Liverpool saved by Mignolet penalty save
Simon Mignolet saved a late penalty after being at fault for an early goal, earning Liverpool a 11 draw against Chelsea that slowed the leaders' charge to the Premier League title.
The Belgium goalkeeper was caught unawares by an opportunistic free kick from David Luiz in the 24th minute as Chelsea took the lead against the run of play at Anfield yesterday.
Georginio Wijnaldum equalized for Liverpool in the 57th before Mignolet made amends for his first-half mistake, guessing the right way to turn Diego Costa's penalty around the post in the 76th.
That save meant Liverpool avoided a fourth straight home loss in all competitions for the first time since 1923 and stayed 10 points behind Chelsea with 15 games left.
Tottenham's pursuit of Premier League leader Chelsea was frustrated by a 0-0 draw with relegation-threatened Sunderland yesterday.
Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham still gained ground on title rival Arsenal as its north London rival lost 2-1 to Watford.
And Sunderland, which had lost its previous two matches, climbed off the bottom of the standings with the point. But Hull, which is at Manchester United on Wednesday, is only behind Sunderland due to its inferior goal difference.
Watford dealt a major blow to Arsenal's Premier League title hopes as it secured a surprise 2-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
Early strikes from Younes Kaboul and Troy Deeney gave Watford a deserved 2-0 halftime lead before Alex Iwobi pulled a goal back for Arsenal after the break.
Watford withstood heavy pressure in the final stages to hold on for its first victory in eight Premier League games and consign Arsenal to a first home defeat since the opening day of the season.
Watford debutant M'Baye Niang made an instant impact as he won a free kick on the edge of the Arsenal box in the 10th minute, with Kaboul sending his shot past Petr Cech with the aid of deflection off Aaron Ramsey.
With Arsenal still reeling from the opener, Ramsey carelessly lost the ball to Etienne Capoue, who surged into the Arsenal box and forced a fine save from Cech, only for the ball to fall for Watford captain Troy Deeney to double the lead after just 13 minutes.
Arsenal was unrecognizable after the break. The introductions of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in place of Olivier Giroud and Ramsey helped, but a much-needed rise in intensity was the most crucial factor.
Iwobi was the catalyst for Arsenal as he created his side's best chance of the game in the 50th, only to see Walcott's shot saved by the feet of Heurelho Gomes.
Iwobi took matters into his own hands 10 minutes later as he converted the relatively subdued Alexis Sanchez's cross to the back post with a delicate volley back across goal.
But that proved to be as good as it got for Arsenal, as Watford, inspired by a string of Gomes saves, held out for a crucial victory.
Yesterday Barnsley-Wolves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 Birmingham-Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-1 Brentford-Aston Villa . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-0 Bristol City-Sheffield W . . . . . . . . . . 2-2 Cardiff C-Preston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-0 Ipswich-Derby C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-3 Not. Forest-Rotherham . . . . . . . . . . 2-0
Standings