Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage.
Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody Gakpo.
Photo: EPA-EFE
England midfielder Jones marked his 100th top-flight appearance with the second goal soon after halftime.
Mohamed Salah’s 19th goal this term wrapped up Liverpool’s 11th win in their past 13 games in all competitions.
“We created enough, but because we went 1-0 down it was a game,” Liverpool manager Slot said. “Then you saw how good we are and Leicester didn’t want to come back into the game.”
Photo: AFP
Liverpool’s comeback lifted them well clear of second-placed Chelsea, who were defeated 2-1 by Fulham earlier in the day.
United suffered a third successive loss in all competitions to leave new boss Ruben Amorim with five defeats in his first 10 games.
Fernandes was dismissed two minutes into the second half at Molineux for a second bookable offence.
Photo: Reuters
United’s 10 men cracked in the 58th minute when Matheus Cunha’s corner went straight in as goalkeeper Andre Onana flapped under pressure.
Hwang Hee-chan compounded Amorim’s misery when he tapped in with just seconds left.
Losing to fourth-bottom Wolves was another bitter blow for United, who endured a humiliating 3-0 defeat by AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford last weekend after losing 4-3 in the EPL Cup against Tottenham Hotspur.
“It’s so tough to win games in this league with 11 men. With 10 men, it’s more difficult,” Amorim added.
Champions Manchester City have just one victory in their past 13 games in all competitions as their Christmas schedule started in disappointing fashion.
Bernardo Silva put Man City in front early on before Iliman Ndiaye salvaged a point for Everton.
City are languishing in seventh place and sit five points adrift of the top four, with their astonishing decline showing no sign of ending.
“Of course we need results and we didn’t get it. The team played really good again in all departments and unfortunately could not win,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were stunned by Fulham’s late fightback in a dramatic west London derby.
Nottingham Forest climbed to third place after a 1-0 win against sputtering Tottenham at the City Ground.
Newcastle United swatted aside 10-man Aston Villa 3-0, moving up to fifth place after winning three consecutive league games for the first time since last year.
Jarrod Bowen’s 59th-minute goal gave West Ham United a 1-0 win against bottom of the table Southampton after the visitors saw Guido Rodriguez’s red card overturned.
Bournemouth and Crystal Palace shared a goalless draw at the Vitality Stadium.
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