Soccer-Man City restore 12-point lead, United draw again

By Martyn Herman

LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester City's relentless pursuit of the Premier League title continued with a thumping 4-0 win at Norwich City but Manchester United's troubles continued as a 1-1 draw with Southampton further damaged their top-four hopes on Saturday.

Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick with Phil Foden also on target as City restored their 12-point lead over Liverpool who face bottom club Burnley away on Sunday.

After being held to a draw by Burnley in midweek, United desperately needed a win at home to Southampton, but despite taking the lead when Marcus Rashford set up Jadon Sancho in the 21st minute they were again found wanting.

Southampton, beaten 9-0 on their last trip to Old Trafford, responded three minutes after halftime when Che Adams slotted into the corner via the post.

The visitors could even have won the game as Armando Broja forced David de Gea into a save while Stuart Armstrong blazed a good opportunity over the bar.

United moved into fifth spot, level on 40 points with West Ham United, but Arsenal (39) have two games in hand while Tottenham Hotspur (36) have played three games fewer.

Everton claimed a first league win under Frank Lampard to ease their relegation fears, beating Leeds United 3-0 to move five points clear of third-from-bottom Norwich.

Roy Hodgson's first home game in charge of Watford went badly as a 2-0 home defeat by Brighton and Hove Albion left them one place off the bottom of the table.

Brentford ended a five-match losing run in the league with a 0-0 home draw against Crystal Palace with the only real highlight coming before kickoff as new signing Christian Eriksen was presented to the crowd eight months after he suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

Sterling