31 Aug 2014

City stunned, Chelsea thump Everton

7:31 am on 31 August 2014

Free-scoring Manchester City's attacking talents were blunted in a shock 1-0 home defeat by Stoke City while Jose Mourinho's often cautious Chelsea thumped Everton 6-3 in the English Premier League.

Diego Costa

Diego Costa Photo: PHOTOSPORT

City dropped their first points of the season when Mame Biram Diouf scored a superb individual goal to silence the home fans who have become used to seeing one-sided romps at their Etihad stadium, especially against the Premier League's lesser lights.

It was another miserable day for City's rivals Manchester United, their frustrations continuing after a 0-0 draw at promoted Burnley with British record signing Angel Di Maria unable to spark an improvement in their fortunes.

Swansea City's excellent start to the season continued as they swept aside West Bromwich Albion 3-0 and they are level on nine points with Chelsea at the top of the fledgling table, while Southampton came from behind to beat West Ham United 3-1.

Crystal Palace, playing their first game under new manager Neil Warnock, scored through on-loan Wilfried Zaha in the fifth minute of stoppage time to grab a 3-3 draw at Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers beat Sunderland 1-0 for their first win since gaining promotion.