Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool win as normality returns to EPL

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. There was also the familiar sight of Liverpool, the defending champion, back atop the standings thanks to a late goal that is becoming its trademark.

Diogo Jota came off the bench and scored in the 85th minute to earn Liverpool a hard-fought 2-1 victory over West Ham, extending the team’s unbeaten record in league play at Anfield to 63 games — tied for the longest streak in the club’s history.

That’s a goal in three straight games for Jota, an off-season signing who is giving an extra edge to Liverpool’s attack. It is needed given the team’s troubles in defence.

Somewhat bizarrely, the defending champions lead the league — by three points from Everton, having played one game extra — despite having the worst defence in the division after conceding 15 goals so far.

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.

Mohamed Salah equalized for Liverpool from the penalty spot just before halftime after he was tripped by Arthur Masuaku. That lifted Salah to seven goals, one behind the league’s top scorer, Tottenham’s Son Heung-min.

Jota’s winner came about the same time British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was announcing a four-week lockdown in England, starting from Thursday. The Premier League will be allowed to carry on — matches are already being played without fans, and with players undergoing regular testing — so the much-anticipated meeting between Man City and Liverpool will go ahead as scheduled next weekend.

City might be starting to find some form after a difficult start.

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. Kyle Walker was the scorer against his boyhood team.

Chelsea followed that with a 3-0 win at Burnley — secured through goals by Hakim Ziyech, Kurt Zouma and Timo Werner —and moved into the top four.

The opening six rounds of the Premier League were marked by lots of goals, and even more bizarre score lines — including Liverpool’s 7-2 loss at Aston Villa and City’s 5-2 home defeat to Leicester.

Things might be starting to normalize, though.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

___

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

Steve Douglas, The Associated Press