Liverpool destroy West Ham 5-0 as late goal heaps more pain on Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham

Liverpool continued their romp towards the title with a 5-0 rout of West Ham, while Ange Postecoglou suffered the frustration of watching Tottenham concede a late goal to drop more points. EPL WRAP.

Rampant Liverpool smashed West Ham 5-0 to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points as Manchester City returned to winning ways at troubled Leicester.

Nottingham Forest climbed to second in the table with a fifth straight win at Everton while Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham conceded late to draw 2-2 against rejuvenated Wolves.

WEST HAM 0 LIVERPOOL 5

Arne Slot’s Liverpool look unstoppable in their quest for a record-equalling 20th top-flight title, recording their 23rd win in 27 matches in all competitions this season.

Luis Diaz opened the scoring with a fine solo goal on the half hour before Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah put the visitors in complete control at half-time.

Trent Alexander-Arnold made it 4-0 in the 54th minute, unleashing a swirling effort that took a deflection on its way to beating Alphonse Areola and Diogo Jota completed the rout.

Liverpool drew two games earlier this month, against Newcastle and Fulham, but they have now won three on the bounce, scoring 14 goals in the process, in an emphatic statement of intent.

Diogo Jota celebrates scoring Liverpool's fifth goal with Mohamed Salah. Picture: AFP

LEICESTER CITY 0 MANCHESTER CITY 2

Defending champions City travelled to the King Power drained of confidence after just one win in all competitions since late October.

Their frailties over the past two months, which resulted in nine defeats in their previous 13 games, were on display again.

But Savinho’s first-half goal and an Erling Haaland header after the break earned a much-needed three points.

Leicester provided a stern test and might feel they could have got something out of the match as Facundo Buonanotte hit the post and Jamie Vardy missed a key chance at 1-0 down.

City’s bid for a fifth straight title looks to be over as they are 14 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have played one game fewer.

But the result lifts them to fifth in the table and within striking distance of the top four.

Savinho opened the scoring midway through the first half with his first goal for City while Haaland secured the win in the 74th minute -- sparking wild celebrations among the City players.

“We needed it, all of us,” City boss Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports.

“It was not the ideal performance but hopefully the victories will give our mood a better position.

“It’s important to win, it was tight, second half. We didn’t have enough energy to sustain 90 minutes but hopefully in the New Year we can bounce back a bit from a bad moment.” Leicester remain rooted in the bottom three after losing their past four games under new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.

EVERTON 0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST 2

Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest beat Everton to win their fifth straight Premier League match, leapfrogging Chelsea and Arsenal.

Chris Wood chipped over Jordan Pickford for the opening goal in the 15th minute after being set up by Anthony Elanga.

Wood turned provider for Forest’s second, which came just after the hour mark when Morgan Gibbs-White lashed home to make it 2-0.

Wood said Forest were not obsessed with their position in the league table but he admitted qualifying for European football would be a “dream”.

“For the club and the fans it’s the dream. It’s the Premier League and it’s the toughest league in the world,” he told the BBC.

TOTTENHAM 2 WOLVERHAMPTON 2

Spurs were on course for just their second Premier League win since late November against Wolves.

Hwang Hee-chan scored an early opener for the visitors but were ahead for just five minutes before Rodrigo Bentancur headed an equaliser.

Brennan Johnson powered Spurs into the lead in the dying minutes of the first half to put his side on track for all three points.

Ange Postecoglou reacts during Tottenham’s clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Picture: AFP

But Jorgen Strand Larssen produced a brilliant finish from the angle to earn Wolves a share of the points.

New Wolves manager Vitor Pereira remains unbeaten, with two wins and a draw in his first three matches in charge at Molineaux, taking the club out of the relegation zone.

Crystal Palace won just their second home league game of the season, seeing off bottom club Southampton 2-1, thanks to goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Eberechi Eze.

Dango Ouattara scored an 89th-minute leveller as Bournemouth drew 2-2 at Fulham. Liverpool travel to West Ham for the late kick-off while Chelsea are not in action until Monday, with Arsenal travelling to Brentford on Wednesday.

Originally published as Liverpool destroy West Ham 5-0 as late goal heaps more pain on Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham