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MANCHESTER, England -- Chelsea delivered a potent mix of defensive resilience and effective counter-attacking in a 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Monday, neutralizing the Premier Leagues most rampant attack to provide a new twist in the title race. Branislav Ivanovic lashed home a fierce 25-yard shot in the 31st minute to end Citys 100 per cent winning record at home in the league and earn Chelsea the double over most pundits favourites for the title. The visitors could have won by more, hitting the goal frame three times and threatening almost every occasion they broke forward. It meant Arsenal returned to the top of the standings, with a two-point lead over City and Chelsea, in what is proving to be a thrilling title race. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho continues to rule his evolving team out of contention, but few will take him seriously after this performance. "Two horses and a little horse," was Mourinhos description of the title race, which has 14 more matches to run. "A little horse that still needs milk and to learn how to jump. A horse that next season can race." City has been the leagues thoroughbreds this season, winning all 15 of its domestic home games and scoring 115 goals in all competitions. Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham -- among others -- have all been crushed at Etihad Stadium this season. A win here would have put six points between City and Chelsea -- to many, the second favourites for the title, despite Mourinhos protestations to the contrary -- but its all to play for now. "I think that for Chelsea it was a decisive game, but not for us," City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. Mourinho is renowned around the football world as the master defensive strategist. Few will forget how his Inter Milan side nullified Barcelona in the 2010 Champions League semifinal at the Camp Nou, while Chelsea has already ground out 0-0 draws at Manchester United and Arsenal this season. It was different here, though. Chelsea counter-attacked with such pace and purpose, and hounded Citys much-lauded ball-players into sloppy mistakes, that the visitors could easily have won by three goals. Samuel Etoo hit the bar and the excellent Nemanja Matic and Gary Cahill struck the post. Bayern Munich is the only team to have beaten City at Etihad Stadium this season and Chelseas supreme display had echoes of that dismantling in the Champions League back in September. It was the first time City failed to score at home in the league since November 2010 -- a streak of 61 matches. The home side badly missed injured top scorer Sergio Aguero but also holding midfielder Fernandinho, who was ruled out at the last minute with a muscle injury. Martin Demichelis -- a centre back -- filled in in central midfield and couldnt stop Chelseas midfielders running amok. "We love it -- we love the big games," said Mourinho, who revealed that he left the clubs masseur, Billy McCulloch, to do the pre-match team talk. "Obviously when you love it, maybe you feel extra motivated for that." Before Ivanovic put Chelsea in front, Ramires had a curling shot saved after running onto a pass from Willian, who had led a 4-on-1 attack on Citys beleaguered defence. The goal arrived soon after, with City captain Vincent Kompany diving to block Ramires shot but seeing the ball squirt out to Ivanovic, who drove a powerful first-time shot with his left foot into the bottom corner. And moments before halftime, Eden Hazard skirted round Pablo Zabaleta and crossed for Etoo to smash a shot against the top of the bar. Citys defensive frailties were being exposed but the hosts were also quiet -- by their standards -- going forward. Alvaro Negredo was virtually anonymous, although Pellegrini later said the striker wasnt 100 per cent, and the only attacking thrusts were provided by Yaya Toure, who curled one shot over, set up David Silva for a great chance that was glanced just wide and just missed a fizzing cross from Aleksandr Kolarov. Mourinho had City just where he wanted them -- and it almost got worse for Pellegrinis side when Matic strode forward and crashed a 30-yard effort against the post. Cahill then leapt to meet Willians corner with a header that cannoned off the post, further incensing the home crowd. City was reeling but finished strongly, with Silva denied by Petr Cech from a free kick then sidefooting wide from Kolarovs cross. And in the final seconds, substitute Stevan Jovetics long-range shot was tipped over by Cech. But Mourinho and Chelsea finally showed just how City can be stopped. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys . 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Warren Sapp Jersey .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. HOUSTON -- The Los Angeles Clippers used a strong defensive effort and a spark from reserve Jamal Crawford at the just the right time to salvage a win on their three-game road trip. Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick scored 22 points, and the Clippers had an 18-0 run in the second half to rally for a 107-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Crawford had 16 points, Chris Paul added 14 points and 13 assists and DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 18 rebounds for the Clippers. Griffin also had seven rebounds and Redick shot 8 for 15 from the field. Darren Collison added 10 points off the bench. Los Angeles trailed 71-60 with about 5 minutes to go in the third quarter before its big run that lasted into the opening minutes of the fourth. "I kept telling them to hang in there," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "We hung around and got it going and our defence won the game. Houston had, I think five points in the last six minutes (of the third quarter), and 37 points in the whole second half for a good offensive team. I thought Darren Collison was fantastic and Jamal made big shots." Los Angeles shot 14 for 23 on free throws, but just 9 for 24 on 3-pointers. Dwight Howard had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, but was just 5 for 11 on free throws. Chandler Parsons added 23 points and eight rebounds, while Patrick Beverley scored 19 points. James Harden, who was a game-time decision with a bruised left foot, had 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Houston finished 17 of 27 from the free throw line. Trailing by 11, the Clippers scored the final 13 points of the third quarter to take a two-point lead on a tip-in by Crawford at the buzzer. "We were on the line trying to get it to 13, and then it just snowballed from there," Houston coach Kevin McHale said about the end of the third quarter. "We missed some shots, and we started doubting it and we stopped taking some shots that we needed to take. Then, we got a lot of turnovers and we just got really passive. We just got nothing going from that point on." Los Angeles kept the run going to start the fourth, with Crawford capping it with a three-point play with 10:21 remaining in the game to increase the lead to 78-71. Crawford had seven points and Jared Dudley added five points in the spurt that lasted nearly seven minutes. "Chris got it started being aa spark plug for us," Crawford said about what changed in the third.dddddddddddd "I think it was kind of slow to start the game, and we just followed the lead and coach kept challenging us to get defensive stops because that breaks a teams spirits. Our offence was coming from our defence." Paul pointed to the Clippers defensive intensity as a reason for the run. "We knew that this was a team that made some runs, but at the same time, they will let you back into the game," Paul said. "Once we started the third quarter, we came out and played with a lot more purpose, more passion. That tip in by Jamal at the end of the third quarter was huge for us." Houston pulled to 84-80 on Hardens three-point play with 7:21 remaining, but that would be as close as they would get. Los Angeles had a 9-3 run over the next three minutes to increase the advantage to 92-83 on Griffins free throw with 4:15 to go. Houston tried a Hack a Jordan tactic with 3 minutes remaining, and despite Jordan missing both free throws, Los Angeles countered by fouling Howard and taking Jordan out of the game. Howard made a free throw to get the Rockets to 97-90, but Redick hit two free throws and Collison made a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining to stretch the lead to 102-90. Los Angeles outscored the Rockets 27-16 in the third quarter and 61-39 in the second half. "We just stopped playing the way we had played to get the lead, and when you are playing against a team like the Clippers, theyve been together a couple of years and play well together," Howard said. "We had to continue to do things that got us the lead, and we didnt do that tonight and they capitalized on it. They got a good road win." The Clippers opened up an 18-8 lead midway through the first quarter as Redick scored eight of Los Angeles first 10 points. Houston finished the quarter on an 11-0 run over the final 3:40 of the period. Howard had 10 points in the first, including the first four of the run. Houston kept it up in the second quarter, extending the lead to 10 at 39-29 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Beverley with 7:26 left in the period. The Rockets led 55-46 at halftime. NOTES: Los Angeles F Matt Barnes missed his third straight game with a right thigh contusion. ... 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