Two goals from veteran striker Danny Welbeck powered Brighton to a 2-1 home win over Liverpool, denting the visitors’ hopes of a top-four finish.
Welbeck’s 11th and 12th Premier League goals of the season proved decisive. He opened the scoring after 14 minutes, and although Milos Kerkez levelled on the half-hour following a poor defensive error from Lewis Dunk, Welbeck struck again after the break to seal the game. Liverpool have now lost 10 of their 31 league matches this season.
Everton deepened Chelsea’s misery with a 3-0 win at home, moving up to eighth in the table, just two places and two points behind Liam Rosenior’s side.
Everton produced arguably their finest performance at Hill Dickinson so far, boosting their European ambitions with an emphatic win over Chelsea.
Two goals from Norberto Beto and one from Iliman Ndiaye secured consecutive home wins for Everton, while compounding Chelsea’s struggles following heavy defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United.
Beto gave his side a deserved lead just past the half-hour mark, racing onto James Garner’s sublime through ball and lifting a delicate finish over Robert Sanchez.
Jordan Pickford kept Chelsea’s attacking talent at bay with impressive saves either side of half-time, including efforts from Enzo Fernandez, as he registered his 100th clean sheet for the club.
That proved crucial as Beto doubled Everton’s lead in the 62nd minute. Idrissa Gana Gueye intercepted possession near the halfway line, surged down the right channel, and squared it to the striker, whose first-time shot squeezed under Sanchez and over the line.
Beto then turned provider to seal the win with 14 minutes remaining, setting up Iliman Ndiaye, who cut inside from 14 yards and curled a superb finish into the top-right corner.
The result secured a vital win, lifting the Toffees to seventh in the Premier League table, three points behind their Merseyside rivals in fifth, ahead of a three-week break.
Leeds United and Brentford played out a 0-0 draw, with the hosts guilty of leaving their push for a winner too late as they attempted to pull clear of the relegation zone.
Burnley slipped closer to relegation after a 3-1 defeat away to Fulham. Zian Flemming put Burnley ahead, but Josh King and Harry Wilson turned the game around before Raul Jimenez’s stoppage-time penalty sealed the victory.
IANS
