LONDON: Striker Mohamed Salah scored the winner as Liverpool came back from a goal down to beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 and go top of the Premier League ahead of Manchester City’s showdown with Arsenal later on Sunday.
Salah’s sublime second-half strike leaves Liverpool on 67 points, three ahead of second-placed Arsenal and four ahead of City on a pivotal day in the title race.
The Egyptian striker tormented Brighton, taking 12 shots to notch up his highest total in a Premier League game and, even though only one of them found the back of the net, it was to prove vital.
Danny Welbeck gave Brighton the lead after 84 seconds when his side broke up a Liverpool attack and burst forward to find him just inside the box and he drilled an unstoppable shot past Caoimhin Kelleher to break the deadlock.
The early goal jolted Liverpool into life and Luis Diaz put it level in the 27th minute after Joel Veltman’s attempted clearance went awry, allowing the Colombian winger to steal in behind the defence and hook the ball home.
Brighton substitute and former Liverpool player Adam Lallana dragged a shot wide in the 86th minute, and Salah forced a brilliant diving one-handed save from Bart Verbruggen in the final minute of normal time as Liverpool held on to win.
Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United both sealed comeback victories to boost their European qualification hopes while Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw at lowly Brentford after Kristoffer Ajer’s 99th-minute equalizer late on Saturday, denting the visitors’ hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea’s struggles continued as they were held to a 2-2 home draw against relegation-threatened Burnley.
Son Heung-min’s 86th minute strike earned Tottenham a 2-1 victory over Luton to put the pressure back on Aston Villa in the battle for fourth spot.
Newcastle’s win over West Ham United was far more dramatic as they trailed 3-1 with 77 minutes on the clock but two goals from Harvey Barnes gave them a 4-3 victory.
With Aston Villa playing Wolverhampton Wanderers later, Tottenham climbed into fourth place with 56 points from 29 games, ahead of Villa on goals scored. Agencies
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