LIVERPOOL’S 13 POINTS CLEAR AFTER EPL WIN
First came the Champions League title, then the Club World Cup last week. Now, with a 13-point lead, Liverpool will surely be champions of England again by May.
Leicester, the closest challenger, was blown away in a 4-0 victory that pushes Liverpool closer to ending a three-decade title drought.
There is half of the season still to play but the gulf was vast on Thursday night, exposed by Trent Alexander-arnold’s repertoire of assists and a goal from the right back. Alexander-arnold’s crosses set up both of Roberto Firmino’s goals and another was handled by Leicester’s Caglar Soyuncu which led to James Milner scoring a penalty.
Manchester City’s title challenge faded long ago, as the defending champion sits a further point back in third.
Below that, inconsistent form is rife. Chelsea remains fourth despite losing a seventh game of the season earlier in the day, beaten 2-0 by a struggling Southampton side that lost 9-0 to Leicester two months ago.
Tottenham is three points behind Chelsea after recovering from losing to its west London rival by beating Brighton 2-1 on Boxing Day.
Sheffield United was behind Tottenham only on goal difference, riding high on its return to the topflight, but it was still held by relegation-threatened Watford to 1-1.
After losing to Watford in the previous round, Manchester United came from behind to beat Newcastle 4-1.
More soccer
Rogelio Funes Mori’s goal in the final seconds gave Monterrey a 2-1 win over Club America in the first leg of the Liga MX final.
Hockey
Arizona Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton scored twice to help Canada beat the United States 6-4 in their Group B opener at the world junior hockey championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In the other Group B game, the host Czech Republic beat Russia 4-3.
• The U.S. defeated Finland 4-1 in an opener at the under-18 women’s world hockey championship in Bratislava, Slovakia, behind goals by Abbey Murphy, Claravan Wieren, Audrey Wethington and Rory Guilday.
• Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook will have surgery three times in the next three months, raising questions about his future after winning three Stanley Cup titles with his only NHL team. The 34-year-old Seabrook is scheduled for a season-ending operation on his right shoulder today. He also will have surgery on his right hip in January and left hip in February.
The last-place Blackhawks placed Seabrook and fellow defenseman Calvin de Haan on long-term injured reserve, creating significant space under the salary cap. De Haan also is scheduled for season-ending right shoulder surgery today. Chicago also announced Brandon Saad will be sidelined three weeks with a right ankle injury.
Also
A Tennessee man was being held without bond in the stabbing deaths outside a Nashville bar of two men, including a Long Island University quarterback whose brother, CJ Beathard, is a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Michael Mosley, 23, was charged with two counts of criminal homicide and one count of attempted criminal homicide in the deaths of Clayton Beathard, 22, and Paul Trapeni III, 21, and the wounding of a third man in an altercation that took place shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday, according to Nashville police.