Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk on Wednesday both struck twice as Liverpool demolished Watford 5-0 to stay ahead of a charging Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
Juergen Klopp’s men calmed fears over their staying power following a recent dip in form as they continue to chase down their first top-flight title since 1990.
Defending champions City finally broke the resistance of West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium in the second half to stay just one point behind Liverpool, while third-placed Tottenham Hotspur slipped to a damaging 2-0 defeat at Chelsea.
Arsenal swatted aside limp AFC Bournemouth 5-1 to remain in fourth place, one point clear of Manchester United, with Romelu Lukaku taking advantage of the absence of Marcus Rashford to score twice in a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace.
Liverpool came into their match after three draws in four league matches, but Mane settled their nerves early, heading home a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold before the pair teamed up again, with the Senegalese forward producing an audacious backheel strike.
Divock Origi extended the lead midway through the second period and defender Virgil van Dijk netted twice late on to complete the rout.
“The boys showed how much they enjoy the game and the situation,” a delighted Klopp told the BBC. “It was an important sign. You know what was written and said about us. It is of course not right. These boys are outstanding and today they showed so much passion.”
City dominated possession in a one-sided first half at the Etihad, but were frustrated by Manuel Pellegrini’s tenacious West Ham.
However, Sergio Aguero broke the deadlock for City from the penalty spot in the 59th minute, with the spot-kick awarded after Felipe Anderson brought down Bernardo Silva.
“Had we scored one or two in the first five minutes, the game would have been completely different, but we did very well,” City boss Pep Guardiola told the BBC.
“We fought a lot to be close to Liverpool,” he said. “The result could be better, but the way we played is fantastic.”
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino conceded that the Premier League title is now beyond his side after a second straight defeat.
“After Burnley I said it was difficult, and tonight makes it impossible to fight Man City and Liverpool,” he said “Only they can win the league — we must fight to win games and to be fair.”
Tottenham will now be looking nervously over their shoulders after their defeat left them just four points clear of Arsenal ahead of the weekend meeting between the two sides.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was dropped by Maurizio Sarri as the Blues’ goalkeeper paid the price for his refusal to be substituted during the EFL League Cup final on Sunday last week.
Sarri opted to replace Kepa with Argentine veteran Willy Caballero.
Chelsea broke the deadlock in the 57th minute when Cesar Azpilicueta fed the ball to Pedro, who slotted past Hugo Lloris and they doubled their lead when Kieran Trippier accidentally passed the ball into the back of his own net.
Unai Emery made six changes for Arsenal’s home game against Bournemouth, with one eye on tomorrow’s Wembley clash against Spurs.
Arsenal opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Mezut Ozil scored his fifth goal of the season, Henrikh Mkhitaryan doubling the lead shortly before the half-hour mark.
Lys Mousset pulled a goal back, but Laurent Koscielny restored Arsenal’s two-goal cushion early in the second half and there were further goals by Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s injury-hit United kept up the chase for a UEFA Champions League place, beating Crystal Palace thanks to two goals from Romelu Lukaku and a late third from Ashley Young, who restored United’s two-goal lead after Joel Ward had given Palace hope.
United, missing a clutch of players, including Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard, and with Marcus Rashford on the bench, notched an eighth consecutive away win in all competitions for the first time in the club’s history.
Southampton beat Fulham 2-0 with goals from Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse to edge out of the relegation zone, with Claudio Ranieri’s men now 10 points off safety and looking doomed.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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