Liverpool beat Burnley to stay top after Man City win
London, England - Manchester City claimed the Premier League summit only to be swiftly knocked off it by Liverpool on Saturday, in a sign of what is likely to be in store over the coming weeks in a nail-biting title race.
Erling Haaland's double - his first goals since returning from a foot injury - earned champions City a 2-0 victory over an obdurate Everton side at The Etihad Stadium.
That cranked up the pressure on Liverpool but Juergen Klopp's side duly responded by beating Burnley 3-1 with Dioga Jota, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez all on target.
It meant the day ended as it had begun with Liverpool two points clear of City, who have played one game less.
Liverpool have 54 points from 24 games with City on 52 from 23 and third-placed Arsenal, who face West Ham United on Sunday, on 49 from 23 games.
Klopp's side, beaten by Arsenal last week, were not at their best again and had to work hard to subdue Burnley who actually
equalised through Dara O'shea's header and looked capable of taking something home as they battle against relegation. Jota headed Liverpool into the lead in the 31st minute and Diaz and Nunez, also with headers, secured the victory after the break to return Liverpool above City.
"It's not only the three points. You cannot have momentum guaranteed all the time," Klopp, whose side host City on March 10, said. "It's always a different
challenge. If it's not clicking straight away, fight through it. It was really tough today but the boys fought through and got three points."
One worry for Klopp, however, was Trent AlexanderArnold's failure to emerge for the second half because of injury.
Tottenham moved back into the top four - leapfrogging Aston Villa - thanks to Brennan Johnson who struck in stoppage time to beat Brighton 2-1.