Liverpool rediscovered their swagger and stayed top of the Premier League with a thrilling 5-0 win over Watford that was powered by two goals apiece from Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk on Wednesday.
Senegalese striker Sane leapt between defenders to head a close-range ninth minute goal after a sumptuous cross from Liverpool’s marauding right back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who provided three assists on the night.
In the 20th minute, Sane received another pass in the box from Alexander-Arnold, first appearing to lose control of the ball before cheekily back-heeling it into the net past Watford keeper Ben Foster.
Belgian forward Divock Origi made it 3-0 in the 66th minute, cutting into the box from the left wing before firing past Foster at his near post. Dutch defender van Dijk headed in the fourth and fifth goals late on as Watford were swept aside.
Liverpool, who had failed to score in their last two games against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Manchester United in the Premier League, could have bagged even more as Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah also ran Watford ragged.
The result kept Liverpool top of the Premier League on 69 points, just ahead of Manchester City on 68 points after the champions’ 1-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday.
Manager Juergen Klopp looked delighted that his team, who had drawn three out of their last four league games to allow City back into the race, had found their fluency and intensity again against the Hornets.
MANCHESTER CITY 1 WEST HAM UNITED 0
Sergio Aguero’s penalty gave champions Manchester City a 1-0 win over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to stay a point behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The decisive moment came in the 59th minute when Felipe Anderson was ruled to have brought down Bernardo Silva and Aguero coolly slotted home from the spot.
Former City manager Manuel Pellegrini set his West Ham team up to frustrate the hosts and they did an excellent job for most of the game, forcing City into wide areas where they struggled to create openings.
City camped in the visitors’ half for the opening 45 minutes with David Silva going close to breaking the deadlock when he hit the post after an excellent low cross.
West Ham went close after the break when substitute Manuel Lanzini found Andy Carroll at the back post, but City keeper Ederson did well to parry the forward’s well-struck effort.
City boss Pep Guardiola promptly threw on Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva from the bench and they changed the tempo and flow of the game.
CHELSEA 2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0
Maurizio Sarri’s position as Chelsea head coach was strengthened by a 2-0 win which featured a Willy Caballero clean sheet and a Tottenham defensive howler.
Under-fire Sarri belatedly exerted his authority by dropping Kepa Arrizabalaga for his refusal to be substituted in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final penalty shootout loss to Manchester City.
The world’s most expensive goalkeeper was replaced by Caballero as Pedro’s 57th-minute strike was followed by an embarrassing Kieran Trippier own goal.
The right-back passed the ball by Hugo Lloris into his own net after 84 minutes as Spurs slipped to a fourth successive away loss.
They will now be looking over their shoulders, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea closing in, after slipping nine points off leaders Liverpool in the title race.
It might have been worse for Spurs had Harry Kane been sent off in the first half for motioning his head towards Cesar Azpilicueta.
The Blues stayed sixth, but are two points behind United with a game in hand and Sarri’s status appears secure for the first time in a month.
CRYSTAL PALACE 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 3
Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku rediscovered his finishing touch in fine fashion, scoring a superb goal in each half to help them to a 3-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
The victory stretched United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten league run to 11 games and boosted the Norwegian’s hopes of landing the job on a permanent basis after taking over from Jose Mourinho in December.
It left United fifth on 55 points from 28 games, one behind fourth-placed Arsenal and two ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea, who have a game in hand, as the three-way race for a berth in next season’s Champions League intensified.
Lukaku fired United into a 33rd minute lead with a deft finish from the edge of the penalty area after a dazzling solo run by left back Luke Shaw, who beat three Palace defenders.
The Belgium striker made it 2-0 in the 52nd with a well-taken volley from a tight angle after Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof nodded an Ashley Young corner into his path.
Right back Joel Ward pulled one back for Palace midway through the second half with a diving header before Young drilled in an unstoppable low shot in the closing stages to seal United’s victory.