Liverpool edge Arsenal to move to within one point of Man City, Spurs keep European dreams alive with win at Brighton

Liverpool cut Manchester City’s lead at the top of the English Premier League to just a point table with a 2-0 win over in-form Arsenal in an entertaining clash played at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

The match carried significance in the title race as well as the battle for the top four, and it lived up to the billing.

The Gunners matched Liverpool for long periods but were eventually undone in the second half as goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino gave Jurgen Klopp’s men the maximum points to catch up with the defending champions.

Liverpool had the first chance of the match after just three minutes when Virgil van Dijk rose highest from a corner and headed at goal, but his effort towards the bottom right corner was saved by Aaron Ramsdale.

Despite the entertaining show at the Emirates, the two sides could not carve out clear-cut chances in the opening half.

The match however roared to life in the second, with Sadio Mane scoring two minutes after the restart, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside.

Almost immediately on the other end, Martin Odegaard got time and space inside the box after picking up a neat pass, but his shot towards the left side of the goal was brilliantly saved by Alisson.

With 55 minutes on the clock, the Reds finally got the breakthrough as Jota received a delightful pass inside the box and smashed a low shot into the bottom left corner.

Less than 10 minutes later, Andrew Robertson provided Firmino with a nice pass inside the box, and the Brazilian fished with a precise effort into the bottom right corner.

Martinelli got a chance to grab a consolation for the hosts five minutes from time when he met a cross in the box and found some space for a shot, but his effort went inches wide.

This was Liverpool’s ninth win in a row, and it moved them to within just a point of Manchester City at the top.

In the other match, Tottenham boosted their hopes of playing in Europe next season with a comfortable 2-0 win away at Brighton.

Antonio Conte’s team went into the match in search of a response, having suffered a 3-2 loss at Old Trafford last time out.

They however had to wait until the 37th minute for the opening goal, and it came from an unlikely source – Cristian Romero.

The defender deflected his teammate’s shot, which was heading in the opposite direction, using his body. The goalkeeper reacted to the earlier shot and the deflection confused him.

Harry Kane then wrapped up the win with a second just before the hour mark with a wonderful piece of finishing to give his side the much-needed cushion.

Spurs started the match on the right foot, coming close to taking the lead in the fifth minute when a mistake gifted Kane a chance inside the box, but his effort curled just around the right post.

Brighton too created a chance of their own just before the half-hour mark when Alexis Mac Allister found some space inside the box and got in a strike, but the shot was brilliantly blocked by one of the defending players sliding in.

The second half was however uncharacteristically quiet as Spurs kept their lines and limited the hots to a few clear chances.

In the end, Spurs held on to win their fourth match from their last six, moving seventh on the standings on 48 points, two off fifth-placed Man United.