Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah struck within three minutes in the second half in a 3-1 victory over last-placed Southampton last night that gave the Premier League leaders 16 provisional points of breathing room at the top of the table.
Arne Slot’s men have 70 points after 29 games, while second-placed Arsenal have 54, with two games in hand. Besieged Southampton are 20th on nine points, 13 points from safety.
Will Smallbone stunned the crowd at a sun-drenched Anfield with a goal for the visitors in first-half injury time, when a mix-up between Reds goalkeeper Alisson and centre-back Virgil van Dijk saw the ball fall invitingly to Smallbone, who scored from an angle.
The league leaders thoroughly dominated after the break, and Nunez levelled in the 51st minute after Luis Diaz worked the ball past two Southampton defenders before teeing up the Uruguayan, who slotted home from close range.
Nunez drew a penalty three minutes later when Smallbone caught him on the back of the ankle in the box, and Salah unleashed a blistering shot from the spot past Aaron Ramsdale. Salah padded Liverpool's lead with a second penalty in the 87th minute after a handball from Yukinari Sugawara.
Earlier, in a sunbathed City Ground, Nottingham Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi struck late to give his side a 1-0 home win over Manchester City and boost their chances of a top-four finish and prized place in next year’s Champions League.
The 24-year-old winger picked up a glorious diagonal pass from Morgan Gibbs-White before running into the box and driving the ball past City goalkeeper Ederson at his near post from a tight angle in the 83rd minute.
In a game of few chances, Pep Guardiola’s visiting team came closest when Nico Gonzalez’s long-range shot scraped the outside of the post in the first half, while Hudson-Odoi saw a curled effort pushed onto the woodwork by Ederson after the break.
“I’m absolutely buzzing with the goal,” said Hudson-Odoi after his contribution secured Forest a first league win over Man City since 1997.
“We fought every battle, every ball and I’m happy we got the win for the fans. Look at the crowd, they’re amazing,” he added, as most of the 30,000 fans sang and danced at the final whistle.
The result kept this season’s surprise team Forest in third place on 51 points with 10 games left, putting them in a strong position to secure a spot in Europe’s elite competition for the first time since the mid-1990s.
Last year’s Premier League champions City are fourth on 47 points, with Chelsea and Newcastle United breathing down their necks on 46 and 44 points, respectively, before their matches.
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