Liverpool took a significant step towards the Premier League title with a crucial 2-0 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Mohamed Salah was instrumental in the win, scoring the opening goal and assisting Dominik Szoboszlai, as Liverpool surged 11 points clear at the top of the table.
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Bright start
The Reds wasted no time asserting their dominance, taking the lead in the 14th minute through Salah, who netted his 25th league goal of the season.
The Egyptian forward struck a powerful shot from the edge of the box, which deflected off City defender Nathan Ake, leaving goalkeeper Ederson helpless.
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City thought they had found an equaliser in the 31st minute when Marmoush found the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Just six minutes later, Szoboszlai capitalised on Liverpool’s momentum, firing a low-driven shot into the bottom corner to double the visitors’ lead.
Salah’s historic achievements
With his latest assist, Salah has now provided more assists in a single Premier League season than any other Liverpool player.
His tally surpassed Steve McManaman’s 1995/96 record of 15 assists, further cementing his legacy at the club.
Notably, Salah holds several impressive records against Pep Guardiola’s teams.
He has scored the most goals (9) and registered the most assists (6) against Guardiola’s sides in top-flight league encounters.
Additionally, Salah has become the first player in Premier League history to both score and assist in both fixtures against the reigning champions in a single season.
Title race
Manchester City’s defeat leaves them 20 points behind Liverpool, marking their largest gap behind the league leaders since July 2020—the last time they failed to win the title and Liverpool emerged victorious.
READ ALSO: Super Eagles duo suffer derby defeat as Arsenal stumble again in title race
In the other Sunday game, Alexander Isak’s impressive double helped Newcastle regain momentum in the Champions League qualification race, as they defeated Nottingham Forest 4-3 in a thrilling encounter at St James’ Park.
Nottingham Forest, currently third in the standings, initially took the lead through Callum Hudson-Odoi.
However, Newcastle staged a remarkable comeback, with Lewis Miley, Jacob Murphy, and Isak scoring twice within an explosive 11-minute span in the first half.
Isak’s goals brought his season tally to 21 and marked a milestone of 50 Premier League goals.
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