Newcastle and Southampton earn crucial victories
Saturday 19 January 2019 21:14, UK
Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool survived an early scare to see off Crystal Palace 4-3 and establish a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp's team were left reeling by Andros Townsend's 34th-minute opener which had given the visitors a surprise half-time lead.
But Salah pulled Liverpool level within moments of the restart and the leaders rode their luck to edge ahead in the 53rd minute through Roberto Firmino's deflected strike.
James Tomkins headed Palace back level just past the hour mark but Salah grabbed his second before James Milner was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 89th minute.
Sadio Mane appeared to secure the points for Liverpool late on but there was still time for the Eagles to reduce the deficit once more through substitute Max Meyer in injury time.
Manchester United were forced to cling on to beat Brighton 2-1 at Old Trafford and extend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's record since replacing Jose Mourinho to seven wins in a row.
United appeared to be coasting to victory after Paul Pogba fired them ahead from the penalty spot in the 27th minute and Marcus Rashford added a second with a delightful finish just before the break.
But the Seagulls blazed back after the interval and after Pascal Gross reduced the arrears in the 72nd minute Chris Hughton's men frequently threatened to steal a point.
In the late kick-off, Arsenal breathed new life into the race for the Premier League's top four with a 2-0 win over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
Before kick-off Unai Emery conceded this was a must-win game if Arsenal were to secure a top-four finish this season and they responded with a dominant display against their London rivals.
Goals from Alexandre Lacazette (14) and Laurent Koscielny (39) handed the Gunners, who lost Hector Bellerin to a nasty looking injury in the second half, a victory which reduced the gap to fourth-placed Chelsea.
Cardiff replaced Newcastle in the bottom three after two goals from Fabian Schar helped Rafael Benitez's men cruise to a 3-0 win over the Bluebirds on Tyneside.
Schar opened the scoring in the 24th minute and added his second just past the hour-mark before Ayoze Perez wrapped things up with the Magpies' third in injury time.
Southampton also secured three valuable points as they held on to defeat Everton 2-1 at St Mary's.
The Saints twice hit the woodwork in the first half and looked set for another frustrating afternoon until James Ward-Prowse broke the deadlock with a brilliant finish after 50 minutes.
An own goal from Lucas Digne extended the hosts' lead and they secured a deserved win despite Gylfi Sigurdsson setting up a nervous finish with a late finish.
Andy Carroll missed a sitter as West Ham slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
Carroll missed from a yard out early in the second half when it looked easier to score and the home side punished his profligacy when Callum Wilson put them ahead in the 53rd minute.
A dismal performance from Manuel Pellegrini's men was compounded in injury time when Joshua King added Bournemouth's second.
Burnley were left feeling aggrieved after battling out a goalless draw against Watford at Vicarage Road.
The Clarets had the better chances throughout and thought they had won it at the death only for Chris Wood's effort from point-blank range to be ruled out for offside.
In the early kick-off Diogo Jota became the first Wolves player to score a Premier League hat-trick in a dramatic 4-3 win over Leicester.
Jota and Ryan Bennett scored to give the hosts an early 2-0 lead only for Demarai Gray and a Conor Coady own goal to pull the Foxes level.
Jota's second was cancelled out with three minutes remaining by Wes Morgan but there was still time for the Portuguese striker to grab the winner in the third minute of injury time.
