Liverpool stay top of EPL table, Man City close behind

Liverpool registered a dramatic 2-1 win over Chelsea on Monday morning (AEDT) at Anfield to remain top of the English Premier League standings.

The Reds took the lead within 29 minutes through Mohamed Salah, who converted from the spot after Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill brought down Curtis Jones inside the box.

Although the visitors clawed themselves back into the match through a Nicolas Jackson equaliser right after the break, Liverpool regained their lead in the 51st minute through Jones and held on to secure all three points.

The win means Liverpool remain top of the EPL table with 21 points — one point ahead of champions Manchester City, and seven points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea.

It also marked the 10th win from 11 games for Liverpool manager Arne Slot, who took over from Jurgen Klopp during the summer.

Despite securing maximum points, the Liverpool boss admitted this was one of his toughest matches.

“Many other games were hard but this might have been the hardest,” Slot said after the game.

“Maybe because of the amount of quality players they have and the structure they have, we had to fight really hard to get this one over the line.”

The Dutchman also praised his team’s resilience, despite decisions not going their way.

“We defended so strong through the whole team. There was incredible work rate,” he said.

“The game became difficult for us because there were a few decisions, in my opinion, that didn’t go for us.

“The most crucial was when we thought we had the penalty before half-time.”

Liverpool will be in Champions League action on Wednesday night, with top sports bookmakers offering -117.65 odds for the Reds to defeat Bundesliga side RB Leipzig (+280) in Germany.

Meanwhile, Chelsea will be in Greece on Thursday night in the UEFA Conference League, with soccer betting sites favouring the Blues at -163.93 to beat Super League Greece side Panathinaikos (+425).

Manchester City squeeze past Wolves with injury-time winner

Premier League champions Manchester City needed a last-gasp winner to overcome a stubborn Wolverhampton Wanderers side, winning 2-1 at the Molineux Stadium.

Trailing the game after seven minutes thanks to Norwegian forward Jorgen Strand Larsen, the Citizens drew level in the 33rd minute through a sensational long-range strike by Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol.

Although Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa made several key saves, Pep Guardiola’s men proved too strong, eventually securing an injury-time winner through John Stones.

The only unbeaten side in the EPL this season, Man City have extended their run to a historic 31 league games without a defeat.

Securing maximum points on the road leaves City one point behind leaders Liverpool, while winless Wolves are bottom of the league with one point.

Speaking after the match, Guardiola praised his side’s efforts against a defensive Wolves outfit.

“Today, what happened, the flavour of winning this way is so nice,” the Spaniard said.

“Please don’t judge what the opponents do, it is up to us to break it down. Tottenham play a certain way and that is fine, Wolves play a certain way and it is fine.

“That is why the opinion I have is that it was an excellent performance. Today, we were close to drawing and in the end we were lucky to win.”

Manchester City welcome Sparta Prague to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night in the Champions League, and leading bookie Marantelli Bet is paying -1666.67 for City to defeat the Czech First League champions (+2800).

Wolves will be away to Brighton & Hove Albion next Saturday in the Premier League, with major sports betting sites pegging the visitors as +430 outsiders to beat the Seagulls (-163.93).

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