London, Dec 7 (IANS): Leon Bailey scored as Aston Villa beat a wavering Manchester City 1-0 on Wednesday night to move to third place in the Premier League table.

The Jamaican got the ball near the halfway line, before surging forward, beating the City defense and unleashing a shot from the edge of the penalty area that took a slight deflection on its way through to goal.

The goal was fair reward and Villa could have won by more, as Unai Emery's side confirmed their excellent run of form, and they deserved the win over a rival that struggled in defence.

Two goals from Scott McTominay gave Manchester United a 2-1 win at home to Chelsea, which eased some of the pressure on coach Erik ten Hag.

The midfielder lifted United ahead in the 19th minute after Harry Maguire's shot was blocked, and although Cole Palmer produced a calm finish to level on the stroke of halftime, McTominay powered home from a corner in the 69th minute, reports Xinhua.

Bottom side Sheffield United improved after naming Chris Wilder as their new coach on Tuesday, but were unable to take a point at home to Liverpool, who remain second in the table thanks to Virgil Van Dijk's first-half goal from a corner.

The home side were in the game until the final moments, when Dominik Szoboszlai slid home Liverpool's second.

After falling behind to Bryan Mbeumo's 27th-minute penalty, Brighton quickly fought back to claim all three points, with Pascal Gross leveling the scores four minutes later and Jack Hinshelwood turning the tables seven minutes into the second half.

Bournemouth's recovery continues as Marcos Senesi and Kieffer Moore gave them a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace, and Andoni Iraola's side have now taken 10 points from the last 12 to climb 11 points clear of the relegation zone.

Nottingham Forest are slipping in the other direction and coach Steve Cooper's job could be in danger after his side were thrashed 5-0 away to Fulham, with Alex Iwobi and Raul Jimenez both scoring twice before Tom Cairney added the last goal with four minutes left.

On Tuesday night, a late Declan Rice goal saw Arsenal win a thrilling game 4-3 away to Luton Town.

Rice scored in the 97th minute to ensure his side remain top of the table after they had trailed 3-2 to their rivals.

Elsewhere, Wolves moved into mid-table with a 1-0 win at home to Burnley, thanks to Hwang Hee-chan's 42nd-minute goal.