Barclays Premier League Table: 2016 EPL Roundup After Week 29 Saturday Results
Leicester City's dreams of winning the Premier League burn brighter than ever on Saturday as the Foxes defeated Watford 1-0 on their travels.
Riyad Mahrez was once again the hero for the leaders, scoring the goal which sent his side five points clear at the top.
West Ham United's fantastic campaign continued as they came back from two goals down to defeat Everton 3-2 at Goodison Park.
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The Hammers scored three times in the final 12 minutes to shock the Toffees, as they move up to fifth spot in the table.
Arsenal looked dead and buried in the north London derby against Spurs, losing deep in the second half and down to 10 men.
However, Alexis Sanchez saved a point in the 78th minute, as the bitter rivals drew 2-2 at White Hart Lane.
There were also wins for Manchester City, Swansea City and Bournemouth, as they defeated Aston Villa, Norwich City and Newcastle United respectively.
Chelsea played out a 1-1 draw with Stoke City at Stamford Bridge, while Southampton snatched an injury-time equaliser at home to Sunderland.
Here is a breakdown of Saturday's full results, followed by the latest standings:
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2-2 | Arsenal |
| Chelsea | 1-1 | Stoke City |
| Everton | 2-3 | West Ham United |
| Manchester City | 4-0 | Aston Villa |
| Newcastle United | 1-3 | Bournemouth |
| Southampton | 1-1 | Sunderland |
| Swansea City | 1-0 | Norwich City |
| Watford | 0-1 | Leicester City |
| 1 | Leicester City | 29 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 21 | 60 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 27 | 55 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 29 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 52 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 28 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 50 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 29 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 49 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 47 |
| 7 | Stoke City | 29 | 12 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 43 |
| 8 | Southampton | 29 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 41 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 27 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 41 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 29 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 40 |
| 11 | Everton | 28 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 38 |
| 12 | Watford | 29 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 37 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | -7 | 36 |
| 14 | Bournemouth | 29 | 9 | 8 | 12 | -10 | 35 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | -6 | 33 |
| 16 | Swansea City | 29 | 8 | 9 | 12 | -9 | 33 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 29 | 6 | 7 | 16 | -19 | 25 |
| 18 | Norwich City | 29 | 6 | 6 | 17 | -22 | 24 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | -35 | 24 |
| 20 | Aston Villa | 29 | 3 | 7 | 19 | -33 | 16 |
Saturday Recap
The impossible dream is very much alive for Leicester as they became the first team in England to hit the 60-point milestone in the league.
In a tight game against Watford at Vicarage Road, the points were claimed with a fabulous strike from Mahrez, who looks ready to become the PFA Player of the Year at the end of the campaign.
The attacking midfielder fed through Jamie Vardy in the first half but the England striker didn't have his shooting boots on and failed to hit the net.
The Hornets battled valiantly as they held the ball, but the Foxes finally broke the deadlock after 56 minutes as Mahrez made the difference.
The Algerian breakout star picked up a headed clearance from the Watford defence, and the attacker expertly controlled the ball, smashing his effort into the top corner to spark wild scenes.
Leicester looked certain to double their lead in the second half as they penetrated the hosts, but they allowed a number of chances to go begging.
The result gave Leicester their 17th win of the Premier League season, and they now sit five points above Spurs, eight points ahead of Arsenal and 10 points clear of Manchester City.
The installation of former player Slaven Bilic as coach was warmly greeted by Hammers fans at the start of the campaign, but his influence has been astonishing as the club transform into one of the league's best sides.
West Ham looked beaten against Everton on Saturday, trailing 2-0 despite the Toffees losing Kevin Mirallas to a second yellow in the first-half.
Romelu Lukaku's 13th-minute strike was matched by Aaron Lennon's goal early in the second half, giving the hosts the cushion they wanted on the hour mark.
However, Bilic was a player of frightening determination, and his side have adopted this character and flipped this result on its head.
