Premier League: Leicester extend lead at the top as Arsenal hold Tottenham

Leicester City took a giant step towards winning the Premier League title after extending their lead at the top to five points after beating Watford at Vicarage Road. Riyad Mahrez curled home in the second half as the Foxes took advantage of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal's stalemate earlier in the day.

Claudio Ranieri's side were able to strengthen their grip at the top after Spurs and the Gunners played out an entertaining draw at White Hart Lane. Aaron Ramsey put the visitors ahead with a fine finish but the dismissal of Francis Coquelin turned the game on its head.

Toby Alderweireld equalised before Harry Kane smashed beyond David Ospina to put Mauricio Pochettino's side on course to go top of the table. But Alexis Sanchez levelled to secure a point, which could have become three if not for Kevin Wimmer's late block on Ramsey in stoppage time.

Manchester City closed the gap on the north London pair after they thrashed bottom club Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium. Yaya Toure opened the floodgates with the first after half time, before Sergio Aguero netted a double and substitute Raheem Sterling made it four. Aguero missed the chance to claim a hat-trick when his penalty was saved by Brad Guzan but nothing could prevent City ending a run of three straight league defeats.

West Ham United are just a point behind Manuel Pellegrini's team and remain in the hunt for a Champions League place after they staged a remarkable second-half comeback to defeat 10-man Everton at Goodison Park. Romelu Lukaku scored for an eighth game in a row against the Hammers and though Kevin Mirallas was sent off before half time, Aaron Lennon doubled the lead

Lukaku's penalty was saved by Adrian with 20 minutes to go and that failure would prove decisive as West Ham scored three times in the last 12 minutes. Michail Antonio and Diafro Sakho both scored headers before Dimitri Payet struck in the 90th minute to claim a famous win.

At the bottom, Newcastle United slipped closer to relegation after AFC Bournemouth put 11 points between them and the bottom three with a comfortable win at St James' Park. Steven Taylor's own goals and Josh King's emphatic finish put the Cherries into the ascendency but Ajoze Perez pulled one back with 10 minutes to give the Magpies hope.

But Charlie Daniels struck in stoppage time to ease Bournemouth's relegation fears and pile the pressure on Steve McClaren. Daylight between them and safety was opened up after rivals Sunderland and Swansea City both picked up points in crucial games at the bottom.

Swansea claimed their first win since January as Gylfi Sigurdsson scored the only goal to overcome Norwich City. Sunderland meanwhile won a crucial point against 10-man Southampton as Jermain Defoe opened the scoring but despite Jose Fonte's dismissal Virgil van Dijk struck in added on time.

Elsewhere, Chelsea's run of three straight league wins was halted by Stoke City after the mid-table pair played out a draw at Stamford Bridge. Bertrand Traore came in for the injured Diego Costa and scored his fourth goal in five games on 39 minutes. Stoke created plenty of opportunities however and got a deserved equaliser through Mame Biram Diouf after Thibaut Courtois punched clear Xherdan Shaqiri's cross.

Premier League results:

Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Arsenal, Chelsea 1-1 Stoke City, Everton 2-3 West Ham United, Manchester City 4-0 Aston Villa, Newcastle United 1-3 AFC Bournemouth, Southampton 1-1 Sunderland, Swansea City 1-0 Norwich City, Watford 0-1 Leicester City