Everton 2-0 Liverpool
Liverpool failed to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal following a disappointing 2-0 loss to Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday evening.
Ibrahima Konate returned to the Reds eleven from the weekend win over Fulham, with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones all recalled.
The Toffees were on the front-foot before the half-hour mark and saw Jarrad Branthwaite fire through a diving Alisson Becker following a goal-mouth scramble.
A dejected Reds looked to hit back ahead of halftime, but the rivals held on tight to go the interval well in front and course for victory.
Everton remained on the up ten minutes from the break and increased the lead when Dominic Calvert-Lewin towered above the defence to head a Dwight McNeil corner.
It continued to be a frustrating evening for the title-chasing Reds, who in the end succumbed to defeat to leave their championship ambitions in tatters.
Manchester United 4-2 Sheffield United
Manchester United’s slim top-four hopes remained alive after recording an entertaining 4-2 victory over bottom-placed Sheffield United at Old Trafford.
Following a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Coventry in the Emirates FA Cup semi-finals, the Reds Devils presented only two changes in Christian Eriksen for Scott McTominay and Antony in for Marcus Rashford.
The Blades seized the first blow late in the opening half after Jayden Bogle intercepted a back-pass from Andre Onana to Diogo Dalot to race forward and curled in the bottom-corner.
Manchester responded four minutes to halftime when a surging cross to the area from Alejandro Garnacho saw Harry Maguire rose highest to head in the bottom-corner.
The Blades reclaimed the lead ten minutes past the interval Ben Brereton Diaz latched on the end of a cutback to the box and fired in the roof of the net.
However, the host once more replied in the matter of minutes where Maguire drew a foul from a corner in the area to win a penalty and left captain Bruno Fernandes to convert.
Fernandes bagged a double ten minutes before time after collecting a forward pass from Kobbie Mainoo to step in space and lashed home.
Rasmus Hojlund rounded up the contest in the last two minutes with a close-range finish from Fernandes’ delivery across the area.
Crystal Palace 2-0 Newcastle United
Crystal Palace made it three wins on the bounce to continue their fine run under Oliver Glasner after seeing off Newcastle United 2-0 at Selhurst Park.
Impressive Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze lined-up in attack for the Eagles, who had Joachim Andersen making his 100th league appearance, while Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon stood out for the visitors.
With no goals recorded in the first half, the host turned up afterwards immensely energised and took the lead through a well-taken finish after combining with Jordan Ayew.
Newcastle struggled to orchestrate a comeback, as the Eagles remained resolute on all fronts to hold onto their advantage and keep out the Magpies.
Mateta settled the contest in the final two minutes when he found himself in the perfect place to drill Will Hughes’ assist through the legs of Martin Dubravka.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth sneaked into the top-half bracket following a narrow 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux.
Portuguese international Nelson Semedo made a welcome return for the home team, whilst the Cherries banked on their top marksman Dominic Solanke.
The match were extremely tight in the opening exchanges, but it opened up pretty soon and saw the Cherries go ahead when Antoine Semenyo volleyed in a cutback.
However, the Cherries needed to play the remainder of the match with ten players after a poor challenge from Milos Kerkez in the final ten minutes on Matt Doherty saw him receive a straight red card.
Playing a man short didn’t affect the visitors who managed to survive all the late pressure from the home team to walk away victorious.
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