The Premier League title battle appears a two-horse race after leaders Liverpool and champions Manchester City both won on Wednesday while third-placed Tottenham fell to a second straight defeat.
Liverpool thrashed Watford 5-0 and champions City claimed a narrow 1-0 win over West Ham United, but third-placed Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat at Chelsea left them nine points off the top, needing a remarkable turn of events to make up the gap.
Liverpool, who had struggled to create openings in recent goalless draws with Bayern Munich and Manchester United, returned to their prolific best by crushing eighth-placed Watford.
Senegalese striker Sadio Mane and Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk both scored twice for Juergen Klopp’s side who took early command.
Mane scored both his goals inside the opening 20 minutes — the first a header and the second a cheeky back-heel with both set-up by the excellent Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Klopp laughed off his team’s recent form and said there was plenty of excitement to come in the season.
“We drew against Manchester United and Bayern Munich. I think most teams would wish they had these problems,” said the German.
“Tonight we were sensational. It was really good football. We have 69 points. We could have had 75 that’s possible. But we are playing a really good season. Let’s enjoy the ride and see as far as it takes us.”
City needed a questionable penalty, converted by Sergio Aguero in the 59th minute, to beat a highly-disciplined West Ham, staying a point adrift of Klopp’s side in the table.
Although City dominated the game, they struggled to create clear openings against a West Ham backline that forced them out wide where Guardiola’s side, for once, struggled to carve out opportunities.