LONDON: Liverpool claimed a convincing away win in the Premier League in the late game on Saturday to move to second in the points table after a 3-0 victory at Southampton.
Brendan Rodgers’ side leapfrogged Arsenal and Manchester City after the Gunners suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat at Stoke City due to a second-half Jon Walters penalty.
Liverpool are on 59 points, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference.
Fourth-placed City, who have two matches in hand on the clubs above them, have 57 points.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring with an opportunist strike after 16 minutes for his 24th league goal this season in his 100th league match while Raheem Sterling got the second in the 58th after coming off the bench and Steven Gerrard netted a last-minute penalty.
The win avenged the Saints’ 1-0 victory at Anfield earlier in the season, Liverpool’s only home league defeat this term.
Meanwhile, three further matches were held on Sunday, with Aston Villa jumping up four places with a 4-1 victory over Norwich in a mid-table battle.
Swansea were held to a 1-1 draw by a recovering Cyrstal Palace, who are no longer in the relegation zone.
There was no such joy for Cardiff, however, as the relegation-threatened Welsh team lost away at fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur 1-0.
Saturday’s biggest news revolved around Newcastle manager Alan Pardew’s headbutt on a Hull City player when the two teams met, a match the Magpies won 4-1.
Pardew was fined and warned by his club and given a formal warning by Newcastle who said his behaviour was “unacceptable”, while FA chairman Greg Dyke said the governing body would investigate the incident. (Reuters)
