Darwin Nunez broke his goal drought to motivate Liverpool to a 2-0 win against Burnley, while Chris Wood’s hat-trick against his former club Newcastle earned Nuno Espirito Santo his first victory as Nottingham Forest manager on Tuesday.
Jurgen Klopp’s team seized an early lead at Turf Moor via Nunez and held on despite a slew of opportunities.
Nunez’s eighth goal of the season was his first in 12 games since November 1, when he scored against Bournemouth in the League Cup.
Diogo Jota, returning after a month’s injury layoff, sealed the win late on, putting Liverpool two points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
If Aston Villa defeat Manchester United later on Tuesday, they would tie Liverpool on points but behind them on goal differential.
Arsenal can reclaim first place with a win against West Ham at home on Thursday.
Following draws with Manchester United and Arsenal before Christmas, this was a must-win for Liverpool’s championship hopes.
Wood departed Newcastle in June for Nottingham Forest in a £15 million ($19 million) move, although he has only scored four goals for his new team.
Last season, the 32-year-old New Zealand international scored two league goals for Newcastle, but he eclipsed that number with a triple in 60 minutes at St James’ Park.
Newcastle took the lead in the first half thanks to a penalty from Alexander Isak, but Wood equalized right before the interval.
He scored twice more in the second half to give former Tottenham boss Nuno his first win as Forest manager in his second game in charge after replacing the fired Steve Cooper.
The racial controversy
It was Forest’s first victory in eight games and just their second in the past 15 games.
Forest moved five points clear of the relegation zone with the remainder of the day’s fixtures still to play.
Nuno’s debut game in charge resulted in a heartbreaking 3-2 stoppage-time loss to Bournemouth at the City Ground last Saturday.
Newcastle’s fifth loss in their previous seven games in all competitions has dropped them to seventh position, seven points below the top four.
South Yorkshire Police are investigating an alleged racial remark made to Carlton Morris during Luton Town’s 3-2 victory against fellow strugglers Sheffield United, according to manager Rob Edwards.
Morris reported a statement made by a United supporter late in the second half that got him “pretty angry,” and police talked with him.
It ruined what had been a fantastic day for Morris, who came off the bench to produce two own goals in four minutes as third-bottom Luton battled back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the division’s worst team.
“There was an alleged racist comment, the police are dealing with that, they have spoken to Carlton and got his take on it, so it is with them now,” Edwards was quoted as saying.
Fulham manager Marco Silva stated that his goalkeeper Bernd Leno “touched” but “didn’t push” a ball boy during the Cottagers’ 3-0 loss to Bournemouth.
The incident happened in the second half when Leno moved to retrieve the ball from the youngster’s extended hand before making purposeful contact with the boy’s shoulder, who looked to take a step back for balance.
The 31-year-old German eventually returned to apologize to the ball boy, however Silva said the conversation was exaggerated.
“Have you noticed him pushing?” I didn’t see this. He did apologize. “I discussed it with Bernd,” Silva stated.