Wood brace extends Burnley unbeaten run
New Zealand striker Chris Wood scored twice to help Burnley climb out of the English Premier League relegation zone with a 3-1 win at Brighton yesterday.
Burnley had already hit the woodwork twice by the time Wood gave his team the lead in the 26th minute, after being set up by Ashley Barnes.
He made it 2-0 around the hour mark before Barnes added a 74thminute penalty, with Wood denied an ideal opportunity to complete his first Premier League hat-trick.
Shane Duffy pulled one back for Brighton two minutes later but Burnley held on to extend their unbeaten run to seven games.
Wood has contributed five goals in that span, turning around a rough run of form to sit tied with Barnes as Burnley’s top Premier League scorer this season, with seven.
The win lifted Burnley to 15th, three points outside the relegation zone and trailing Brighton and Crystal Palace on goal difference.
Liverpool moved back to the top with a rampant display in a 3-0 win over Bournemouth at Anfield that also showed fears over another lateseason collapse may be unwarranted.
“We wanted to show a reaction. It’s our job not only to come through but to really perform and convince,” said manager Jurgen Klopp, whose team is looking for a first league title since 1990 but had let slip a seven-point lead to Manchester City.
“Supporters get a little bit nervous for all sorts of reasons. That’s not a Liverpool thing — it’s a football thing.”
Yesterday’s win was convincing. Liverpool rediscovered their attacking verve as goals from Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum essentially decided the game after just 34 minutes, and Mohamed Salah added the third in the 48th. If not for a number of missed chances in the second half, the scoreline could easily have been doubled.
Manchester United climbed above Chelsea into fourth with a 3-0 win at Fulham, while Arsenal were level on points with Maurizio Sarri’s side after beating last-placed Huddersfield 2-1 before Chelsea’s game against Manchester City overnight.
Paul Pogba scored twice for United at Craven Cottage as the French midfielder continued his resurgence under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Pogba gave United the lead with a blistering shot from a tight angle in the 14th minute and converted a penalty for the third goal in the 65th minute, taking his tally to eight goals in his last eight league games.
After sitting 11 points from fourth when Solskjaer took over from the fired Jose Mourinho in December, United are firmly back in the hunt for a Champions League spot.
Arsenal haven’t given up hope of finishing fourth either. Alex Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette scored in the first half for the Gunners, who still haven’t kept a clean sheet away in the league this season after Huddersfield pulled one back in injury time through a Sead Kolasinac own goal.
On a day where every game was preceded by a minute’s silence for Emiliano Sala following confirmation of the Argentine striker’s death, Cardiff ended an emotional week with a crucial win. The team moved out of the relegation zone by beating Southampton 2-1 thanks to Kenneth Zohore’s stoppage-time goal.
Sala’s body was recovered on Thursday from the crashed plane that was taking him to Cardiff, after he was signed from Nantes in January.
“For Emiliano, I feel really proud that the lads have done him justice,” Cardiff manager Neil Warnock said.
In other games, Watford beat Everton 1-0 and Crystal Palace drew at home against West Ham 1-1.