LONDON: For the second time in a week Manchester City threw away a 2-0 lead against a Premier League struggler but this time they hit back as Frank Lampard came off the bench to secure a 3-2 win over Sunderland on Thursday.

After dropping points at home to Burnley on Sunday, City looked to have blown it again in a second-half goalfest but Lampard celebrated extending his loan until the end of the season with the winner three minutes after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute.

The result takes City to 46 points, behind leaders Chelsea, who visit Tottenham Hotspur later, on goal difference. Manchester United are third on 37 after a 1-1 draw at Stoke City while Southampton stay fourth on 36 after they beat fifth-placed Arsenal 2-0.

The league’s bottom two, Leicester City and Burnley, came from behind to draw 2-2 at Liverpool and 3-3 at Newcastle United respectively while there were also draws for two clubs with new managers as Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion finished level with Aston Villa and West Ham United.

City announced late on Wednesday that Lampard’s loan move from their sister club New York City FC had been prolonged to the end of the season and he proved his worth by coming off the bench to score the winner.

City, who left goalkeeper Joe Hart on the bench, took the lead in the 57th minute at the Etihad Stadium when Yaya Toure slammed an exquisite shot into the top-left corner from outside the box.

Stevan Jovetic’s flick made it 2-0, but just as they had done in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Burnley, the champions allowed Sunderland back into the game.

NEWCASTLE United’s goalkeeper Jak Alnwick and captain Fabricio Coloccini (L) vie for the ball with Burnley’s George Boyd at St James Park in Newcastle.—AP

Two City old boys did the damage, with Jack Rodwell’s header reducing the arrears in the 68th minute and Adam Johnson equalising from the penalty spot three minutes later after Pablo Zabaleta had fouled Santiago Vergini.

But just three minutes after replacing Jovetic, Lampard headed home a cross from Gael Clichy to take City level with his former club Chelsea.

Earlier, Manchester United had lost further momentum in the title race after drawing with Stoke City at a windy Britannia Stadium.

Radamel Falcao equalised for the visitors in the 26th minute after former United trainee Ryan Shawcross had scored the first goal of 2015 in the second minute by hooking home from Peter Crouch’s header.

“We didn’t deserve any more than a draw,” said United manager Louis van Gaal, who lost Ashley Young to a hamstring injury. “They were closer to a winning goal than us. We should have played better today.”

Southampton tightened their grip on fourth place and closed to within a point of United by winning at home to nearest rivals Arsenal, who fell three points off the Champions League places as a result.

Sadio Mane curled home from a narrow angle on the right after Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny went walkabout in the 34th minute, with Dusan Tadic adding a second in the 56th minute after a defensive mix-up.

Freshly appointed West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis watched from the stands as his new club drew 1-1 at West Ham United, with Saido Berahino cancelling out Diafra Sakho’s neatly constructed 10th-minute opener.

The result kept West Brom a point above the relegation zone.

Second-bottom Burnley showed extraordinary spirit to come from behind three times and force a draw at Newcastle United, whose manager, Alan Pardew, is on the verge of joining Palace.

Steven Taylor’s 15th-minute header put Newcastle ahead, only for his team-mate Paul Dummett to inadvertently loop a header over goalkeeper Jak Alnwick for a comical own goal.

Jack Colback drilled home a fine goal from 25 yards to restore Newcastle’s lead and injuries to Dean Shackell, Dean Marney and Kevin Long meant that Burnley had used all their substitutes by half-time.

Danny Ings drew the away side level again with a 66th-minute glancing header, before Moussa Sissoko put Newcastle 3-2 up, and George Boyd crashed home a third Burnley equaliser with four minutes to play.

Pardew was in the stands to watch Palace draw 0-0 at Aston Villa, ahead of his expected appointment as the successor to the sacked Neil Warnock.

Liverpool’s recent momentum was curbed as they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw at home to bottom club Leicester City, which left them seven points below the top four in eighth place.

A pair of first-half Steven Gerrard penalties put Liverpool in control, but two goals in two minutes by David Nugent and Jeffrey Schlupp prevented Brendan Rodgers’s side from registering a third successive win.

Substitute Wilfried Bony earned Swansea City a 1-1 draw at Queens Park Rangers, cancelling out Leroy Fer’s 20th-minute thunderbolt with a cool last-minute strike.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Elmohamady and Nikica Jelavic scored unanswered goals as Hull City condemned Everton to a fourth straight loss.

EPL table (tabulated under: played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):

Chelsea 19 14 4 1 41 14 46
Man City 20 14 4 2 44 19 46
Man United 20 10 7 3 34 20 37
Southampton 20 11 3 6 34 15 36
Arsenal 20 9 6 5 34 25 33
West Ham 20 9 5 6 31 24 32
Tottenham 19 9 4 6 24 24 31
Liverpool 20 8 5 7 28 27 29
Swansea 20 8 5 7 25 24 29
Newcastle 20 7 6 7 25 31 27
Stoke 20 7 5 8 22 24 26
Aston Villa 20 5 7 8 11 22 22
Everton 20 5 6 9 29 33 21
Sunderland 20 3 11 6 18 30 20
Hull 20 4 7 9 20 26 19
QPR 20 5 4 11 22 35 19
West Brom 20 4 6 10 19 29 18
Crystal Palace 20 3 8 9 20 30 17
Burnley 20 3 8 9 17 32 17
Leicester 20 3 5 12 19 33 14

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2015