Liverpool rout Southampton, Arsenal cruise over winless Newcastle

Liverpool crushed Southampton 4-0 to put pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea, while Arsenal got back on track with a 2-0 win over Newcastle as Eddie Howe suffered his first defeat as Magpies manager. Diogo Jota scored twice for Jurgen Klopp’s side to warm the Anfield faithful on a bitterly cold afternoon. Jota netted again […]

Liverpool crushed Southampton 4-0 to put pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea, while Arsenal got back on track with a 2-0 win over Newcastle as Eddie Howe suffered his first defeat as Magpies manager.

Diogo Jota scored twice for Jurgen Klopp’s side to warm the Anfield faithful on a bitterly cold afternoon.

Jota netted again in the 32nd minute with a simple finish from Mohamed Salah’s pass for his eighth club goal this term.

Thiago Alcantara had ended a lengthy goal drought in the midweek Champions League win over Porto and the Spain midfielder was back on the scoresheet in the 37th minute when his shot deflected in off Lyanco.

Virgil van Dijk bagged Liverpool’s fourth in the 52nd minute, the Dutch defender volleying his first goal in 14 months from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner.

Meanwhile. Arsenal saw their 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions come to a painful end in last weekend’s 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool.

But second-half goals from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli at the Emirates Stadium made it four wins from their last five league games.

Steven Gerrard earned his second successive win since taking charge of Aston Villa as the former Rangers boss masterminded a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace.

Exposing Palace’s set-piece weakness, Villa went in front after 15 minutes when Matt Targett fired home for his first league goal since 2019 after the hosts failed to clear Ashley Young’s corner.

John McGinn compounded Palace’s frustration in the 86th minute as he grabbed Villa’s killer second from Anwar El Ghazi’s pass. Marc Guehi’s 95th-minute goal was little consolation for Palace.