LONDON: Liverpool moved to within nine points of claiming the Premier League title by coming from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 as Arsenal boosted their charge toward the Champions League places with a 1-0 win over West Ham.
Jurgen Klopp’s men had suffered three defeats in four games in all competitions, including their first in the Premier League for 45 matches at Watford last weekend.
Callum Wilson’s controversial early opener threatened another major upset. But all of Liverpool’s setbacks of late have come away from Anfield and they set an English top-flight record for 22 consecutive home league wins as two quickfire goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane turned the game around.
The runaway league leaders still needed a miraculous goal-line clearance from James Milner to deny Ryan Fraser an equalizer, but defeat leaves Bournemouth still marooned in the bottom three.
“We are not geniuses, but we can really fight and that’s all we have to do until the end of the season and see what we get from it,” said Klopp.
The spread of coronavirus could have a big impact on the Reds’ title celebrations in the weeks to come with the possibility of games being played behind closed doors.
But the abandonment of the normal pre-match ritual of handshakes was the only disruption to the Premier League calendar this weekend.
Despite the coronavirus risk there was no halt to players celebrating wildly with each other and Arsenal players piled on top of Alexandre Lacazette after a long VAR review of the Frenchman’s winner at the Emirates.
West Ham were made to rue a series of missed chances as they remain just outside the relegation zone on goal difference.
Jarrod Bowen hit the woodwork and Bernd Leno made a string of saves from Michail Antonio and Sebastien Haller, but it was Arsenal who made the breakthrough 12 minutes from time.
Mesut Ozil was originally flagged offside as he latched onto Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s deflected shot and headed down for Lacazette to sweep home.
But the goal was finally given after a delay of several minutes to move Arsenal to within five points of the top four.
Wolves missed the chance to move into the top four as a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Brighton left them still two points adrift of Chelsea in fifth.
A vital point for the Seagulls edges them two points clear of the relegation zone.
Sheffield United moved above Manchester United and Tottenham into sixth to further their dreams of Champions League football next season thanks to captain Billy Sharp’s winner to beat bottom-of-the-table Norwich 1-0.
Roy Hodgson celebrated his new contract as Crystal Palace boss with a 1-0 win over Watford as the Eagles moved into the top half of the table.
Newcastle also secured the win that should guarantee their survival courtesy of Allan Saint-Maximin’s strike to beat 10-man Southampton 1-0.
Moussa Djenepo gave the Saints a mountain to climb when he was shown a straight red card for a lunge of Isaac Hayden on 28 minutes.
Alex McCarthy kept Southampton in the game as he saved Matt Ritchie’s penalty, but Saint-Maximin stabbed home the winner 11 minutes from time to take the Magpies eight points clear of the drop zone.
Mohamed Salah goal helps Liverpool bounce back as Arsenal close gap on top four
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Mohamed Salah goal helps Liverpool bounce back as Arsenal close gap on top four
- Jurgen Klopp’s men had suffered three defeats in four games in all competitions
Benzema grabs hat-trick on Al-Hilal debut as Blues cruise to victory over Al-Okhdood
RIYADH: Karim Benzema had a debut to remember on Thursday, just days after completing a blockbuster move to Al-Hilal from Al-Ittihad.
The Frenchman, who had scored eight goals for his former side this season, took his tally to 11 as he grabbed a hat-trick against home side Al-Okhdood.
Benzema, wearing the No. 90 jersey, led the line in Najran as Al-Hilal sought to hit the 50-point mark in the Saudi Pro League and maintain their lead at the top. With Al-Ahli just three points behind and playing at the same time against Al-Hazem, victory was imperative.
Flanked by Malcom and Salem Al-Dawsari, Benzema enjoyed a comfortable first outing with the Blues. As he dropped deep to overload the midfield and drifted intelligently between attacking channels, a goal on his debut always felt inevitable.
After a goal resulting from slick combination between Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Al-Dawsari was ruled out because of a foul by Ali Lajami in the build-up, the game remained goalless in the opening half hour.
But then Benzema, targeting the same channels as Milinkovic-Savic and Al-Dawsari, dropped deep to initiate a move before advancing into the six-yard box to backheel the opener in the 31st minute.
Fifteen minutes after the break, Kalidou Koulibaly won possession high up the pitch before releasing Malcom into space, who squared for Benzema to tap home his second.
Al-Dawsari created Benzema’s third just three minutes later, after Milinkovic-Savic carried the ball toward the box and gave the winger a chance to pick out Benzema with a low cross.
Pundits on official broadcaster Thmanyah highlighted the role Benzema was playing in helping Al-Hilal diversify their attacking play. With the trio of Malcom, Milinkovic-Savic and Al-Dawsari missing a consistent, clinical striker to provide for until now — 10 players in the league have scored more goals than Al-Hilal’s top scorer Marcos Leonardo — Benzema provided the final piece of the puzzle and completed it with full marks on his first appearance.
With the clock ticking down, Al-Hilal capitalized as Al-Okhdood tired, and Malcom grabbed his side’s fourth goal in the 70th minute, before Al-Dawsari added a brace to complete an emphatic 6-0 rout.
Over in Jeddah, Al-Ahli faced a visiting Al-Hazem side led by the last striker to guide the Greens to a league title, Omar Al-Somah. The Syrian striker failed to make much of an an impact on his return to Al-Inma Stadium, however.
After a difficult first half against resilient opponents, Ivan Toney finally broke the deadlock in the 58th minute to extend his tally at the top of the Pro League goal-scoring chart to 19. It came when veteran keeper Ibrahim Zaid, deputizing in goal for Bruno Varela who was forced off in the 33rd minute due to injury, spilled a corner, allowing Toney to pounce and tap in from close range.
Any hope of a comeback was extinguished in the 76th minute when Sultan Tanker bundled the ball into his own net following a low cross from Mohammed Abdulrahman.
Earlier, Al-Fayha defeated Al-Najma 3-0 at home to move ahead of Al-Hazem into 11th place in the league. The visitors continue to endure the worst start to a season in Pro League history, becoming the first team to go 20 matches without a victory.
On Friday, NEOM host Al-Riyadh at 5:25 p.m. and Al-Ettifaq face visitors Damac at 6 p.m., before the weekend’s blockbuster match-up as Al-Nassr host Al-Ittihad at 8:30 p.m.
