Premier League leaders Liverpool salvaged a 2-2 draw at home to Fulham despite trailing twice and having Andy Robertson sent off after 17 minutes on Saturday as chasing Arsenal were left to rue being held to 0-0 stalemate at home to Everton.
On what turned out to be a good day for second-placed Chelsea, who face Brentford on Sunday, Liverpool would have been far happier with their draw than title rivals Arsenal.
Diogo Jota scored an 86th minute equaliser at Anfield as Arne Slot’s side avoided a second league defeat of the season.
They have 36 points from 15 games, five more than Chelsea, while Arsenal’s failure to score at home for the first time this season left them still six points off the pace having played one game more than the two sides above them.
Nottingham Forest moved above champions Manchester City into fourth place as late goals by Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga saw them hit back to beat visiting Aston Villa 2-1.
Newcastle United returned to form in emphatic style as they thrashed Leicester City 4-0 with Jacob Murphy scoring twice.
At the bottom, the pressure increased on Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil as his side lost 2-1 at home to fellow strugglers Ipswich Town.
Jack Taylor scored a last-gasp winner for 18th-placed Ipswich who are now only one point from the safety zone. Wolves, in 19th, have now lost four league games in succession.
GOOD DRAW
There are good draws and bad draws and Liverpool’s will definitely feel like the former as they emerged from a difficult afternoon with minimal damage at Anfield.
“A great comeback is very positive. It’s disappointing having 10 men but we showed fight, kept trying to create chances. Could have been more but we take the point and move on,” Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk said.
“Stay calm. It’s easier to say than do it. It was always going to be tough against them.”
Liverpool got off to the worst possible start as Fulham took the lead in 11th minute through Andreas Pereira’s stretching volley and then left back Robertson was dismissed, after a long VAR check, for denying Harry Wilson a goalscoring opportunity.
Cody Gakpo’s diving header from a Mohamed Salah cross brought Liverpool level straight after halftime and they were chasing the win when Rodrigo Muniz stunned the hosts to put Fulham back in front after 76 minutes.
However, Jota came off the bench in the 79th minute for his first appearance since October because of injury and slotted past goalkeeper Bernd Leno in the 86th to salvage a point.
ARSENAL FRUSTRATED
Arsenal failed to score at home for the first time since April as they could not find a way through a blue Everton barricade at The Emirates.
Despite overwhelming pressure they lacked attacking spark and even when they did get a sight of goal England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford proved unflappable, making great saves from Bukayo Sako, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli.
Everton barely ventured forward but celebrated a gritty point which left them in 15th place with 15 points.
“Very disappointing not to win the game. We fully deserved to win the game,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.
“We conceded no shots. We dominated play. When we generated big chances we didn’t score a goal.”
PERSISTENT FOREST
Forest have now won six of their last nine league games after showing great persistence to overturn a deficit against Villa at a raucous City Ground.
Jhon Duran’s header had looked like sending Villa fourth, especially when Forest’s in-form striker Chris Wood had a late leveller wiped out for offside after a long VAR check.
But Milenkovic headed in a cross by Morgan Gibbs-White in the 87th minute before substitute Elanga slotted home his first goal of the season to claim all three points.
Ipswich secured only their second win of the season as substitute Taylor struck in the 94th minute at Molineux.
An unfortunate own goal by Matt Doherty gave Ipswich an early lead but Wolves were rewarded for a positive response when Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha, assisted by Goncalo Guedes, finished past keeper Arijanet Muric.
cover Chelsea beat Brentford to close in on Liverpool, Spurs smash Saints
Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella celebrates after the match with Levi Colwill
Buoyant Chelsea moved within two points of leaders Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday as goals from Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson earned them a 2-1 victory over neighbours Brentford.
Chelsea pushed Brentford back from the start but it was not until the 43rd minute that Spain fullback Cucurella raced into the area and dived athletically to head Noni Madueke’s cross past goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
Ten minutes from the fulltime whistle Jackson squeezed the ball inside the near post for his ninth Premier League goal of the season after latching on to a pass from Enzo Fernandez.
Brentford always looked dangerous on the break and the ever busy Bryan Mbeumo pulled a goal back in the last minute of regulation time to give Chelsea, now four points clear of third-placed Arsenal, a nervy finish.
Tottenham hit five first-half goals in thrashing of Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur scored five goals in the opening half of a Premier League game for the first time in their history as they thrashed bottom club Southampton 5-0 away on Sunday.
James Maddison scored twice, his first after 36 seconds and his second on the stroke of halftime, while Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr were also on target.
As Southampton imploded, many of their fans left well before the interval, although those that stayed at least watched their team recover a modicum of pride in the second half.
Victory was a welcome boost for Spurs who had managed only one point from their last three league games. They moved up to 10th with 23 points from 16 games.
Southampton remain on five points and already look destined for a rapid return to the Championship as they languish nine points from the safety zone.
Manchester United poured on the misery for flagging Premier League champions Manchester City as late goals by Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo snatched an unlikely 2-1 away victory from the jaws of defeat on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim’s first Manchester derby looked like ending in a third successive league defeat after Josko Gvardiol’s header put City ahead but Ivory Coast youngster Diallo tuned the game on its head in stunning fashion.
Diallo was fouled by City’s Matheus Nunes after latching onto a dreadful back pass by the same player with Fernandes stroking home the penalty in the 88th minute.
City had hardly got over that shock when seconds later it became the “Diallo Derby” as he sent the visiting fans into delirium with a superb finish from the tightest of angles.
What was initially a worrying slump in form by champions City has now snowballed into a full-on nightmare before Christmas for Pep Guardiola’s side as they have now lost eight of their last 11 games in all competitions, winning one.
They stay fifth in the table with 27 points from 16 games, nine points behind leaders Liverpool having played a game more.
Ismaila Sarr scored twice as Crystal Palace beat Brighton to inflict a first home defeat of the season on their rivals and move four points clear of the relegation zone.
Centre-back Trevoh Chalobah hammered a shot into the roof of the net from close range to open the scoring in the 27th minute, after the ball bounced around the six-yard box following a corner.
The Eagles got their second just six minutes later when Tyrick Mitchell’s curling cross was headed in by Senegal forward Sarr at the far post.
And Sarr wrapped up the points with his second of the match late on when he broke free and rolled the ball under Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen in the 82nd minute.
Brighton got a consolation through a bizarre Marc Guehi own goal after another scramble from a corner.
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was left complaining despite Cherries substitute Enes Unal curling home a brilliant last-minute free-kick to deny West Ham victory in a dramatic Premier League meeting.He was furious at the penalty Lucas Paqueta converted five minutes from time,
