Chelsea fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Liverpool in a breathless encounter between the two title chasers at Stamford Bridge on Sunday but the stalemate left Manchester City 10 points clear at the top.
The draw meant Chelsea remained second on 43 points from 21 games, one point ahead of Liverpool, who have a game in hand, and leaders Manchester City who have 53 points from 21.
With both sides weakened by key absences — and Chelsea dropping striker Romelu Lukaku after he criticised the tactics of coach Thomas Tuchel — Liverpool quickly seemed to have the game in their grip after goals from Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah before they depart for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Mane capitalised on an error by Trevoh Chalobah to open the scoring in the ninth minute and Salah doubled the lead 17 minutes later when he ghosted past Marcos Alonso to lift the ball over goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from a tight angle.
But the Blues clawed their way back into the game in the 42nd minute when Mateo Kovacic majestically volleyed in off a post from the edge of the box after a punched clearance by Liverpool reserve keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Four minutes later, Chelsea were level when Christian Pulisic latched onto a pass by N’Golo Kante that beat Liverpool’s offside trap and the American forward coolly lifted the ball over Kelleher into the net.
Both sides went close in the second half with Mendy and Kelleher pulling off good saves.
Trio join Klopp
Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino and Joel Matip missed the Chelsea match after returning positive tests for Covid-19, the Merseyside club said. Manager Juergen Klopp was also absent from the game after testing positive on Saturday, with his assistant Pepijn Lijnders taking charge at Stamford Bridge.
The club said other members of the playing squad had subsequently been tested and received negative results.
Crucial three points
Late goals from Stuart Dallas and substitute Daniel James earned Leeds United a crucial 3-1 victory over Burnley, a win that moved the home side eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Leeds had not played since December 18 prior to Burnley’s visit due to coronavirus-related postponements, and that additional break allowed them to get some much-needed key players back from injury.
The hosts looked sharper from the off and dominated the first half, deservedly leading at the interval after Jack Harrison found the net in the 39th minute from a tight angle.
The introduction of top goal scorer Maxwel Cornet at the break gave Burnley much more potency in attack, with the Ivorian firing in a free-kick from 25 metres out to stun Elland Road into silence in the 54th minute.
With the pressure on, Dallas came up with the pivotal second goal for Leeds from the edge of the penalty area 13 minutes from time to spark wild scenes of celebration.
Win on the road
Brighton earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Everton, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring twice and Dan Burn grabbing a third. Brighton took an early lead at Goodison Park after midfielder Mac Allister scored in the third minute, finishing off a brilliant team move with a first-time shot past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Burn netted the second goal in the 21st minute after the centre back, unmarked at the back post, nodded in Enock Mwepu’s flick-on from a free-kick. Everton were awarded a lifeline four minutes later when a foul by Mwepu on Anthony Gordon led to a penalty, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin clipped the crossbar from the spot in his first appearance since August following an injury layoff.
Comeback victory
Mads Roerslev scored his first goal for Brentford to give them a comeback 2-1 home win over Aston Villa after Yoane Wissa had cancelled out an early Danny Ings.
Ings had a 12th-minute shot blocked before he fired Villa ahead four minutes later with a crisp finish into the far corner, having been put through by a defence-splitting pass from Emiliano Buendia.