By Martyn Herman
(Reuters) -Premier League leaders Liverpool ended their year in scintillating fashion with a 5-0 away victory at West Ham United that widened the gap atop the Premier League to eight points on Sunday.
Another wonderful display by Mohamed Salah powered Liverpool to their 14th win in 18 league games and while there is a long way to go, they currently look unstoppable.
Nottingham Forest, the only side to beat Liverpool this season, moved into second place with a 2-0 win at Everton. Reigning champions Manchester City enjoyed a morale-boosting victory by the same scoreline at Leicester City to move up to a distant fifth, 14 points behind Liverpool.
Injury-hit Tottenham Hotspur found little festive comfort as they were held to a 2-2 home draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers to leave them with one win from their last seven league games.
Fulham and Bournemouth – both mounting surprise challenges for European qualification – drew 2-2 at Craven Cottage, while Crystal Palace came from behind to beat bottom club Southampton 2-1 and ease further clear of danger.
Liverpool have now scored 14 goals in their last three Premier League games and lead the table with 45 points from 18 games with Forest on 37 from 19.
Arsenal, who play on Wednesday, have 36 points with Chelsea, in action on Monday against Ipswich Town, on 35.
Liverpool needed half an hour to make their superiority count against West Ham at the London Stadium but once Luis Diaz fired them ahead the result never really looked in doubt.
SILKY SALAH
Salah set up Cody Gakpo for his side’s second and then made the result a formality with a close-range shot to make it 3-0 at halftime. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deflected shot extended Liverpool’s lead and Salah then produced a silky run and pass to feed Diogo Jota to round off a great day for Arne Slot’s side.
Salah has 20 goals in all competitions this season and has scored and assisted in a record eight Premier League games in what is turning into a vintage campaign for the Egyptian.
“I am almost hungry for more,” Salah said.
Few would have imagined Manchester City would end the year outside the top four and six points behind Nottingham Forest but their calamitous form in the past two months has left Pep Guardiola’s side’s hopes of a fifth straight title in tatters.
It was hardly a vintage performance at Leicester but at least Guardiola could smile on his 500th game in charge as goals by Savinho and Erling Haaland sealed a first win in five Premier League games and their second in 14 across all competitions.
Savinho netted his first goal for City in the 21st minute and then crossed for Haaland to head home the clincher late on.
Forest made it five successive league wins as goals by Chris Wood, his 11th in the league this season, and Morgan Gibbs-White were enough to see off Everton at Goodison Park.
The win means Forest, who battled against relegation for much of last season, are in their highest position at the end of a year for more than 30 years.
“We are enjoying it, we are especially enjoying because our fans are enjoying with us,” manager Nuno Espirito Santo, said.
WOLVES RALLY
Norwegian substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen grabbed a point for Wolves at Tottenham with a late equaliser – a result that edged them two points clear of the drop zone.
Wolves had taken an early lead as Hwang Hee-Chan fired a low shot that went in off the post.
It was the 15th time in 2024 that Tottenham had gone behind at home in the Premier League but they responded well with Rodrigo Bentancur heading an equaliser and Brennan Johnson putting them in front after Son Heung-min missed a penalty.
Strand Larsen struck in the 87th minute to leave Spurs languishing in 11th with 24 points from 19 games – the first time they will finish a year below seventh since 2008.
Bournemouth’s Dango Ouattara scored a late equaliser at Fulham to leave them in sixth place on 30 points and the west London side eighth with 29.
Southampton’s return to the top flight has been a demoralising experience for their fans and the south-coast club have reached the halfway mark with six points from 19 games after losing 2-1 at Palace.
Tyler Dibling gave Saints the lead but the hosts hit back with goals by Eberechi Eze and Trevor Chalobah to move up one place to 15th in the table, six points above the drop zone.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris and Andrew Cawthorne)
