Gabriel Jesus scored twice as Arsenal put five past Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park to move to within three points of the top of the Premier League.

It took the Brazil striker’s tally against the Eagles to five in a week, following his Carabao Cup quarter-final hat-trick on Wednesday.

But there was a setback for the Gunners as Bukayo Saka limped off in the first half.

Jesus scored two in the first half before Kai Havertz made it three, with Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice adding further goals after the break.

Arsenal struck first in the sixth minute, Saka’s cross was deflected into the path of Jesus and he fired past Dean Henderson at the near post.

The Eagles were level just five minutes later when Ismaila Sarr curled an excellent effort in the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Arsenal then went ahead again just three minutes later. A dangerous corner was not cleared and Thomas Partey teed up Jesus, who curled a shot into the top corner.

Jesus then almost registered his second hat-trick in a week when his header hit the post, but the ball bounced out and Havertz was on hand to tap in from close range for the Arsenal third.

Both sides had chances to score more in the first half, Jean-Philippe Mateta had a close range effort saved by Raya before Gabriel headed a Martin Odegaard corner against the bar.

Palace started the second half brightly but Arsenal kept them out before Martinelli diverted in substitute Rice’s shot.

Rice himself then got on the scoresheet as he curled in an excellent strike for the Arsenal fifth.

Arsenal are now three points behind leaders Liverpool, although they have played two games more.

Substitute Rodrigo Muniz scored the winner late into six minutes of stoppage time as Fulham staged a magnificent comeback to stun Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea looked to be maintaining the pressure on Premier League pace-setters Liverpool as they defended a lead given to them by Cole Palmer’s smooth 16th-minute strike.

Fulham, however, never took a backward step and were rewarded in the most dramatic fashion with two late goals as Chelsea’s title aspirations suffered a serious setback.

Marco Silva’s Fulham substitutions worked to perfection, first when Harry Wilson headed the equaliser after 82 minutes before Muniz steered a low finish past Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez in the 95th minute.

Chelsea were never comfortable, even after Palmer’s strike which was his 26th Premier League goal in the calendar year, breaking the Chelsea record set by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2001.

Fulham were relentless in pursuit of at least a point and got full value for their ambition, securing their first win at Stamford Bridge in 45 years.

Liverpool stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points as they thrashed an abject West Ham United at the London Stadium.

It was another capital goal-fest for Arne Slot’s irresistible side after the 6-3 win at Tottenham seven days previously, the outcome never in doubt as a first-half masterclass left a desperately passive Hammers well beaten.

Liverpool had already missed several chances before Luis Diaz gave them the lead with a powerful finish on the half-hour mark. Cody Gakpo was then the beneficiary of Mohamed Salah’s brilliant footwork to add a second after 40 minutes, before the Egyptian inevitably got in on the act himself with a low drive on the stroke of half-time for his 20th goal of a superb season.

Julen Lopetegui’s side could not even manage damage limitation as Trent Alexander-Arnold added the fourth after 54 minutes when his long-range effort took a deflection off Max Kilman’s head past Alphonse Areola.

Only Mohammed Kudus offered anything resembling hope for the hosts, hitting the woodwork in each half while Luis Guilherme did the same just before the end, but this was no consolation as they were utterly outclassed by this rampant Liverpool outfit.

The gap in quality was emphasised six minutes from time when Salah bamboozled several West Ham defenders with a brilliant run from inside his own half before setting up substitute Diogo Jota for a typically clinical finish.

At a bitterly cold Craven Cottage, the former Roma boss and ex-Croatia player was an animated presence in the press seats after he had been announced as manager on Saturday, replacing the sacked Russell Martin.

But Juric, sitting alongside members of his coaching staff, had to wait until the 56th minute to see his team have an attempt on target, with away fans chanting “we had a shot” after Adam Armstrong’s tame 20-yard strike was straight at home keeper Bernd Leno.

That was the only save Leno had to make and highlighted Southampton’s weakness up front. Their total of 11 goals from 17 matches is the worst in the Premier League, with Everton’s tally of 14 the next lowest.

Despite the battling point, Southampton are bottom of the top flight at Christmas for the first time in their history and their six-point tally is the joint-third lowest of any side in the Premier League era, with only Sheffield United (two in 2020-21) and Sunderland (five in 2005-06) having fewer.