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LONDON: Liverpool beat Newcastle United 1-0 to leapfrog Manchester City at the top of the Premier League on Saturday, heaping pressure on Pep Guardiola’s men ahead of their evening kick-off against struggling Leeds.
Naby Keita scored the only goal of the game at a boisterous St James’ Park as Jurgen Klopp’s men remained on track for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies.
At the other end of the table, managerless Burnley produced a stunning comeback against Watford to win 2-1 and pull five points clear of the relegation zone, condemning Norwich City to the drop.
Klopp made five changes to his starting line-up, mindful of Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Villarreal, with his side 2-0 up after the first leg.
Top scorer Mohamed Salah, Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho and Trent Alexander-Arnold were all on the bench against in-form Newcastle but the visitors still bossed the game.
The decisive moment came in the 19th minute when, with the home side appealing in vain for a free-kick, Jordan Henderson and Diogo Jota combined to feed Guinea midfielder Keita, who stepped inside before dispatching the ball past the helpless Martin Dubravka.
The Reds could have made life easier for themselves but Sadio Mane and Jota squandered chances and they survived a late scare when Alisson Becker saved from Bruno Guimaraes.
Klopp used his considerable quality off the bench, sending on Salah, Fabinho and Thiago in the latter stages to help close out the game.
Victory took Liverpool to 82 points, two points clear of City, who will retake top spot if they beat Leeds at Elland Road in the late game.
A delighted Klopp said he was delighted with his players’ ability to produce a winning performance after so many changes as they chase sporting immortality.
“That’s the only reason why we are where we are,” he said. “That’s how it is. That’s the only reason — the boys buy completely into the situation.
“The boys who didn’t come on today, you should’ve seen their faces on the bench when the final whistle went. It’s absolutely outstanding. We know that. The group is exceptional.”
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said his side never got going despite the opposition not being at their best.
“We competed well but lacked the quality that could have got us a goal. It is difficult to do it consistently against Liverpool… we were much more aggressive in the second half but did not have any concerted pressure in the game,” he said.
Liverpool are once again locked in a gripping battle with defending champions City for the Premier League title.
Any slip-up by Guardiola’s men and a quadruple of Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup would be just seven games away for the Reds.
The two teams drew 2-2 in the league in early April before Liverpool edged their rivals 3-2 in the FA Cup semi-finals — they could also meet in the final of the Champions League.
Burnley, who sacked long-serving manager Sean Dyche two weeks ago, had clambered out of the relegation zone after two straight wins.
They went behind in the eighth minute at Vicarage Road thanks to Burnley captain James Tarkowski’s own goal.
But Jack Cork headed home a Charlie Taylor ball in the 83rd minute and three minutes later Josh Brownhill fired into the bottom corner before sprinting the length of the pitch to celebrate with the travelling support.
The result means Frank Lampard’s Everton, who host Chelsea on Sunday, are now in desperate trouble — five points from safety and facing playing outside the English top flight next season for the first time since 1954.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Aston Villa beat bottom side Norwich 2-0 following a goal and assist by substitute Danny Ings, with the Canaries returning to the Championship after just one season in the Premier League.
Ings, who came off the bench for Leon Bailey, found Watkins with a searching ball from the left with practically his first touch and his fellow forward capitalised on a slip by Brandon Williams to fire Villa into the lead after 41 minutes.
Ings got on the scoresheet himself in the dying minutes of the match to double Villa’s lead with a sharp swivel and shot.
Brighton & Hove Albion earned an emphatic 3-0 win over a sluggish Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux as the hosts slipped to their third straight defeat.
Alexis Mac Allister saw his first-half penalty — awarded after a VAR check for handball by Romain Saiss — saved by goalkeeper Jose Sa but made up for it by scoring another minutes before halftime after Willy Boly fouled Danny Welbeck.
Graham Potter’s side created a number of chances against a toothless Wolves attack and Leandro Trossard effectively sealed the result after 70 minutes after cutting inside past Joao Moutinho and beating Sa with a composed finish.
Yves Bissouma, returning to the side after serving a two-game ban, added late gloss to the scoreline after scoring from 20 yards out as Brighton moved up to ninth place in the standings on 44 points, five behind eighth-placed Wolves.
Also on Saturday, Wilfried Zaha scored a last-gasp winner as Crystal Palace came from behind to claim a 2-1 win at Southampton.
With the game seemingly headed for a draw, substitute Zaha latched onto a pass from James McArthur at the edge of the box in the second minute of stoppage time and squeezed in a fine low finish.
The hosts took the lead through Oriol Romeu in the ninth minute when the Spaniard headed home from a James Ward-Prowse corner before
Eberechi Eze, who had looked threatening for Palace in the first half, levelled the match on the hour mark with a cushioned left-footed finish past Fraser Forster.
Palace are 12th in the standings with 41 points, one ahead of Southampton in 15th.