LONDON: Liverpool dented Manchester City’s Premier League title aspirations with a 2-1 home win over the champions on Sunday as Arsenal moved up to third with a 2-0 victory against Everton.

Superb curling efforts from Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho either side of an Edin Dzeko strike gave Liverpool the win, extending their unbeaten run to 11 league games.

It was a serious blow to City manager Manuel Pellegrini and his second-placed team’s hopes of retaining their title as they missed the chance to close the five-point gap on leaders Chelsea, who have a game in hand.

Victory took Liverpool up to fifth place, two points behind Manchester United, who occupy the fourth and final Champions League berth, and three points below Arsenal, who won 2-0 at home to Everton.

Olivier Giroud had been one of the villains of Arsenal’s shock 3-1 loss at home to Monaco in the Champions League in mid-week, missing a succession of chances, but he atoned with the opening goal at the Emirates Stadium.

The France striker struck six minutes before half-time, steering Mesut Ozil’s right-wing corner home with an adroit right-foot volley, and Tomas Rosicky sealed victory late on with a deflected shot.

On Saturday, Manchester United rode their luck as Wayne Rooney scored twice in a 2-0 win against struggling 10-man Sunderland while their fellow top-four rivals Southampton continued their recent slump after they were beaten 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion courtesy of Saido Berahino’s early goal.

West Ham United’s fading bid for a place in Europe was hit in the day’s early fixture when they lost 3-1 at home to Crystal Palace, while Swansea City climbed to eighth after Kieran Trippier’s own goal in a 1-0 win at struggling Burnley.

Newcastle United beat struggling Aston Villa, under the new management of Tim Sherwood, 1-0 thanks to Papiss Cisse’s goal, and Stoke City overcame Hull City also by one goal.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play