Michael Antonio continued his fine goalscoring run with a header on 78 minutes, and the Hammers were level three minutes later as Diafro Sakho met Dimitri Payet's pass.
It was left to the brilliant Payet to complete the comeback in injury time as his goal sent the away fans into delirium.
OptaJoe highlighted the significance of the result:
Bilic was delighted with his team's resolution after the match and tipped his hat to the excitement generated by the Premier League, as quoted by Patrick Jennings of BBC Sport:
"It feels great. We don't have a great record here, we don't have a record here at all to be fair.
This is why English football is so attractive and so good basically. If they scored a penalty we could have lost three or four nil.
However, nobody could say that over 90 minutes we didn't deserve it, we did and that is what makes me proud of the team. It is a great day for West Ham.
"
Football journalist Kristian Sturt underlined the importance of the Hammers' recovery:
Manchester City made short work of Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium, trouncing the bottom side in the second half of the match to prevail 4-0.
Villa had defended well in the opening 45 minutes but went to sleep at the start of the second half, allowing City to deconstruct them.
Yaya Toure got the ball rolling for City, and Sergio Aguero added a brace to make it 3-0 in the blink of an eye. Substitute Raheem Sterling completed the rout shortly after the hour mark, and Aguero even had the luxury of passing up a hat-trick—hitting the post with a penalty.
City's win sees them close the gap on Arsenal and Spurs in the top four, as the north London sides drew 2-2 at the Lane.
Aaron Ramsey gave the Gunners the lead at half-time with an audacious flicked finish, but Arsenal were reduced to 10 men as Francis Coquelin saw red for a needless second yellow card.
Oliver Holt of the Daily Mail bemoaned Coquelin's stupidity:
The sending-off changed the game; Toby Alderweireld soon grabbed an equaliser with a well-struck finish, and Harry Kane gave Spurs the lead just two minutes later with a world-class curling effort from wide.
The hosts looked guaranteed to win the points as Arsenal laboured, but a counter-attack saw Sanchez save the day as he slammed his effort beyond 'keeper Hugo Lloris.
Chelsea's disappointing season continued at Stamford Bridge, as they gave away the lead with five minutes to play in a 1-1 draw with Stoke City.
Bertrand Traore, deputising as striker for manager Guus Hiddink, gave the reigning champions the lead shortly before the break, but Mame Biram Diouf scored a late equaliser to deny the hosts.
Bournemouth climbed to 14th in the league as they beat Newcastle United 3-1 on their travels to the north-east.
Steven Taylor deflected the ball into his own net to give Bournemouth a 28th-minute lead, and Joshua King scored midway through the second half to claim the Cherries a cushion.
Ayoze Perez pulled a goal back, but Charlie Daniels drilled in a late third to give the south-coast club a deserved win.
Swansea City beat fellow relegation candidates Norwich City in South Wales as Gylfi Sigurdsson's neat finish on the hour gave the hosts another vital win after their triumph against Arsenal.
Sunderland also gained a point as they attempt to survive in the Premier League, drawing 1-1 against Southampton at St. Mary's.
Saints defender Jose Fonte was sent off for hauling down Fabio Borini when the Italian was through on goal, allowing Jermain Defoe to put the visitors ahead with five minutes remaining against the weakened 10 men.
However, the Black Cats' bad luck continued, as Virgil van Dijk snatched a stoppage-time equaliser to break Sunderland hearts.
The Premier League has been at its most unpredictable this season, and that is the reason it is revered and loved across the world.
Spurs will feel shattered as they allowed Arsenal back into the title race, with the three points in their pockets and their derby rivals appearing lame and beaten.
City are now the dark horse in the race as Aguero scores freely, and Toure and David Silva looked eager and involved against Villa.
If the Sky Blues can put a run together, the teams above them will struggle to maintain a gap between themselves and the Etihad machine.
