Camille Naredo

Article (news)

football

Agence France-Presse

<p>LONDON, United Kingdom -- Rampant Liverpool smashed West Ham 5-0 on Sunday to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points as Manchester City returned to winning ways at troubled Leicester.</p><p>Nottingham Forest climbed to second in the table with a fifth straight win at Everton while Ange Postecoglou&#x27;s Tottenham conceded late to draw 2-2 against Vitor Pereira&#x27;s rejuvenated Wolves.</p><p>Arne Slot&#x27;s Liverpool look unstoppable in their quest for a record-equaling 20th English top-flight title, recording their 23rd win in 27 matches in all competitions this season.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DELGpj-Iwb5/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=675&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A2729205.100000024%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="969" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Luis Diaz opened the scoring against Julen Lopetegui&#x27;s hapless team on the half-hour, before Mohamed Salah set up Cody Gakpo for the second with some audacious footwork.</p><p>The Egypt international then scored his 20th goal of the season shortly before half-time to put the visitors in total control.</p><p>Trent Alexander-Arnold made it 4-0 with a deflected shot from distance in the 54th minute and Diogo Jota completed the rout, courtesy of another Salah assist following a surging run.</p><p>&quot;I enjoyed it a lot because it doesn&#x27;t happen many times that I could just sit back and enjoy,&quot; said Slot, flying in his first season in the Anfield hot seat after replacing Jurgen Klopp.</p><p>Liverpool&#x27;s striking success has come against the background of mounting speculation over the futures of Salah, Alexander-Arnold and captain Virgil van Dijk.</p><p>All three can discuss a move to a foreign club on a free transfer from January 1 but remain focused on winning a second Premier League title together.</p><p>&quot;The only thing on my mind is I want Liverpool to win the league and I want to be part of that,&quot; Salah told Sky Sports.</p><p>&quot;I will do my best for the team to win the trophy. There are a few other teams catching up with us and we need to stay focused and humble.&quot;</p><div><strong>- City back to winning ways -</strong></div><p>Earlier, defending champions City travelled to relegation-threatened Leicester drained of confidence after just one win in all competitions since late October.</p><p>Their frailties over the past two months, which resulted in nine defeats in their previous 13 games, were on display again.</p><p>But Savinho&#x27;s first-half goal and an Erling Haaland header after the break made it 2-0.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2024/12/21/guardiola-confident-of-haaland-revival-if-man-city-play-better-1502">READ: Guardiola confident of Haaland revival if Man City &#x27;play better&#x27;</a></div><p>City&#x27;s bid for a fifth straight title looks to be over as they are 14 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.</p><p>But the result lifts them to fifth in the table and within striking distance of fourth-placed Chelsea.</p><p>&quot;It is not enjoyable right now, it is just relief. We have done incredible things for many years,&quot; said City boss Pep Guardiola.</p><p>&quot;Our mood is in a better position. It was tight in the second half, they were much better.</p><p>&quot;We don&#x27;t have energy to sustain 90 minutes. Hopefully the new year can help us bounce back.&quot;</p><p>Nuno Espirito Santo&#x27;s Forest beat Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park, leapfrogging Chelsea and Arsenal.</p><p>Chris Wood chipped over Jordan Pickford for the opening goal in the 15th minute after being set up by Anthony Elanga.</p><p>Wood turned provider for Forest&#x27;s second, which came just after the hour mark when Morgan Gibbs-White produced some neat footwork before firing home.</p><p>Injury-hit Spurs were on track to end a torrid December on a high after first-half goals by Rodrigo Bentancur and Brennan Johnson cancelled out Hwang Hee-chan&#x27;s brilliant opener for Wolves.</p><p>Tottenham captain Son Heung-min also squandered a 43rd-minute penalty, but it did not appear to be too costly until substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen smashed home in the 87th minute.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m the person in charge, so of course it hurts,&quot; said Postecoglou, whose team have won just one of their past seven Premier League matches.</p><p>&quot;When I see how hard they are trying, it hurts even more because you want them to get a reward and I think today they deserved a reward for their efforts.&quot;</p><p>Crystal Palace won just their second home league game of the season, seeing off bottom club Southampton 2-1, thanks to goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Eberechi Eze.</p><p>Dango Ouattara scored an 89th-minute leveller as Bournemouth drew 2-2 at Fulham.</p><p>Chelsea and Manchester United are in action on Monday, with Arsenal travelling to Brentford on Wednesday.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-gMvWfGtWb4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Rampant Liverpool smashed West Ham 5-0 on Sunday to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points as Manchester City returned to winning ways at troubled Leicester.</p>

Rampant Liverpool smashed West Ham 5-0 on Sunday to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points as Manchester City returned to winning ways at troubled Leicester.

Football: Liverpool destroy West Ham to go 8 points clear, Man City stop rot

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Football: Liverpool destroy West Ham to go 8 points clear, Man City stop rot

Agence France-Presse,

John Weaver

Published Dec 30, 2024 12:36 PM PHT

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