Manchester, England
It’s 20 Premier League games without defeat for United after Zlatan Ibrahimovic, back from suspension, converted a stoppage-time penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw against Everton at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Ten of those games have been draws, though, and United is still struggling to bridge that gap to the top four where Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City reside.
United is four points behind fourth-place City with nine games left. Making the job even harder is United’s involvement in the Europa League, where the team is through to the quarterfinals and plays Anderlecht in the first leg next week.
Ander Herrera and substitute Paul Pogba may have struck the crossbar either side of halftime, but Everton caused problems and defended well after Phil Jagielka gave the visitors the lead in the 22nd minute from a corner.
The pressure paid off deep in injury time when substitute Luke Shaw’s shot was blocked in Everton’s area by the hand of Ashley Williams, who was given a straight red card. The clock had ticked into the 94th minute when Ibrahimovic slotted home the penalty.
Leicester 2, Sunderland 0
Leicester earned a sixth straight win since Craig Shakespeare took charge of the champions, thanks to second-half goals by strikers Islam Slimani and Jamie Vardy.
Burnley 1, Stoke 0
With its first win in more than two months, Burnley can start to think about planning for another season in the Premier League.
Watford 2, West Brom 0
Watford also appears to be in the safety of mid-table after a win sparked by captain Troy Deeney, who scored his 100th league goal for the club.
Deeney set up M’Baye Niang in the 13th minute for the opening goal. The roles were reversed in the 49th, with Deeney running onto Niang’s pass and scoring with a low finish.
Watford had defender Miguel Britos sent off in the 65th minute for two yellow cards but held on to move up to ninth place.
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Steve Douglas is at www.twitter.com/sdouglas80