Chelsea make it 12, Toure sends Man City second

Pedro Rodriguez scored twice as red-hot Premier League leaders Chelsea crushed Bournemouth 3-0 on Monday to register a club-record 12th consecutive league victory. Pedro struck either side of Eden Hazard's 50th English league goal at Stamford Bridge to give Antonio Conte's side a provisional seven-point lead at the summit following the Boxing Day action. "To win 12 games in a row is not easy in this league," Chelsea manager Conte told the BBC. "It's a fantastic run, but it's important to continue that now. In four days we have another tough game (against Stoke City) and we have to prepare very well. Because now, every team wants to beat you." With Liverpool not in action until Tuesday, when they host Stoke, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City stole past them into second place by winning 3-0 at bottom club Hull City. Olivier Giroud prevented Arsenal losing more ground, his 86th-minute header snatching a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion to keep Arsene Wenger's side in fourth place, nine points off the pace. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one goal and set up two more as Manchester United drew level with fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur by beating Sunderland 3-1, while champions Leicester City lost again. City lost the recalled John Stones to an early injury and were made to sweat before second-half goals from Yaya Toure and substitute Kelechi Iheanacho secured victory at Hull. Toure scored from a 72nd-minute penalty after Andrew Robertson fouled Raheem Sterling, with an Iheanacho tap-in and a Curtis Davies own goal completing the win. Manchester City's Yaya Toure celebrates scoring their first goal against Hull City Reuters Beaten 2-1 by Everton and then City on their two previous outings, Arsenal narrowly avoided going three league games without winning for the first time since January 2012. Alexis Sanchez's shot against the post looked to be the closest Arsenal would come until Giroud marked his return to the starting XI by looping a header over Ben Foster with four minutes to play. "In the end we had to be patient against a well-organised West Brom side. When you don't score early, you can't rush," said Wenger. "We knew we had to win today after two disappointing defeats." Manchester United sank Sunderland to record a fourth successive league win for the first time under manager Jose Mourinho. Ibrahimovic teed up Daley Blind to open the scoring in the 39th minute before Paul Pogba freed him to run through and score his 17th goal of the season. Ibrahimovic turned provider again late on, crossing for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to seal victory with a stunning 'scorpion kick' volley that was allowed to stand despite a suspicion of offside. Manchester United's Henrikh Mkhitaryan scores their third goal against Sunderland Reuters United are now level on points with Tottenham, who visit Southampton on Wednesday. Fabio Borini replied for the visitors, but it was a return to forget for Sunderland manager David Moyes, sacked by United in April 2014. "I didn't like the first-half performance. I like the result," said Mourinho. "The players know the principles of how we play and they are comfortable, but we need to improve." Sam Allardyce was denied victory in his first game as Crystal Palace manager after Troy Deeney's 100th Watford goal earned his side a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road. Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce talks with Crystal Palace's Mathieu Flamini Reuters Ex-England manager Allardyce saw Yohan Cabaye put Palace ahead, but Christian Benteke had a penalty saved by Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes before Deeney equalised from the spot in the 71st minute. Champions Leicester's woes continued as they were condemned to a ninth defeat of the campaign as Everton claimed a 2-0 win. Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku scored to leave Leicester three points above the relegation zone in 16th place. West Ham United eased their relegation fears by winning 4-1 at second-bottom Swansea City, while Andre Gray's late effort gave Burnley a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.RESULTS:Hull City 0   Manchester City 3 Toure 72 (pen), Iheanacho 78, Davies 90+4 (og)Manchester United 3 Blind 39, Ibrahimovic 82, Mkhitaryan 86  Sunderland 1 Borini 90Leicester City 0   Everton 2  Mirallas 51, Lukaku 90+1Arsenal 1 Giroud 86   West Bromwich Albion 0Chelsea 3 Pedro 24, 90+3, Hazard 49 (pen)  Bournemouth 0Burnley 1 Gray 80   Middlesbrough 0Swansea City 1 Llorente 89   West Ham United 4 Ayew 13, Reid 50, Antonio 78, Carroll 90Watford 1 Deeney 71 (pen)   Crystal Palace 1 Cabaye 26Standings P W D L F A Pts1 Chelsea 18 15 1 2 38 11 462 Manchester City 18 12 3 3 39 20 393 Liverpool 17 11 4 2 41 20 374 Arsenal 18 11 4 3 39 19 375 Tottenham Hotspur 17 9 6 2 29 12 336 Manchester United 18 9 6 3 27 18 337 Everton 18 7 5 6 23 21 268 Southampton 17 6 6 5 17 16 249 West Bromwich Albion 18 6 5 7 23 22 2310 Watford 18 6 4 8 22 30 2211 West Ham United 18 6 4 8 23 32 2212 Stoke City 17 5 6 6 19 24 2113 Bournemouth 18 6 3 9 23 31 2114 Burnley 18 6 2 10 17 28 2015 Middlesbrough 18 4 6 8 16 20 1816 Leicester City 18 4 5 9 23 31 1717 Crystal Palace 18 4 4 10 29 33 1618 Sunderland 18 4 2 12 16 31 1419 Swansea City 18 3 3 12 21 41 1220 Hull City 18 3 3 12 14 39 12