Leaders Man City beat Burnley for 13th successive win
*Leicester overcome Fulham to strengthen top-four push
Brighton moved 10 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone by stunning Liverpool, whose recent struggles at Anfield continued.
Steven Alzate got a fortuitous but deserved winner for the Seagulls, who are now unbeaten in four league matches.
The Reds, who are seven points behind leaders Manchester City having played a game more, have not won at home since December 16 and have failed to score in three consecutive games at Anfield for the first time since October 1984.
After going 68 games without a league defeat at their home ground, Jurgen Klopp’s side have now also lost back-to-back games there.
Dan Burn should have put the visitors ahead in the first half, only to slice over the crossbar, but it was the defender’s header across goal that set up the winner.
Nathaniel Phillips could only get a toe to it and the ball deflected off Alzate and beyond stand-in Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
It lifts Brighton to 15th in the table, while Liverpool slip to fourth after Leicester City’s win at Fulham.
And Jesse Lingard scored twice on his West Ham debut as the Hammers cruised past Aston Villa in the Premier League to strengthen their top-six hopes.
Manchester United loanee Lingard – making his first Premier League start in 13 months – netted West Ham’s second with a thunderous effort after 56 minutes.
And the 28-year-old doubled his tally in the closing stages after Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez failed to hold on to his strike.
Midfielder Tomas Soucek had put the visitors in front at Villa Park, finishing off Said Benrahma’s pass in the 51st minute.
Ollie Watkins gave Villa a glimmer of hope, making it 2-1 with nine minutes remaining, before Lingard’s second wrapped up the points for the Hammers.
At Elland Road, goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave Everton a hard-fought win at Leeds United to take the Toffees fifth in the Premier League.
The visitors took a ninth-minute lead when Lucas Digne’s excellent low cross from the left flank was steered first time into the net by an unmarked Sigurdsson.
Leeds came close to equalising but Ezgjan Alioski volleyed against the post and Pascal Struijk’s header was acrobatically tipped over by Everton goalkeeper Robin Olsen.
England striker Calvert-Lewin then grabbed his 12th Premier League goal of the season with a close-range diving header after Ben Godfrey had flicked on Sigurdsson’s left-wing corner.
But Leeds were the better side in the second half and Raphinha pulled one back with a calm finish from Patrick Bamford’s pass, although the hosts could not grab an equaliser.
And Manchester City restored their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League and extended their ominous-looking winning streak to 13 games with a comfortable victory at Burnley.
Pep Guardiola’s side had seen rivals Manchester United demolish Southampton 9-0 on Tuesday to draw level on points, but City collected their now customary victory over the Clarets.
It started in the worst possible manner for the hosts as goalkeeper Nick Pope parried Bernardo Silva’s stinging shot straight at Gabriel Jesus, who nodded in from a couple of yards out after three minutes, reports the BBC.
The visitors dominated possession and doubled their lead before half-time, Ilkay Gundogan fizzing a pass across the six-yard box for Raheem Sterling to tuck home.
Riyad Mahrez, who scored a hat-trick in November’s reverse fixture, had a goal disallowed for offside, while Burnley did not manage a shot on target and only had two efforts all night.
Sean Dyche’s team drop to 16th in the table but remain eight points above the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, Leicester strengthened their position in the Premier League’s top four with victory over Fulham, whose survival hopes suffered a further blow at Craven Cottage.
James Maddison played a key role in both the visitors’ goals, delivering a delightful in-swinging cross for Kelechi Iheanacho to head home before teeing up James Justin to double the Foxes’ lead on the stroke of half-time.
Brendan Rodgers’ side had three goals disallowed – Caglar Soyuncu’s first-half header was ruled out for a push on Tosin Adarabioyo before Iheanacho and Ricardo Pereira were denied by the linesman’s flag in the second half.
Fulham had chances too – notably when Adarabioyo’s header was palmed over the crossbar by Kasper Schmeichel moments before the visitors’ second goal.
That header, however, was the Cottagers’ only effort on target in the entire 90 minutes.
The result lifts Leicester two points behind second-placed Manchester United, while Fulham remain seven points adrift of safety in 18th.
RESULTS
Fulham 0 – 2 Leicester
Burnley 0 – 2 Man City
Aston Villa 1 – 3 W’Ham
Leeds 1 – 2 Everton
Liverpool 0 – 1 Brighton
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