Liverpool’s Sadio Mane marked his return from injury with a late goal to break Norwich City’s resistance and secure a 1-0 win on Saturday to extend his side’s Premier League lead to 25 points.

On a windy evening, bottom club Norwich were proving a tough nut to crack for Juergen Klopp’s team but Senegalese forward Mane, who came on as a substitute on the hour, pounced to drill home a fine finish from inside the area in the 78th minute.

It was his first appearance since going off injured in Liverpool’s win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Jan. 23 and he marked it by claiming a 100th goal in English football.

A battling Norwich had defended resolutely and twice came close to taking the lead, but Liverpool’s relentless romp towards a first English title for 30 years continued.

Victory was their 34th in their last 35 league games and their 17th in succession, one shy of Manchester City’s record.

They have scored in 35 successive Premier League games, are unbeaten in their last 43 and have conceded only once in their last 11 league games.

Fifteen more points will guarantee them the title as they have collected 76 points out of a possible 78, now 25 ahead of Manchester City, who have played a game less.

“It was a difficult game for different reasons,” Klopp said. “The wind, the organisation of the opponent and the way we played in the first half made it tricky for us.

“Sadio was fresh and made the difference.”

Norwich, for whom Alexander Tettey struck the woodwork in the second half, remain seven points adrift of 17th-placed Aston Villa who host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

They battled until the end, however, and Teemu Pukki fired straight at Alisson in the 89th minute after a flowing move.

“It was moment of magic from Mane to win the game,” Norwich boss Daniel Farke said. “We were pretty close to coming away with a good result. The lads left their hearts on the pitch.”

BIGGEST GAP

Liverpool began the match 55 points ahead of Norwich, the biggest ever gap between top and bottom after 25 games in the Premier League, but lacked their usual cutting edge.

They enjoyed overwhelming territorial superiority in the first half with Trent Alexander-Arnold especially dangerous in the wide open spaces down the right flank.

Yet Liverpool struggled to create clear-cut chances and it was Norwich who should have taken the lead when Lukas Rupp was picked out by a long ball with the visiting defence nowhere, having pushed up for offside.

Rupp’s attempted lay-off to Pukki, though, was superbly read by Alisson, who spared his side’s blushes.

“It was a must goal,” Farke said of the glaring chance. “Two-on-one on the keeper. We should have been a bit more tidy.”

The second half was a Liverpool siege with keeper Tim Krul saving Norwich several times. The Dutchman produced a fingertip save to keep out Naby Keita’s powerful effort then a magnificent double stop to deny Mohamed Salah and Keita again.

Norwich’s excursions into Liverpool territory were few and far between but one ended with Tettey’s slightly miscued effort thudding against Alisson’s near post.

It was Mane, on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who eventually broke the deadlock with a superb finish.

Bringing down Jordan Henderson’s flighted pass with his outstretched right leg, he then swivelled and crashed a low shot with his left foot past the helpless Krul.

There was a suspicion that Mane had pushed a marker as he brought the ball down, but VAR ruled in his favour.

With the title virtually assured, Liverpool turn their attention to their defence of the Champions League on Tuesday when they visit Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, scene of their triumph in the final last season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers had a goal controversially ruled out by VAR as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Leicester City, who finished with 10 men, in the Premier League on Friday.

The result leaves Leicester in third place on 50 points, a point behind Manchester City, while Wolves move up to seventh place on 36, five points off the Champions League places.

Liverpool lead the standings on 73 points.

Wolves thought they had the lead just before the break when Willy Boly headed home after a short-corner routine but VAR ruled that Pedro Neto was marginally offside when he crossed.

The VAR footage showed Neto’s non-striking foot slightly offside when he received the ball back from Diogo Jota from the short corner.

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo said the VAR system needed to be re-examined.

“It is reality now but each time it happens it upsets you. When you see the images, there is not a clear advantage but the law is the law,” he said.

“I am positive about the reaction of the professionals and the fans, but something has to be done. Let those who understand do something to have the joy of celebrating. We are in danger of becoming robots,” he added.

Leicester went down to 10 men when Hamza Choudhury was sent off for tripping Leander Dendoncker as he picked up a second yellow card in the 76th minute.

Wolves went close to a late winner when Raul Jimenez flashed a header from a corner just wide and in stoppage time Adama Traore forced a save out of Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel.

But it was a disappointing game between two teams who were expected to produce much more entertainment.

“I thought we deserved a point. They are always a threat on the counter. It was impressive for us to keep a clean sheet with 10 men,” said Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers.

“We probably could’ve been quicker around the attack – the build-up play was good – but away from home you expect to come under pressure and it ends up being a very good point.

“We also showed we are a team that can dig in when we need to, not just good at passing, so that gets us going for the final 12 games,” he said.

Matej Vydra’s stunning second-half winner handed Burnley a gritty 2-1 victory at Southampton in wet and windy conditions.

The visitors took the lead with a freak goal when Ashley Westwood scored straight from a corner (2) after Danny Ings had misjudged the flight in the wind. Ings then hauled his team level (18) with a powerful strike from range, netting his 18th goal of the campaign in all competitions.

However, Burnley always seemed more comfortable in the conditions and Vydra – on as a substitute for the injured Chris Wood – scored a brilliant individual goal (60) to hand the visitors their third win in their last four matches.

