Liverpool win thriller, Arsenal down Chelsea
Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 4-3 at Anfield yesterday to maintain their push for the English Premier League title.
Juergen Klopp’s side went seven points clear of Manchester City, who play Huddersfield this morning.
Andros Townsend had given Palace a surprise lead in the first half but, after Salah levelled a minute into the second half, Roberto Firmino put Liverpool in front in the 53rd minute.
Palace equalised through James Tomkins’ header in the
65th but a blunder by visiting goalkeeper Julian Speroni gifted Liverpool the lead again.
The Argentine keeper, who turns 40 in May, was making his first appearance since December
2017 because of injuries to Wayne Hennessey and Vicente Guaita. He palmed James Milner’s bouncing cross up in the air, virtually into his own net, before Salah made it 3-2 on the goal-line in the
75th.
However, there was a manic finish with Sadio Mane and Palace substitute Max Mayer both scoring in stoppage time after Milner had been sent off for a second bookable offence on Wilfried Zaha.
Third-placed Tottenham Hotspur are also in action this morning, against Fulham, while fifthplaced Arsenal have come within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea, after defeating them 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea failed to get a shot on target until the 82nd minute, while Arsenal had first-half goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny in their pursuit of the fourth Champions League qualification place.
Unai Emery’s side made the most of an intense, attacking start in freezing north London, and Chelsea’s lax defence. Lacazette got on the end of Hector Bellerin’s cross and went past Pedro Rodriguez and Marcos Alonso before netting in the 14th minute.
Arsenal extended their lead in the 39th when Koscielny missed his header trying to meet a lofted ball from Sokratis but his shoulder diverted it into the net.
It helped to secure Arsenal’s second win over Chelsea in 15 league meetings, though there was a setback in the second half when Hector Bellerin was carried off on a stretcher.
Arsenal remain ahead of Manchester United on goal difference, after the Red Devils beat Brighton 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s recordbreaking start to life in the Manchester United dugout continued as Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford struck to secure a seventh successive win in all competitions.
On a day when Old Trafford stood to remember Matt Busby ahead of the 25th anniversary of his death, the caretaker coach broke another of the Scot’s longstanding United records.
In the process of claiming a seventh consecutive victory, Solskjaer became the first United coach to win his first six league games, with Pogba’s penalty and a Rashford stunner seeing off the
13th-placed visitors, who pulled one back through Pascal Groß in the 72nd minute.
United are a whopping 11 points clear of Watford, who drew
0-0 at home to All Whites striker Chris Wood’s Burnley.
Wolverhampton jumped three places into eighth after a dramatic 4-3 win at home against Leicester, with Jota netting a hattrick, including the winner in added time.
Bournemouth remain 12th after a 2-0 home win over West Ham, while Southampton are up to 15th after being 2-1 winners at home to Everton, and Newcastle jumped out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 home win over Cardiff.