REDS BACK ON TOP
LIVERPOOL regained its place at the top of the English Premier League with a 2-0 win at Cardiff City that restored its two-point lead over Manchester City.
Juergen Klopp’s side, which has lost just once all season, has 88 points — a record in the Premier League era — while City, which beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Saturday, are on 86 but have a game in hand.
That extra game for City will be played tomorrow night when Pep Guardiola’s side travels to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.
United will be licking its wounds after suffering a fifth straight away defeat, in all competitions, with a 4-0 hammering at the hands of a vibrant Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side did not manage a shot on target until the 86th minute as they fell to their sixth loss in eight games.
At Cardiff it was a patient performance from Liverpool who have now enjoyed nine straight wins.
“It was prepared to be a proper banana skin and we knew that, the boys were unbelievable. It was clear, difficult for all of us,” Klopp said.
Georginio Wijnaldum broke the deadlock for Liverpool with a first-time strike from a clever short corner from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Sean Morrison then missed a golden opportunity for relegation-threatened Cardiff to equalise, making a hash of a header when he had an open goal at his mercy. Late in the game, Morrison was judged to have pulled down Mohamed Salah in the box and substitute James Milner converted the 81st minute penalty to make sure of the crucial three points.
In the other game, Crystal Palace are safe from relegation after denting Arsenal’s topfour hopes with a 3-2 away win.
Christian Benteke headed Palace into a first-half lead only but Mesut Oezil equalised just after the break.
Shkodran Mustafi’s error led to Wilfried Zaha restoring the Palace advantage and James MacArthur’s header made it 3-1 before a late PierreEmerick Aubameyang consolation. Cardiff remains in 18th place, the final relegation spot, and are three points behind 17th placed Brighton & Hove Albion, having played a game more.