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Liverpool go top of English Premier League following 4-0 win over Spurs
Two goals in either half see Brendan Rodger's side move two points clear
Everton keep up chase for fourth place with a 3-1 win against Fulham
Liverpool moved to the top of the English Premier League with a 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Sunday.
Two goals in either half saw Spurs soundly beaten by the Reds for the second time this season – Brendan Rodgers’ side handed out a 5-0 thrashing at White Hart Lane last December.
After laboring to victory over Sunderland in midweek, Liverpool returned to their more fluent ways with another lively attacking display.
Spurs defender Younes Kaboul helped them on their way with an own goal in the second minute.
The French center-back turned Glen Johnson’s low cross past Hugo Lloris and was at fault for Liverpool’s second as well in the 25th minute.
This time, Kaboul mis-controlled a sloppy pass from substitute Michael Dawson (on for injured Jan Vertonghen) allowing Luis Suarez to steal in for his 29th goal in 26 league games with a pinpoint shot past Lloris’ outstretched fingers.
The Uruguayan nearly scored again four minutes before the break, but this time the French goalkeeper repelled him, palming a fierce header onto the crossbar before the ball rebounded to safety.
Liverpool continued the second half where they left off the first, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and creating chances.
Jordan Henderson should have put the game to bed in the 53rd minute but fired wastefully over after being teed up by Raheem Sterling.
It mattered not. Two minutes later, Philippe Coutinho ended a purposeful run with an emphatic 20-yard drive to sink Spurs.
The match was over, but Liverpool weren’t done yet as Henderson made up for his earlier miss with a 75th-minute free kick which found its way through a crowd of players and into the net.
Liverpool’s eighth league win in a row means they move two points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table with 71 points from 32 games.
Jose Mourinho’s side slumped to a 1-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace on Saturday, giving credence to the Portuguese manager’s long-held assertion that the Blues are not favorites for this year’s title.
Earlier on Sunday, Everton stepped up the pressure on fourth-placed Arsenal with a 3-1 win over struggling Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Roberto Martinez’s team have now won their last five league games and stay in fifth, while Fulham’s fourth loss in five leaves them anchored to the foot of the table with 24 points with six matches remaining.
Everton now have 60 points, leaving them four behind Arsenal ahead of the Gunners’ trip to Goodison Park next Sunday.
In Italy, third-placed Napoli beat Serie A leaders Juventus 2-0 allowing second-placed Roma – who beat Sassuolo 2-0 earlier in the day – to close the gap at the top of the table to 11 points.
There were also wins for Lazio, who beat Parma 3-2; Hellas Verona were 3-0 winners over Genoa and Torino beat Cagliari 2-1. Sampdoria and Fiorentina drew 0-0.
Meanwhile in Spain, there were wins for Getafe who beat Valencia 3-1 and Valladolid who overcame Almeria 1-0. La Liga’s other two fixtures ended in stalemate with both Osasuna and Real Sociedad and Villarreal’s match with Elche finishing 1-1.