalty in the 28th minute. In the 43rd minute, Mount received Alonso's low-footed return pass from the front of the penalty area and pushed the near corner to win, and the "Blues" equalized the score.

Chelsea had relied on Rudiger's creation and Jorginho's 2-1 penalty in the second half, but in the 83rd minute Leeds United played a delicate combination on the left side of the front, and the young player Gerhardt shoveled the equalizer. In the final stoppage time, it was Rudiger who received the ball in the penalty area and was kicked down by the opponent, Chelsea once again won the penalty, and Jorginho saved the victory for Chelsea 3:2.

In addition, Norwich City's home match against Manchester United also relied on penalties to win and lose. The 0-0 stalemate lasted until the second half, when Ronaldo was pulled down by his opponents as he scrambled for the top of the penalty area, and the Portuguese superstar, who stood in front of the penalty spot, scored the only goal of the game.

Arsenal beat Southampton 3-0 at home and temporarily finished sixth after Manchester United by one point.