English Premier League leaders Liverpool needed two Mohamed Salah penalties to beat bottom-of-the-table Southampton 3-1 on Saturday, while Nottingham Forest took a giant step toward the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win over Manchester City.
Liverpool stretched their lead at the top to a massive 16 points, despite a lethargic first 45 minutes.
Fresh from a smash-and-grab 1-0 Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool boss Arne Slot made just three changes.
Photo: Reuters
However, the Dutchman was forced into making three half-time alterations to kick-start his team.
“The manager was like going for us — but that’s something you need sometimes, because first half, the game was sloppy,” Salah said.
Southampton have taken just nine points from 28 games all season, but stunned Anfield when Will Smallbone fired the visitors in front in first-half stoppage time.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Alisson Becker was Liverpool’s hero at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, but the Brazilian and Virgil van Dijk got in each other’s way to allow Smallbone to roll into an unguarded net.
Slot turned to Harvey Elliott, Alexis MacAllister and Andy Robertson at the break, and the changes had the desired effect with two goals in three minutes before the hour mark.
Darwin Nunez leveled with a sharp near-post finish from Luis Diaz’s cross.
Photo: AFP
Nunez was then upended inside the area and Salah converted from the spot.
The Egyptian slotted home a second penalty two minutes from time to take his tally for the season to 32 goals.
It appears a matter of when not if Liverpool would clinch just their second league title in 35 years.
Forest pulled four points clear of City in third thanks to Callum Hudson-Odoi’s late winner at the City Ground.
The former Chelsea winger fired past Ederson on 83 minutes from Morgan Gibbs-White’s pass to spark jubilant scenes of celebration as Forest beat the English champions for the first time since 1997.
Two-time European champions, Forest have not experienced the continent’s top competition since 1980.
However, they are closing in on the Champions League with a top five finish almost certain to be enough thanks to the strong performance of English teams in Europe this season.
“We are not here to joke,” Hudson-Odoi posted on social media. “Goal, MOTM [man of the match], three points!”
City remain fourth and are looking over their shoulders after a ninth league defeat of the season.
BUNDESLIGA
AP, BERLIN
German Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich squandered a two-goal lead and lost at home to struggling VfL Bochum 3-2 on Saturday, but Bayer Leverkusen were unable to take advantage.
Leverkusen lost 2-0 at home to Werder Bremen, a team that lost its previous five games across all competitions.
The Champions League weighed heavily across the league on a day of upsets.
Borussia Dortmund lost at home to Augsburg 1-0, leading to a chorus of whistles from home fans before the Black and Yellows go to Lille OSC for the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday. The teams drew the first leg 1-1 on Tuesday last week.
Also, VfB Stuttgart were held to 2-2 by Holstein Kiel, and VfL Wolfsburg drew with St Pauli 1-1.
SC Freiburg drew with RB Leipzig 0-0 in the late game, denting their hopes of Champions League qualification. Both needed a win to keep pace with Mainz, which won Friday to boost its qualification prospects.
Leverkusen’s loss – their second blow this week after Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat to Bayern in Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie — was compounded by an injury to star player Florian Wirtz early in the second half.
Wirtz, who had only gone on after the break as a substitute, was unable to continue after a foul from Bremen’s Mitchell Weiser in the 52nd minute. Weiser, who was booked, connected with Wirtz’s right foot.
Leverkusen and Bayern had rested players before they meet again for the second leg of their Champions League in Leverkusen tomorrow.
Bochum are celebrating their first win in Munich since 1991. It was also Bayern’s first defeat at home this season.
Raphael Guerreiro got Bayern off to a flying start in the 14th minute, but Serge Gnabry missed a penalty shortly afterward when his effort crashed off the left post.
Harry Kane, who had been rested, usually takes Bayern’s penalties. Kane has not missed any of his last 30.
Guerreiro made the most of his rare start with his second goal in the 28th, only for Jakov Medic to pull one back three minutes later.
The game tipped in Bochum’s favor when Palhinha was sent off in the 43rd for a studs-up challenge on Georgios Masouras’ ankle.
Ibrahima Sissoko equalized in the 51st and Matus Bero put the visitors in front in the 71st.
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