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Liverpool rocked, Spurs held by 10-man Saints, Hammers smash Watford, Palace crush Norwich

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28th December, 2021
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Liverpool fell six points behind league leader Manchester City at the halfway mark of the Premier League after a 1-0 loss at Leicester.

Mo Salah had a penalty saved by Kasper Schmeichel and headed the rebound onto the cross bar while Sadio Mane blazed a glorious chance over the bar in the second half.

The Foxes won through a 59th minute goal from substitute Ademola Lookman.

Leicester have now won five of their eight home matches against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in all competitions (W5-D0-L3).

The Foxes are the opponents Klopp has lost the most competitive away games against as manager of the Reds.

Leicester have also won three consecutive Premier League home matches for the first time since a run of seven from August to December 2019.

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“Definitely, it was well deserved [for Leicester],” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

“It was a very strange game. We were just not good enough. We still had enough chances. What we did with the balls was just not right. We played a really bad game, so it was well deserved.

“Our decision-making [was poor], maybe a little bit of luck [was missing]. That’s how it is. We should have had more of those moments. We had enough to get the win, but if you lose you need more of them.

“I think we started OK, then we completely lost our rhythm and didn’t get it back. From then we forced it, so there’s nothing else to say. The circumstances too – Leicester played two days ago, they deserve it, absolutely.

“You could see it coming a little bit. They had one shot on target. They didn’t have plenty of chances. We should have defended better. We do that usually, why we didn’t do it today is hard to explain. There were so many performances before normal level, there’s no explanation.

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“It’s a big gap [to City]. In this moment it is not my problem. If we play our normal football, Liverpool football, we have the chance to win more football games.

“A defeat is a defeat. We have to learn and we will. The first thing is not to do it ever again like this. We lost our rhythm and weren’t calm enough to get it back. That’s our fault.”

Elsewhere ten-man Southampton have held on for a 1-1 English Premier League draw against Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s as Antonio Conte became the first manager to go unbeaten in his first seven league games in charge of Spurs.

James Ward-Prowse gave Saints a deserved lead midway through the first half, but the momentum swung in the visitors’ favour when Mohammed Salisu tripped Heung-min Son to concede a penalty and pick up a second yellow before the break.

Harry Kane dispatched the spot kick, and the England captain had a superbly taken second ruled out for a narrow offside in the second half as Conte’s side failed to find a way through the depleted hosts.

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“My demands are very high because I am used to being competitive and to win – and, for sure, for me there is a big disappointment when we don’t win,” Conte said.

“I understand also the situation. Now for sure we have to work a lot and it won’t be easy to fight for something this season.

“We need to improve a lot. For sure it was an opportunity that we missed. When you have this type of situation you have to try to exploit, to try to get three points.”

West Ham’s 4-1 win at Watford meant that Tottenham dropped to sixth on 30 points, one point behind the Hammers and five behind fourth-placed Arsenal, but with two games in hand over both.

Asked how important the win was to make sure his side kept up with the Champions League contenders, West Ham manager David Moyes said: “We are not talking about the top four, you are.

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“We are only talking about doing the best we can, challenging the top, trying to be in and around the top teams if we can.

“We enjoyed it when we were in the top four and now looking forward, wanting to get back in again.”

Southampton are 13th with 21 points.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace moved up to ninth after Frenchman Odsonne Edouard scored and assisted two goals in a 3-0 win over struggling Norwich City at Selhurst Park.

Patrick Vieira’s side kept a clean sheet to move into the top half of the table with 23 points from 19 games.

Norwich remain rooted to the bottom of the standings after a fifth straight loss without scoring.

© AAP

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