Saturdays Premier Round Up (19th Jan)

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Premier League results, scorers & round-up: Liverpool edge thriller, seventh Manchester United win for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (January 19, 2019)

A review of Saturday's top-flight action...

Premier League results

Wolves 4-3 Leicester
AFC Bournemouth 2-0 West Ham
Liverpool 4-2 Crystal Palace
Manchester United 2-1 Brighton
Newcastle 2-0 Cardiff
Southampton 2-1 Everton
Watford 0-0 Burnley
Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea

Bouncebackability for the Reds in seven-goal thriller

Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni's error gifted Liverpool the win to keep them on track in the title race after the Premier League leaders had almost squandered their advantage in a 4-3 victory at Anfield.

The Argentinian, who turns 40 in May, was making his first appearance since December 2017 because of injuries to Wayne Hennessey and Vicente Guaita.

After an unexpectedly quiet first half the heat was turned up on Speroni and the pressure eventually told with the score at 2-2 when he palmed James Milner's bouncing cross up in the air virtually into his own net before

Mohamed Salah made it 3-2 on the goal line.

It was the Egypt international's 50th Premier League strike in 72 matches - only Andrew Cole, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Alan Shearer achieved the landmark in fewer appearances - having previously scored the goal to get Jurgen Klopp's side back on track at the start of the second half.

Andros Townsend had given the visitors a surprise lead but after Salah cancelled that out Roberto Firmino converted the Reds' 1,000th Premier League goal at Anfield.

James Tomkins' header made it level but Speroni's blunder handed the initiative to the hosts.

However there was a manic finish with Sadio Mane and Eagles substitute Max Mayer both scoring in added time after James Milner had been sent off for a second bookable offence on Wilfried Zaha.

Seven heaven for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's record-breaking start to life in the Manchester United dugout continued as Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford struck against Brighton to secure a seventh straight win in all competitions.

On a day when Old Trafford stood to remember Sir Matt Busby ahead of the 25th anniversary of his death on Sunday, the caretaker manager broke another of the Scot's long-standing United records.

In the process of claiming a seventh successive victory in the hotseat, Solskjaer became the first Red Devils boss to win their first six league games, with Pogba's penalty and a Rashford stunner helping see off Chris Hughton's Brighton 2-1.

This victorious streak sees United's 1999 treble hero go level with Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola in the Premier League record books, and further justifies the club's decision to parachute him in to replace Jose Mourinho a month ago.

Pogba was reduced to a watching brief under the divisive Portuguese but continues to go from strength to strength under Solskjaer.

The France midfielder scored the penalty he won in a first half that saw in-form Rashford mark his 150th appearance for the club with a stunning strike from an acute angle.

Pascal Gross scored the only goal of the second period as Brighton pushed but ultimately failed to end Solskjaer's winning run.

Newcastle score THREE to end poor run

Fabian Schar scored a double for Newcastle to drag Rafael Benitez's men out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-0 victory over Cardiff.

The Switzerland defender, a £3million summer signing from Deportivo la Coruna, produced an accomplished first half finish to put the Magpies on the road to just a second league win in 10 attempts, before adding another and Ayoze Perez made it three in stoppage time.

On an afternoon when things might have turned ugly with any other result as hopes of a takeover fade, under-fire owner Mike Ashley was back among a crowd of 49,864 at St James' Park for the first time since November 10.

He was treated to resounding choruses of "Stand up if you hate Ashley" and "We want Ashley out", but saw his team produce a committed performance which deservedly yielded the three points they desperately needed.

If Ashley and Benitez headed for home with smiles on their faces, Cardiff boss Neil Warnock saw his club, who had loan signing Oumar Niasse on show for the first time, drop back into the relegation zone.

Bournemouth with first win in six in all competitions

West Ham struggled in the absence of unsettled forward Marko Arnautovic as Callum Wilson underlined his value to Bournemouth by setting them on course to victory at the Vitality Stadium

Austria international Arnautovic, who has been heavily linked with a big-money move to China, was left out of the Hammers' squad for the trip to Dorset.

Cherries top scorer Wilson has himself been subject to January transfer rumours and he returned from a two-game injury absence in style by smashing home early in the first half before Joshua King sealed a 2-0 win in stoppage time.

Wilson's thunderous strike was his 10th Premier League goal of the season and is likely to fuel further speculation of him moving to Chelsea or replacing Arnautovic at the London Stadium.

It also helped end Bournemouth's five-match winless run in all competitions and secure just a third victory from their last 13 top-flight games.

Southampton boost survival hopes

James Ward-Prowse's thumping drive sparked Southampton's 2-1 Premier League win over Everton.

The England midfielder's second goal in as many league matches set up consecutive top-flight victories for both the second time this term - and under new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Lucas Digne put through his own net for Saints' second, as the St Mary's Stadium men shook off their midweek FA Cup loss to Championship side Derby.

Gylfi Sigurdsson's neat finish set up a fraught finale but Saints held on for a fully-merited victory.

Austrian boss Hasenhuttl sat Ward-Prowse down before the turn of the year and told the one-cap England star to "toughen up" to maximise his talents.

The fruits of that heart-to-heart and Hasenhuttl's high standards are clear: two Ward-Prowse goals and two league wins, the 2-1 victory at Leicester and now this hard-fought triumph over the Toffees.

A fifth league win of a testing campaign now sends Saints into crucial clashes against Crystal Palace, Burnley and Cardiff in buoyant mood, intent on pulling further clear of the drop zone.

Hasenhuttl's Southampton transformation took another step forward here, in victory over an outfit hopeful of a top-eight finish.

Saints were rudderless under Mark Hughes - but Hasenhuttl has imbued shape, purpose and work-rate.

Jota the hat-trick hero for Wolves

Diogo Jota was Wolves' hat-trick hero as his last-gasp strike stole a thrilling 4-3 win over Leicester.

Foxes forward Jamie Vardy had dressed up as Spider-Man for training on Thursday but Jota was Wolves' Superman with a clinical treble.

The hosts had raced into a 2-0 lead inside 12 minutes at Molineux thanks to Jota and Ryan Bennett.

Demarai Gray and Conor Coady's own goal hauled Leicester level before Jota made it 3-2 midway through the second half.

Wes Morgan equalised with three minutes left but it was Jota who won the points in injury time - with boss Nuno Espirito Santo sent off for joining in the wild celebrations on the field.

Defeat, a third in a row, increased fan pressure on Leicester boss Claude Puel as they fell behind Wolves in the race for the Europa League.

Stalemate at Vicarage Road

Watford failed to deliver a fitting tribute to their former chairman Graham Taylor after they were held to a goalless draw by Burnley at Vicarage Road.

To mark two years since Taylor's death, the Hornets paid tribute with a complimentary drink for the club's fans and a scarf display in the moments before kick-off.

But an off-colour Watford never looked like beating a rapidly-improving Burnley side, who even had a goal chalked off in injury time for offside.

Chris Wood had the ball in the net from Dwight McNeil's shot, but the assistant referee spared Watford by raising his flag.

Abdoulaye Doucoure, who has told Watford he wants to leave amid reported interest from French giants Paris St Germain, was a notable absentee from the home side's starting line-up.

Watford said the midfielder's absence was owing to a knee injury sustained in last weekend's victory at Crystal Palace, but it was an issue that manager Javi Gracia curiously failed to report ahead of Saturday's fixture.

Doucoure has starred in the centre of the park for the Hornets this season, and his presence was sorely missed by a team that has now tasted defeat just once from their last eight league outings.