Newcastle frustrate West Ham, Chelsea stay in top four

LONDON: West Ham wasted a chance to substantially improve their chances of Premier League survival as Newcastle rescued a 2-2 draw, while John Egan’s first top-flight goal gave Sheffield United a 1-1 draw at Burnley on Sunday.David Moyes’ side twice held the lead at St James’ Park, but Newcastle hit back on each occasion.

West Ham moved four points clear of the relegation zone, with Aston Villa’s game in hand coming at champions Liverpool later on Sunday.After earning their first away point since December, the Hammers have five games left to guarantee their top-tier status.

Shock winners against Chelsea in midweek, West Ham were ahead within four minutes at Newcastle.

Michail Antonio’s clever flick allowed Pablo Fornals to find Jarrod Bowen with a fine pass, and when Jamaal Lascelles failed to cut out his cross, Antonio pounced at the far post.

Newcastle were level after 17 minutes as the influential Allan Saint-Maximin slipped in Emil Krafth.

At Turf Moor, both teams’ hopes of qualifying for the Europa League were hit by the draw.James Tarkowski put Burnley ahead just before half-time.

But Irish defender Egan netted with 10 minutes left, giving him a goal in all four divisions in England.

On Saturday night, Chelsea held on to their place in the top four by bouncing back to beat Watford 3-0 after Manchester United briefly powered past with a 5-2 rout of struggling Bournemouth.

Chelsea shrugged off a shock 3-2 defeat at West Ham in midweek with a routine win at Stamford Bridge.

Olivier Giroud was recalled up front and repaid Frank Lampard with a smart finish to break the deadlock before Willian’s penalty made it 2-0 before half-time.

Ross Barkley added the third in stoppage time to move Chelsea back two points ahead of fifth-placed United.

Meanwhile, in Spain’s La Liga on Sunday, Sergio Ramos scored his 22nd consecutive penalty as Real Madrid held on for another 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao to inch closer to winning the title.

Ramos’ fifth goal in seven games since the restart gives Madrid a seven-point lead over Barcelona.

This was Madrid’s toughest fixture left and they might have been content even with a point against a robust, well-organised Bilbao side.

But after edging out Getafe on Thursday, through a Ramos spot-kick, Madrid repeated the trick at San Mames, their captain’s nerve from the spot combining with a gutsy display to grind out a pivotal win.