Mane scores again as Reds go top
Print Edition
Liverpool’s livewire Sadio Mane scored one goal and played a crucial part in the other as the Reds reclaimed the English Premier League’s top spot with a scrappy 2-1 win at second bottom Fulham yesterday.
It had looked like being a frustrating day for Juergen Klopp’s side after Mane’s opener was cancelled out by Ryan Babel following a mistake by Virgil van Dijk, but substitute James Milner slotted home an 81st-minute penalty to take the points.
Liverpool has 76 points from 31 games, two more than champion Manchester City, which has game in hand. Fulham has 17 points and, with just seven games remaining, has a mountain to climb if it is to avoid almost certain relegation from the top flight.
Mane scored his ninth league goal in as many games when he fired the visitors into a 26th-minute lead with a classy finish which typified Liverpool’s attacking mentality under Klopp.
The Senegal forward exchanged a blistering one-two with Roberto Firmino before he buried his shot from eight meters past Fulham goalkeeper Sergio Rico, who then denied Andy Robertson and Van Dijk either side of halftime.
A calamitous Van Dijk error gifted Fulham a 74th-minute equalizer, as his poor header back to ‘keeper Alisson Becker was intercepted by former Liverpool winger Babel, who stroked the ball into an empty net.
Another howler, this time by Rico, decided the contest as the ‘keeper spilled a tame Mohamed Salah shot and then hauled down Mane who pounced on the rebound, leaving Milner — in for Firmino — to stroke home the winner from the spot.
Yesterday’s strike was Mane’s 17th EPL goal, putting him level with Salah and only one behind City striker Sergio Aguero.
On Saturday, City stayed on course for a quadruple, thanks to a bit of luck and some help from the referee, but Manchester United has only one remaining chance for silverware after being dumped out of the FA Cup by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
On a contrasting day for the two rivals, City came from two goals down to defeat second-tier Swansea City 3-2 in the quarterfinals while United went down 1-2 at Wolves.
Watford also reached the semis after substitute Andre Gray scored two minutes after coming off the bench to secure a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
Wolves held on to win a game it dominated, but Swansea couldn’t protect its 2-0 lead against a City side that benefited from two refereeing mistakes.
City was incorrectly awarded a penalty that led to the equalizer before Aguero scored the winner from an offside position to end Swansea’s hopes of pulling off a massive upset.
Adding to City’s good fortune was the fact the equalizer had only gone in after the ball bounced off goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt.
It all kept coach Pep Guardiola on track for a possible four titles. City has already won the League Cup, and is into the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
United had knocked out Arsenal and Chelsea in the previous two FA Cup rounds, but manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now has only the UCL left as a trophy target, although his team has to get past Barcelona in the last eight.
In the EPL, last-place Huddersfield’s hopes of staving off relegation are all but over after giving up a two-goal lead to lose 3-4 at West Ham United.
Burnley put itself in danger of going down when it couldn’t convert a one-man advantage against Leicester City, losing 1-2, conceding a last-minute goal.
Also on Saturday, Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie scored a stoppage-time equalizer against his former club to secure a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.
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