Man City crush Palace to go second; Liverpool held by United

London: Manchester City steamed into second place in the Premier League with defender John Stones scoring an unlikely double in a 4-0 demolition of visiting Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Central defender Stones, closing in on 100 Premier League appearances for City, headed his first league goal for the club after a sublime cross by Kevin de Bruyne in the 26th minute.

IlkayGundogan curled in a delightful second 11 minutes after the interval before Stones was in the right place to fire home a loose ball with his left foot in the 68th minute.

Raheem Sterling crowned a superb second-half City display with an unstoppable free kick into the top corner late on.

The earlier 0-0 draw between leaders Manchester United and champions Liverpool was a pre-match boost for Pep Guardiola's side and they capitalised with a fifth successive league win to move within two points of United and have a match in hand.

They have 35 points from 17 games and are ahead of Leicester City on goal difference with Liverpool fourth on 34 points.

Palace remain in 13th place on 23 from 19 matches.

After a poor start to the campaign, City are beginning to look like the side that won consecutive titles before Liverpool knocked them emphatically off their perch last season.

Since defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on November 21 City have gone nine league games unbeaten, winning seven and conceding twice.

While they had been praised for their defensive solidity, their fluent attacking style has also returned and the goals are beginning to flow.

Yet few would have bet on England defender Stones scoring twice, especially as his only previous goal in the Premier League came for Everton in the 2014-15 season.

Goalkeeper Becker shines as Liverpool hold Manchester United

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker made two vital saves as the champions were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Premier League leaders Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.

The Brazilian saved a close-range effort from Bruno Fernandes, United's first real chance, in the 75th minute with his feet denying the Portuguese midfielder.

Then Alisson did well to keep out a blast from inside the box by Paul Pogba as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer'sUnited side finished a disappointing game strongly.

Liverpool stretched their unbeaten home record to 68 games while United remain unbeaten away this season.

The result left United on 37 points, two ahead of second-placed Leicester City, while JuergenKlopp's Liverpool side are third on 34 points after 18 games.

Ndombele stunner helps Spurs win at Sheffield United

Tottenham Hotspur's record signing Tanguy Ndombele conjured a moment of magic to seal his side's 3-1 victory at the Premier League's bottom club Sheffield United on Sunday.

Spurs had just seen the commanding lead given to them by Serge Aurier and Harry Kane halved by David McGoldrick's header on the hour when Ndombele struck with an audacious flicked lob.

It was a timely goal for Jose Mourinho's side as McGoldrick's effort revived memories of numerous points they have dropped from winning positions this season.

This time, however, they made no mistake to record only their second win in seven league games and move into fourth spot, at least until Manchester City play Crystal Palace later.

Tottenham had looked commanding in the first half with Aurier heading in from a corner after five minutes and Kane's clinical finish doubling their lead in the 40th minute.

For Sheffield United it was a disappointing result after they had posted their first win of the season this week by beating Newcastle United. With only five points from 19 games they are 11 points away from the safety zone and their hopes of avoiding relegation look slender.

In the end it was a routine win for Tottenham but there was nothing ordinary about Ndombele's fifth league goal for Spurs.

When Steven Bergwijn popped a ball over the top of the Uniteddefence, Ndombele was moving away from goal on the left side of the penalty area. Agencies

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