Leicester climb atop Premier League summit; West Brom hold Tottenham
Leicester returned to the top of the Barclays Premier League with a handsome 3-0 victory at Swansea - and this time they did not even need a Jamie Vardy goal to do it.
Riyad Mahrez was the Foxes' hero with his first hat-trick in English football and the manner of Swansea's defeat will raise further questions about manager Garry Monk's position, whose side have now taken only six points from the last 33 on offer.
Having set a Premier League record of scoring in 11 consecutive matches, Vardy was out to match the best top-flight mark of 12 successive games set nearly 84 years ago. Irishman Joe Dunne scored in 12 in a row for Sheffield United between October 1931 and January 1932 and Vardy's best chance to equal that mark came when he bore down on goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski after 15 minutes.
But Fabianski saved smartly and Vardy took a backseat for once as Mahrez took his tally for Premier League goals this season into double figures.
It was a hugely impressive performance from Leicester, who made the most of Manchester City's earlier defeat at Stoke to reclaim top spot, and on this evidence they can stay there for a good while yet. Swansea remains near the relegation zone with 14 points from 15 games.
WEST BROM 1, TOTTENHAM 1
Tottenham extended their unbeaten run to 14 games to set a new club record in the Premier League as they were held 1-1 at West Brom.
Spurs have not lost in the league since the opening day and it is now their longest run without defeat in the top flight since a 14-game streak in 1985. Dele Alli enhanced his growing reputation when he volleyed in after 15 minutes in front of watching England boss Roy Hodgson.
But James McClean levelled with his first goal since February and Spurs were indebted to Hugo Lloris for a wonderful reaction stop to deny Jonas Olsson in the second half. The Baggies silenced Harry Kane as the striker was restricted to just one second-half chance which he failed to convert while Saido Berahino - who threatened to strike after Tottenham's deadline day bids were rejected by West Brom in the summer - was an unused substitute.
Tottenham remained unbeaten in the league since the opening round but stayed three points behind Manchester City and Manchester United. West Brom is 13th on 19 points from 15 games.
WATFORD 2, NORWICH CITY 0
Watford's strike pairing of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo struck again in a 2-0 win over Norwich that lifted the team into the top half of the English Premier League on Saturday.
Deeney scored for the fourth straight game, converting a 30th-minute penalty won by Ighalo to put Watford ahead at Vicarage Road. Ighalo wrapped up the victory in second-half injury time with his ninth goal of the campaign.
Watford moved up to ninth in the standings in an impressive start to a season it was expected to struggle in. Norwich, with just one victory in their last nine league outings, is in 16th place.
Last-place Aston Villa got a rare point in the Premier League on Saturday with a 1-1 draw at Southampton.
Villa, which hasn't won a league game since the opening round, went ahead at St Mary's Stadium through Joleon Lescott's first-half strike before substitute Oriol Romeu equalized for the hosts.
Southampton ended a miserable week after being thrashed 6-1 by Liverpool in the League Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday. When Jordan Veretout's unremarkable corner evaded Southampton's defense, Lescott had the simplest of tap-ins with a near-open goal in the 44th.
Southampton's James Ward-Prowse crossed into the penalty area in the 73rd and Romeu managed to reach the ball and poke it into the back of the net. Villa under new coach Remi Garde remains last with six points from 15 games.
