EPL: Chelsea earn 13th straight win, Man United snatch late victory (View Details)

Premier League leaders Chelsea equalled the top flight record of 13 consecutive wins in a single season after overcoming valiant Stoke in a thriller at Stamford Bridge.

An exceptionally entertaining second half witnessed five goals as the Blues were twice made to retake the lead by a Potters side who gave them one of their toughest tests this season.
Gary Cahill gave Chelsea the lead when he headed in shortly before half-time, but Stoke defender Bruno Martins Indi levelled only a minute after the break when he poked in from close range.
Willian handed the Blues the advantage again only for Peter Crouch to level with a sidefoot effort high past Thibaut Courtois.
Stoke barely had time to celebrate, as moments after the restart Chelsea drove towards goal with Willian applying an fierce angled finish.
With five minutes remaining, the Blues all but sealed the three points when Diego Costa – who was magnificent as a target-man – shrugged off the attentions of Martins Indi to fire in the fourth.
And at Old Trafford, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba scored two late goals as Manchester United deservedly beat Middlesbrough in the Premier League.
The home side had fallen behind when Grant Leadbitter gave Boro a shock lead, drilling home a low finish from Alvaro Negredo’s knock down.
Up until then, United had bossed a match in which Pogba struck the post with an overhead kick and Martial hit the same upright with a long-range strike.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic also had a goal harshly ruled out for a high boot on ex-United goalkeeper Victor Valdes, while the Spaniard twice blocked the United striker’s shots from close range in the second half, reports the BBC.
With time running out, Frenchman Martial poked in on 85 minutes and fellow countryman Pogba headed into the top corner a minute later.
Meanwhile, Leicester City pulled six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone as Islam Slimani’s header ended West Ham United’s three-match winning run.
Slimani had already headed against the post when he nodded home Marc Albrighton’s excellent cross.
Home keeper Kasper Schmeichel twice denied Dimitri Payet with fine saves, while Michail Antonio hammered a shot against the Leicester bar.
Schmeichel also did well to keep out Aaron Creswell’s deflected free-kick as champions Leicester ended a momentous 2016 with a first clean sheet in 12 Premier League games.
At the other end of the table, managerless Swansea City remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table after they were thoroughly outplayed by Bournemouth.
With coach Alan Curtis in temporary charge following Bob Bradley’s sacking, Swansea’s woeful defending allowed Benik Afobe to put the impressive visitors in front.
Ryan Fraser finished an incisive team move to give Eddie Howe’s side a commanding 2-0 half-time lead, and Joshua King slotted in a late third to compound the misery for their demoralised opponents.
Bournemouth’s win takes them up to 10th in the table, whereas Swansea are still deep in the relegation mire and four points adrift of safety.
It presents Bradley’s permanent successor with a daunting task and, with the club hopeful of making an appointment by Monday, Bayern Munich assistant manager Paul Clement remains the Swans’ first choice.

EPL RESULTS

Burnley 4 – 1 Sunderland
Chelsea 4 – 2 Stoke
Leicester 1 – 0 West Ham
Man United 2 – 1 Middlesbrough
Southampton 1 – 2 West Brom
Swansea 0 – 3 Bournemouth