Jurgen Klopps’s Liverpool firmed up its hold over the top spot in the Premier League at the half-way stage with an emphatic 4-0 win over former Reds boss Rafa Benitez’s struggling Newcastle even as current champion Manchester City continued to stumble with a 2-1 loss away to Leicester.
There were big wins also for Tottenham Hotspur, which blew away Bournemouth 5-0, Everton, which ran riot against Burnley, and a re-ignited Paul Pogba, who scored twice in a 3-1 win for Manchester United against Huddersfield.
Pep Guardiola’s side took the lead through Bernardo Silva’s early goal. But Marc Albrighton equalised for Leicester and Ricardo Pereira’s 81st-minute rocket handed City a third loss in its last four league games.
City is now seven points behind leader Liverpool and drops to third place below Tottenham.
Things went from bad to worse as Delph was shown a straight red for following through in a challenge on Ricardo, capping a miserable afternoon for City.
Liverpool treated its fans to some Christmas cheer extending its lead at the top of the table. The win put Liverpool on 51 points, six ahead of Spurs and seven ahead of City.
Benitez picked his team with defence in mind, stringing five players across the back. But defender Jamaal Lascelles inadvertently teed Dejan Lovren up for the opening goal, carelessly heading an attempted clearance into the path of the Liverpool centre back, who cracked home a fine half-volley in the 11th minute.
Newcastle managed to hold firm until halftime but within minutes of the restart it was were two down as Mohamed Salah scored his 13th league goal of the season from the spot.
Then Xherdan Shaqiri stabbed home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s low cross from close range in the 79th minute. Fabinho made it 4-0 by heading home Salah’s corner.
Cristiano Ronaldo saved Juventus’ unbeaten Serie A record this season when he came off the bench to score the equaliser in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Atalanta on Wednesday.
Juve, which dropped its first away points of the season, was down to 10 men at one of Serie A’s toughest venues when Ronaldo nodded home from close range in the 78th minute.
The Turin side thought it had snatched a win when Leonardo Bonucci volleyed home from a free-kick in stoppage time but it was ruled out for offside.
Juventus, with 16 wins and two draws from 18 games, has 50 points. Atalanta is eighth with 25 points.
Atalanta defender Berat Djimsiti miscued and sent an innocuous Alex Sandro cross into his own net to put Juventus ahead in the second minute before two goals from Duvan Zapata turned the game around.
The Colombian, scorer of Atalanta’s last eight goals, collected Alejandro Gomez’s pass with his back to goal and turned easily past Bonucci before firing a low shot past Wojciech Szczesny in the 24th minute.
Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 53rd minute and Zapata headed Atalanta in front from a corner three minutes later.
Ronaldo, left out of the starting line-up for a Serie A game for the first time since his move from Real Madrid, came to the rescue with his 12th league goal of the season.
A corner was floated to the far post, Mario Mandzukic headed it back into the middle and Ronaldo nodded home.
The results:
Premier League: Fulham 1 (Sessegnon 74) drew with Wolves 1 (Saiss 85); Burnley 1 (Gibson 37) lost to Everton 5 (Mina 2, Digne 13, 71, Sigurdsson 22-pen, Richarlison 90+3), Crystal Palace 0 drew with Cardiff 0, Leicester 2 (Albrighton 19, Pereira 81) bt Manchester City 1 (B. Silva 14), Liverpool 4 (Lovren 11, Salah 47-pen, Shaquiri 79, Fabinho 85) bt Newcastle 0, Manchester United 3 (Matic 28, Pogba 64, 78) bt Huddersfield 1 (Jorgensen 88), Tottenham 5 (Erikssen 16, Son 23, 70, Moura 35, Kane 61) bt Bournemouth 0.
Serie A: Frosinone 0 drew with AC Milan 0; Atalanta 2 (Zapata 24, 56) drew with Juventus 2 (Djimsiti 2-og, Ronaldo 78); Bologna 0 lost to Lazio 2 (Luiz 30, Lulic 90); Cagliari 1 (Farias 45+3) bt Genoa 0; Fiorentina 0 lost to Parma 1 (Inglese 45+2); Sampdoria 2 (Quagliarella 47, Ramirez 59) bt Chievo 0.
