 | « Back to article | Print this article |
A round-up of Saturday's matches in the English Premier League
In echoes of last season's epic Premier League title race, Liverpool and Manchester City matched each other stride for stride to eke out 2-1 victories on Saturday when both had looked set for shock defeats.
They both trailed 1-0 at half-time, but Sergio Aguero's 70th-minute equaliser and Kyle Walker's late winner earned champions City a 2-1 home victory over a gritty Southampton side.
Liverpool left it even later. When Walker's goal went in at the Etihad Stadium they were still trailing 1-0 at Aston Villa, for whom Trezeguet scored his first goal for the club.
Juergen Klopp's side were staring at their first league defeat for 10 months and having their lead halved but Andy Robertson headed them level.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time Sadio Mane then glanced Trent Alexander-Arnold's corner past Tom Heaton to send the visiting fans into delirium.
When the dust settled on a pulsating afternoon, Liverpool's six-point lead remained intact ahead of next weekend's seismic clash with City at Anfield.
Tammy Abraham scored early on and created a second goal for Christian Pulisic after the break as Chelsea beat bottom side Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road, despite a superb display by Ben Foster between the posts for the home side.
Abraham latched on to a brilliant defence-splitting pass by Jorginho and lifted the ball past Foster in the fifth minute to join Leicester's Jamie Vardy and Manchester City's Sergio Aguero as top scorers with nine goals each so far this season.
Watford nearly snatched an unlikely point as Gerard Deulofeu scored a late penalty and Foster almost headed home a late free kick as the Hornets threw everybody forward, but his opposite number Kepa clawed the ball away as the final whistle went.
Manchester United's revival ground to a halt as they went down 1-0 at Bournemouth -- Joshua King's goal just before halftime sending the south coasters above United into seventh.
King volleyed in from close range as Bournemouth scored their first Premier League goal for more than a month.
Victory lifted Eddie Howe's side above United into sixth place in the table with 16 points from 11 games ahead of Saturday's later kickoffs.
United had won three successive away games in all competitions but despite starting and finishing strongly against Bournemouth they could have few complaints at the defeat.
Arsenal squandered a home lead for the second successive week. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Arsenal a first-half lead but Raul Jimenez earned Wolverhampton Wanderers a 1-1 draw.
Sheffield United's impressive return to the top flight continued as they crushed Burnley 3-0, with John Lundstram's first-half double putting them in charge.
Brighton & Hove Albion won a third successive home league game, beating struggling Norwich City 2-0.
Newcastle United held on for a 3-2 win at West Ham United. Goals from Ciaran Clark, Federico Fernandez and Jonjo Shelvey put Newcastle 3-0 up but they survived a nervous finale as Fabian Balbuena and Robert Snodgrass struck for the hosts who are now without a league win in five matches.
For the third time in seven days, Liverpool displayed their mettle in the face of adversity.
Last Sunday they came back from a halftime deficit to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Anfield.
They then overturned 3-1 and 4-2 deficits to draw 5-5 with Arsenal in the League Cup on Wednesday before winning on penalties. But their luck appeared to have run out at Villa.
With City turning things around, it seemed Liverpool's grip on top spot would be weakened considerably as Villa played with confidence after Trezeguet's 21st-minute volley.
Liverpool had a Roberto Firmino equaliser ruled out in the first half for offside -- VAR confirming the decision despite it appearing a dubious one. They also had penalty appeals waved away as they chased an equaliser.
But Klopp's side would not be denied as Robertson and Mane sealed the points in dramatic fashion.
