Liverpool staged a sensational late comeback to beat Fulham in a seven-goal Premier League thriller on Sunday as Ollie Watkins rescued a point for Aston Villa at Bournemouth.
Ten-man Chelsea shrugged off a red card for captain Conor Gallagher to edge Brighton 3-2 while West Ham drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace.
Champions Manchester City were in action against Tottenham later on Sunday, seeking to cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to just one point.
Liverpool appeared set for their first home defeat in the Premier League since October 2022 when they went 3-2 down to Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s goal in the 80th minute.
But they dramatically turned the tables through Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who struck in the 87th and 88th minutes.
It was the latest Liverpool have ever fallen behind in a Premier League match that they went on to win.
“We played an incredible game until we didn’t anymore,” Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told the BBC.
“All credit to Fulham, they did really well. Today we scored four worldies and were lucky in the end to win the game, and that tells you everything.”
Alexander-Arnold set Liverpool on their way in the 20th minute when his brilliant free-kick clipped the underside of the crossbar and went in off Fulham keeper Bernd Leno for an own goal.
But the visitors were level just four minutes later when Harry Wilson poked Antonee Robinson’s cross past goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, standing in for the injured Alisson Becker.
Alexis Mac Allister produced a moment of magic to restore Liverpool’s lead, unleashing a rising drive that found the top corner for his first Liverpool goal, but Fulham again drew level through Kenny Tete before halftime.
Fulham looked set for a sensational victory when substitute De Cordova-Reid nodded home their third.
However, Liverpool were not finished. Mohamed Salah set up Endo, who found the net from the edge of the box in the 87th minute and Alexander-Arnold drove the ball home a minute later, sealing a 4-3 win and sparking wild scenes at Anfield.
– Vital Chelsea win –
Chelsea recorded just their second Premier League home win of the season against Brighton, despite being reduced to 10 men before half-time.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men were cruising midway through the first half after goals from Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill.
Facundo Buonanotte halved the deficit for the visitors shortly before half-time and there was still time for Gallagher to pick up a second yellow card, changing the complexion of the match.
Fernandez restored Chelsea’s two-goal cushion from the penalty spot, but Joao Pedro struck in stoppage time to heap the pressure on the home side.
Brighton were awarded a penalty for a handball by Colwill in the 101st minute but the referee reversed his on-field decision after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor and Chelsea held on.
“Crazy — it’s the most competitive league,” said Pochettino.
“The team is tired, we are all tired but overall happy,” he added. “After Newcastle (a 4-1 defeat), we needed to show a different face. That’s why I’m happy.”
Aston Villa striker Watkins headed home a cross from Moussa Diaby in the 90th minute to rescue a point for Unai Emery’s team, which kept them in fourth place.
Earlier, Leon Bailey had cancelled out an opener from Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo before Dominic Solanke put the home side back ahead.
“It shows our resilience, but we are not starting games well away from home,” said Watkins.
“If we can iron that out it will help us. Every game we want to win, we are in good form. We fancy ourselves against anybody.”
At the London Stadium, Mohammed Kudus put West Ham ahead in the first half, before Odsonne Edouard equalised in the second period to earn a point for Crystal Palace.
AFP
