JOTA PELETEIRO

Manchester City reasserted its Premier League title credentials on a day all of its big rivals dropped points.

Liverpool has won 4-2 at Manchester United to maintain its hopes of still trying to qualify for the Champions League.

Liverpool fans applaud during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. (Peter Powell/Pool via AP)LONDON – Fans of Premier League title challengers Liverpool and Tottenham had waited since March to watch their teams win from the stands. Spurs supporters — a maximum of 2,000 under coronavirus restrictions, and no away fans — were treated to a 2-0 win over fierce north London rival Arsenal. It was the first Tottenham home game since fans were allowed back in stadiums in England. Liverpool responded with a 4-0 win over Wolverhampton to stay level with league leader Tottenham on points.

Perhaps because it’s similar to the way his Liverpool squad pours forward with speed and precision, often overwhelming its opponents. In another rout, Borussia Mönchengladbach beat Shakhtar Donetsk 6-0 in Group B to match its biggest European Cup away win. The defender headed in to give Madrid a momentary 2-0 lead — his 55th goal scored by a header for his club. The home win moved Madrid out of last place in Group B. Borussia Mönchengladbach leads the group with five points after its rout of Shakhtar, one more than Madrid and Shakhtar. They are five points behind Liverpool, with Midtjylland last with zero points.

(Peter Powell/Pool via AP)On a day uncertainty reigned in England as the nation prepared to go back into lockdown, the Premier League returned to something resembling normality. Three of the teams expected to contend for the title — Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool — all picked up wins in back-to-back fixtures on Saturday. That’s a goal in three straight games for Jota, an offseason signing who is giving an extra edge to Liverpool’s attack. The latest goal Liverpool let in was avoidable, too, with Joe Gomez heading a clearance straight at Pablo Fornals, who drove a finish into the bottom corner in the 10th minute. A well-controlled 1-0 win at Sheffield United saw City return to the top half of the standings and stay five points behind Liverpool, with a game in hand.

Liverpool's Diogo Jota, centre, is congratulated by teammate Fabinho after scoring his team's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Liverpool is making an ominous start to its title defense in the English Premier League. The champion's high-risk, high-reward strategy paid off in its come-from-behind 3-1 win over Arsenal on Monday in an open game featuring a late clinching goal by Diogo Jota in his first league start for Liverpool. Liverpool is one of three teams to have opened with three straight wins, including over Chelsea and now Arsenal. The last time the southwest London club was in the Premier League — in the 2018-19 season — it conceded a division-high 81 goals and got relegated.

A 4-1 capitulation at relegation-threatened Bournemouth on Sunday summed up Leicester's form since the Premier League returned from its three-month coronavirus-enforced shutdown. I would say a big apology to the supporters because that was unacceptable for a Leicester team," Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said. Fifth could, however, clinch England's fourth and final Champions League place if second-place Manchester City's Champions League ban for next season is confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday. Arsenal and Tottenham, though, are realistically in a scrap for a Europa League place. Palaces run of five straight Premier League defeats is now manager Roy Hodgsons equal worst sequence in the competition.