Premier League leaders Liverpool wanted two Mohamed Salah penalties to beat bottom-of-the-table Southampton 3-1 on Saturday, whereas Nottingham Forest took an enormous step in direction of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Manchester Metropolis.
Liverpool stretched their lead on the prime to an enormous 16 factors, regardless of a sloppy first 45 minutes.
Recent from a smash-and-grab 1-0 Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool boss Arne Slot made simply three modifications.
Nonetheless, the Dutchman was compelled into making three half-time alterations to kickstart the champions-elect.
“The supervisor was like going for us – however that is one thing you want typically. As a result of first half, the sport was sloppy,” mentioned Salah.
Southampton have taken simply 9 factors from 28 video games all season, however shocked Anfield when Will Smallbone fired the guests in entrance in first-half stoppage time.
Alisson Becker was Liverpool’s hero on the Parc des Princes on Wednesday however the Brazilian and Virgil van Dijk obtained in one another’s option to permit Smallbone to roll into an unguarded internet.
Slot turned to Harvey Elliott, Alexis MacAllister and Andy Robertson on the break, and the modifications had the specified impact with two objectives in three minutes earlier than the hour mark.
Darwin Nunez levelled with a pointy near-post end from Luis Diaz’s cross.
Nunez was then upended inside the realm and Salah transformed from the spot.
The Egyptian slotted residence a second penalty two minutes from time to take his tally for the season to 32 objectives.
Second-placed Arsenal have two video games in hand on the leaders, the primary of which comes away to Manchester United on Sunday.
But it surely seems a matter of when not if Liverpool will clinch simply their second league title in 35 years.
– Metropolis felled at Forest –
Forest pulled 4 factors away from Metropolis in third because of Callum Hudson-Odoi’s late winner on the Metropolis Floor.
The previous Chelsea winger fired previous Ederson on 83 minutes from Morgan Gibbs-White’s go to spark jubilant scenes of celebration as Forest beat the English champions for the primary time since 1997.
Two-time European champions, Forest haven’t skilled the continent’s prime competitors since 1980.
However they’re closing in on the Champions League with a top-five end nearly sure to be sufficient because of the robust efficiency of English groups in Europe this season.
“We aren’t right here to joke”, Hudson-Odoi posted on social media. “Aim, MOTM (man-of-the-match), three factors!”
Metropolis stay fourth and are trying over their shoulders after a ninth league defeat of the season.
Pep Guardiola’s males are more likely to be overtaken by Chelsea, after they host struggling Leicester on Sunday.
Crystal Palace shrugged off the lack of prime scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta to a severe ear damage to beat Ipswich 1-0 because of Ismaila Sarr’s winner.
The Eagles have received 9 of their final 11 video games in all competitions and climb to eleventh.
Brighton boosted their very own Champions League hopes courtesy of Joao Pedro’s 98th-minute penalty to beat Fulham 2-1.
Raul Jimenez’s spectacular strike opened the scoring for Fulham, however Jean Paul van Hecke levelled earlier than half-time.
Pedro’s spot-kick lifts the Seagulls to sixth and inside one level of Metropolis.
Aston Villa journey to Brentford and Wolves host Everton in Saturday’s later kick-offs.
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