Liverpool crushed Southampton 4–0 to put pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea, while Arsenal were back on track with a 2–0 win over Newcastle as Eddie Howe suffered his first loss as Magpie manager. Had to do Diogo Jota scored twice for Jurgen Klopp to warm the Anfield loyalist on a bitterly cold afternoon. Liverpool’s third consecutive win in all competitions moved them to second place since their loss at West Ham. The Reds are one point behind Chelsea, who host Manchester United on Sunday.
Third-placed Manchester City will go back to Liverpool on Sunday after beating West Ham.
Liverpool needed just two minutes to take the lead when Sadio Mane played in Andrew Robertson and the Scots cross was fully weighted for Jota, which ended from close range.
Jota scored again in the 32nd minute with a simple finish from Mohamed Salah for his eighth club goal this time.
After scoring at least two goals in 17 consecutive appearances in all competitions, Liverpool refused to take their foot off the gas.
Thiago Alcantara ended a long goal drought in a midweek Champions League win over Porto and the Spaniard midfielder was back on the scoresheet in the 37th minute when his shot was deflected by Lyonco.
Virgil van Dijk took Liverpool’s fourth in the 52nd minute, after Dutch defender scored his first goal in 14 months from a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner.
Arsenal saw their 10-match unbeaten run across all competitions come to a painful end with a 4-0 loss at Liverpool last weekend.
But second-half goals from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli at Emirates Stadium gave it four wins out of its last five league games.
After a poor start to the season, Mikel Arteta’s side are fifth, points with fourth-placed West Ham, as they chase a berth in next season’s Champions League.
“I am happy with the points after losing to Liverpool. You have to win straight away,” Arteta said.
Gerard makes his mark
Howe was in charge for the first time since he missed last weekend’s 3-3 draw against Brentford due to a positive coronavirus test.
While the Saudi-led consortium that recently bought Newcastle has talked about emulating the success of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain under Middle Eastern ownership, Howe’s sole focus is on saving the Magpies from relegation.
Former Bournemouth boss Howe will need to outperform his winless team to avoid a disastrous slide in the championship.
Already five points below safety, Newcastle face crucial games in the coming week against fellow strugglers Norwich and Burnley.
“The game was decided with Callum Wilson and a penalty – a tough call against us – then he scored,” Howe said.
“Pace is very important in football. We need to get that win as fast as possible.”
Steven Gerrard scored his second straight win since taking over Aston Villa as the former Rangers boss won 2-1 at Crystal Palace.
Highlighting Palace’s set-piece weakness, Villa came to the fore after 15 minutes when Matt Targett fired home his first league goal since 2019 when hosts failed to clear Ashley Young’s corner.
Villa’s Douglas Luiz escaped a red card in the 72nd minute for a late tackle on Chekhou Kouyte, the midfielder being sent off before the decision was initially reversed after a VAR check.
John McGuin added to Palace’s frustration in the 86th minute when he caught Villa’s killer second hand from Anwar El Ghazzi.
Marc Guehy’s 95th minute goal for Palace was a bit of a consolation.
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Dean Smith, who replaced Gerrard at Villa, remained unbeaten as Norwich boss when the second-bottom Canaries drew 0–0 with the Wolves at Carrow Road.
Brighton host struggling Leeds in a late match on Saturday.
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