Liverpool players celebrate, 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Premier League leaders Liverpool have salvaged a 2-2 draw at home to Fulham despite trailing twice and having Andy Robertson sent off after 17 minutes as chasing Arsenal were left to rue being held to 0-0 stalemate at home to Everton.
On what turned out to be a good day for second-placed Chelsea, who face Brentford on Sunday, Liverpool would have been far happier with their draw than title rivals Arsenal.
Diogo Jota scored an 86th minute equaliser at Anfield as Arne Slot's side avoided a second league defeat of the season.
They have 36 points from 15 games, five more than Chelsea, while Arsenal's failure to score at home for the first time this season left them still six points off the pace having played one game more than the two sides above them.
Nottingham Forest moved above champions Manchester City into fourth place as late goals by Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga saw them hit back to beat visiting Aston Villa 2-1.
Newcastle United returned to form in emphatic style as they thrashed Leicester City 4-0 with Jacob Murphy scoring twice.
At the bottom, the pressure increased on Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O'Neil as his side lost 2-1 at home to fellow strugglers Ipswich Town.
Jack Taylor scored a last-gasp winner for 18th-placed Ipswich who are now only one point from the safety zone. Wolves, in 19th, have now lost four league games in succession.
Good draw
There are good draws and bad draws and Liverpool's will definitely feel like the former as they emerged from a difficult afternoon with minimal damage at Anfield.
"A great comeback is very positive. It's disappointing having 10 men but we showed fight, kept trying to create chances. Could have been more but we take the point and move on," Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk said.
"Stay calm. It's easier to say than do it. It was always going to be tough against them."
Liverpool got off to the worst possible start as Fulham took the lead in 11th minute through Andreas Pereira's stretching volley and then left back Robertson was dismissed, after a long VAR check, for denying Harry Wilson a goalscoring opportunity.
Cody Gakpo's diving header from a Mohamed Salah cross brought Liverpool level straight after halftime and they were chasing the win when Rodrigo Muniz stunned the hosts to put Fulham back in front after 76 minutes.
However, Jota came off the bench in the 79th minute for his first appearance since October because of injury and slotted past goalkeeper Bernd Leno in the 86th to salvage a point.
Arsenal frustrated
Arsenal failed to score at home for the first time since April as they could not find a way through a blue Everton barricade at The Emirates.
Despite overwhelming pressure they lacked attacking spark and even when they did get a sight of goal England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford proved unflappable, making great saves from Bukayo Sako, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli.
Everton barely ventured forward but celebrated a gritty point which left them in 15th place with 15 points.
"Very disappointing not to win the game. We fully deserved to win the game," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.
"We conceded no shots. We dominated play. When we generated big chances we didn't score a goal."
Persistent forest
Forest have now won six of their last nine league games after showing great persistence to overturn a deficit against Villa at a raucous City Ground.
Jhon Duran's header had looked like sending Villa fourth, especially when Forest's in-form striker Chris Wood had a late leveller wiped out for offside after a long VAR check.
But Milenkovic headed in a cross by Morgan Gibbs-White in the 87th minute before substitute Elanga slotted home his first goal of the season to claim all three points.
Ipswich secured only their second win of the season as substitute Taylor struck in the 94th minute at Molineux.
An unfortunate own goal by Matt Doherty gave Ipswich an early lead but Wolves were rewarded for a positive response when Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha, assisted by Goncalo Guedes, finished past keeper Arijanet Muric.
Newcastle's first win in five league games lifted them to 11th with 23 points, only four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City who host Manchester United on Sunday.
- Reuters