This defeat for Southampton means they still have the worst home record in the Premier League this season, taking just 11 points from their 13 matches at St Mary’s.

In wet and windy conditions as the early stages of Storm Dennis battered the south coast, Burnley adapted far quicker than the error-strewn hosts. The Clarets were ahead inside two minutes, scoring their quickest away goal in the Premier League and probably their strangest.

Westwood whipped in a pretty mediocre near post corner that looked set to be cleared by Ings, who was marshalling that area, however, he misjudged the flight of the ball and thought it was going out for a goal kick. His error proved costly as the ball squirmed over the line despite Alex McCarthy’s attempts to scramble the ball back into play.

Southampton handed a debut to full-back Kyle Walker-Peters while James Ward-Prowse was fit enough to start despite being stretchered off against Tottenham just two weeks ago. Nathan Redmond missed out.Burnley made one change with Phil Bardsley replacing Matthew Lowton at full-back.

Southampton were struggling to get their attacking patterns going as Burnley’s direct style into Jay Rodriguez and Chris Wood suited the conditions.

However, Ings looked a man desperate to make up for his error and he produced a moment of quality to draw his team level on 18 minutes. There did not look much on from 22 yards but a quick shift of direction opened up space for a strike and the striker swept in a fierce drive off the wet surface past Nick Pope.

It was a bad few minutes for Burnley as striker Wood limped off with a hamstring injury after pulling up in the build-up to the Southampton goal.

Sofiane Boufal, who was looking dangerous against Phil Bardsley, soon followed Wood down the tunnel with a knee injury as Southampton continued to find any attacking rhythm.

With conditions worsening after half-time as the centre of storm moved through Southampton, chances were few and far between.

However, it was Burnley that carried the bigger threat in the final third and got their noses in front with half an hour to play.

Jeff Hendrick’s direct ball into Vydra caused issues for erratic Saints centre-back pairing of Jack Stephens and Jannik Vestergaard. The Burnley striker dummied to shoot past Vestergaard then showed supreme composure in the conditions to find the top corner with a rasping strike.

Considering he had not scored for two years, the calmness in front of goal he showed was impressive.

The onus was then on Southampton to take the game to Burnley but they did not possess the required tools to break them down with Ben Mee and James Tarkowski at their brilliant best.

In fact, the first save of the game Pope had to make came in injury time when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg drew a block from the goalkeeper from a tight angle.

After powering from out of the relegation zone into mid-table, Southampton have slipped back to their old ways while Burnley have moved up to 10th place

Headed goals from Anthony Martial and captain Harry Maguire earned Manchester United a hard-fought 2-0 win at toothless Chelsea on Monday amid more VAR controversy, putting them back in the hunt for a top-four Premier League finish.

The VAR system made the headlines once again after two Chelsea efforts were ruled out and England international Maguire escaped sanction for a kick out at Michy Batshuayi.

In a high tempo, if often scrappy, game Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United side made the most of their chances while Chelsea, whose form at home has been suspect all season, squandered a string of opportunities.Defeat left Chelsea fourth, a point clear of resurgent rivals Tottenham Hotspur led by their ex-coach Jose Mourinho. Chelsea host Spurs on Saturday. United, another of Mourinho’s old clubs, rose to seventh, three points behind Chelsea.

“It was a solid performance,” said Maguire. “We knew we had to get the win to close the gap. It’s a big three points.”

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta added: “In two key moments we lost the game. We created clear chances and were looking good but we were punished before halftime.”

A fine glancing header from Martial just before halftime from an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross put the visitors ahead. It was United’s first Premier League goal in four games.

Defender Maguire made it two in the 66th minute, losing marker Antonio Rudiger to head home from a corner by United’s new Portuguese signing Bruno Fernandes.

NO INTENT

Chelsea may feel hard done by after Maguire appeared to kick Batshuayi in the groin after he fell toward him on the sidelines after the pair challenged for the ball in the first half.

“I know I caught him and I felt he was going to fall on me and my natural reaction was to straighten my leg to stop him,” Maguire said. “It wasn’t a kick out and there was no intent.”

In the second half Chelsea netted twice only to be left disappointed. Kurt Zouma thought he had scored from a corner in the 54th minute but VAR ruled that there was a push in the area by Azpilicueta on United’s Brandon Williams.

Then substitute Olivier Giroud’s header in the 77th was cancelled out when VAR showed the toe of his boot was offside.

“You want the right decisions to be made and we’re happy they were made, because they weren’t being made without that help,” said United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

(Giroud’s effort), that’s offside. (Zouma’s) I just looked at the screen and it looks like a push in the back. So, for me, that’s not a goal.”

Chelsea only had themselves to blame though for their profligacy in front of goal. Until halftime they had looked the stronger side, forging a string of good attacking moves but, as has been their downfall all season, they failed to finish.

“If we’re not finishing chances it’s difficult to win games. We have 20 shots a game and then we don’t score. It’s very difficult,” said Chelsea manager Frank Lampard.

Reece James and Willian shot just wide and over the bar in the first 10 minutes while Batshuayi, playing instead of the injured Tammy Abraham, wasted a golden close-range opportunity from a neat Mason Mount pass in the 26th.

In the second half Batshuayi, Pedro and Willian all missed chances while Mount hit the post as Chelsea toiled in vain.

 

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