Verdy breaks record, toothless Chelsea draw at Spurs

LONDON: Jose Mourinho’s relationship with Diego Costa came under renewed scrutiny after the Chelsea manager dropped the striker for Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
The point left the reigning champions languishing in the bottom half of the table, while Tottenham — now unbeaten in 13 league games — were left frustrated after failing to take a chance to put pressure on the top four.
But it was Mourinho’s decision to leave Costa on the bench, having clashed with the Spain international at half-time of the mid-week Champions League win away to Maccabi Tel Aviv, that drew most attention.
It clearly angered the striker, who tossed his bib towards Mourinho as the game neared its conclusion, but Mourinho said: “If he wants to hurt me, it’s not with a bib. I have a good relationship with him, no problems.
“I think Diego is very privileged because he was the last one to be (put) on the bench.
“Everybody was on the bench. I kept him in the team for all these matches and today we thought the best strategy to play was this one. We are happy with the decision.”
Mourinho described the visitors’ display as “the best Chelsea performance of the season”, but opposite number Mauricio Pochettino was frustrated that Spurs had not emerged victorious.
On Saturday, Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy made history by scoring for the 11th Premier League match running in his side’s 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United.
The England forward struck in the 24th minute, running onto Christian Fuchs’s pass and arrowing a shot past David de Gea to break a record he had previously shared with former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
“I’m delighted to have got the goal,” Vardy, the league’s top scorer with 14 goals, told BBC Sport. “It’s a bit disappointing the way we conceded their goal because it could have been three points.”
Van Nistelrooy, whose record had stood since 2003, was quick to congratulate Vardy, writing on Twitter: “Well done @vardy7! You’re number one now and you deserved it. #11inarow.”
The record caps a remarkable rise for 28-year-old Vardy, who was playing non-league football in 2012 and had been playing in the seventh tier of English football as recently as 2010.
Leicester finished the day in second place, a point above United, with Manchester City going top on goal difference after overcoming Southampton 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin De Bruyne scored for the first time in six games to put City ahead and went on to create goals for Fabian Delph and Aleksandar Kolarov, with Shane Long replying for Southampton.
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew oversaw a 5-1 victory for his side that sent his former employers Newcastle United into the relegation zone.
Sunderland climbed out of therelegation places at Newcastle’s expense with a 2-0 home win over Stoke City, Patrick van Aanholt and Duncan Watmore scoring late on after visiting captain Ryan Shawcross was sent off.