Liverpool moved five points clear at the top of the English Premier League with a 4-0 demolition of Bournemouth that extended their unbeaten league run to 14 games on Sunday.
The visitors were frustrated in a cagey first half of few goal-scoring chances but found a higher gear after the break with Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota both scoring twice.
Nunez made it 1-0 in the 49th minute after a slick passing move carved up Bournemouth’s defence and the influential Jota put the game out of reach of the hosts with two clinical finishes in the 70th and 79th minutes.
Uruguayan Nunez put the seal on a dominant Liverpool display with his second goal in stoppage time.
Liverpool have 48 points from 21 games with defending champions Manchester City, Arsenal and Aston Villa on 43 points.
Bournemouth are in 12th place with 25 points.
Late penalty
Sheffield United substitute Ollie McBurnie scored a penalty deep in stoppage time to give the bottom side a deserved 2-2 home draw with sixth-placed West Ham United in a game that saw both sides have a man sent off late on.
The home team started brightly but their shoddy finishing was punished when Hammers Ivorian winger Maxwel Cornet pounced on a deflected Danny Ings shot and fired the ball into the net first-time in the 28th minute.
Ben Brereton Diaz got the Blades back in the game just before the break as West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola parried a header from William Osula and the England-born Chile international took a touch before thumping the ball home.
West Ham’s James Ward-Prowse then scored from the spot in the 79th after Ings was upended by Gustavo Hamer and both sides had a man sent off before Areola fouled McBurnie, who slammed the ball past substitute keeper Lukasz Fabianski in the 13th minute of stoppage time to grab a draw.
‘Big Dog’ returns
England striker Ivan Toney scored 19 minutes into his comeback from an eight-month ban for betting offences as Brentford ended a five-match losing streak with a 3-2 home win against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The 27-year-old ‘Big Dog’, handed the captain’s armband and welcomed back to considerable fanfare, opened his account for the season with a stunning free-kick bent to the right around the defensive wall.
Television replays suggested he had twice moved the ball from its original placing, however, without the referee being alerted.
The equaliser lightened the mood, after Brazilian midfielder Danilo hushed the crowd in the third minute with a stunning half-volley straight past goalkeeper Mark Flekken, and Brentford began to click and the game came alight.
Manchester United raid neighbours
Manchester: Manchester United announced Omar Berrada as their new CEO on Saturday night after raiding rivals Manchester City in a dramatic statement of intent.
United had been looking for a successor to Richard Arnold, who left the club in November, and Berrada appears to fit the bill following his success both on and off the field with City Football Group.
Berrada has been at Man City for nearly a decade, most recently as the chief football operations officer.
Britain's PA news agency said United owners Joel and Avram Glazer appointed Berrada in consultation with Jim Ratcliffe, whose Ineos firm has agreed a deal to buy up to a 25 per cent stake in the club.
Berrada's start date with his new club will be revealed in due course by United, who confirmed Patrick Stewart will continue as interim chief executive for the time being.
“Manchester United is pleased to announce the appointment of Omar Berrada as its new CEO. The club is determined to put football and performance on the pitch back at the heart of everything we do," United said.
AP/PTI
