Top three all win in Premier League
Baku, December 28, AZERTAC
Arsenal retains its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Saturday thanks to a narrow 2-1 home win over Brighton, according to Xinhua.
Martin Odegaard put Arsenal ahead in the 14th minute to reward his side's early pressure, and Georginio Rutter gifted a second in the 52nd minute when he flicked into his own net.
It was looking like game-over, but Diego Gomez rifled in for Brighton in the 64th minute to make the result in doubt until the final whistle.
Manchester City left it late before winning 2-1 away to Nottingham Forest thanks to goals from Tijjani Reijnders, who opened the scoring in the 48th minute.
The midfielder then lost the ball at the start of the Nottingham Forest move which ended with Omari Hutchinson levelling after Igor Jesus' pass.
Nottingham Forest defended solidly, but Ryan Cherki hit a late winner for Manchester City with a powerful shot to leave Pep Guardiola's side with eight consecutive wins in all competitions.
Aston Villa extended its winning streak to 11 games after Ollie Watkins came off the substitutes' bench to score two second half goals that allowed his team to come back from a goal down to win 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea was the better side in the first half and deserved to lead from Joao Pedro's close-range finish, but Watkins changed everything after coming on as a 58th minute substitute.
The England striker leveled five minutes after getting into the game, finishing from Morgan Rogers' through ball, before heading in from a corner in the 84th minute to keep his side right in the title race.
Two goals in two minutes from Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz put Liverpool on track for a 2-1 win at home to bottom of the table and winless Wolverhampton Wanderers in an emotional game in which both teams remembered Diogo Jota, who died along with his brother in a car crash in the summer.
Wirtz finally opened his Premier League account for a Liverpool side without Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah, with Santiago Bueno netting for Wolverhampton in the 51st minute, as Liverpool found things much harder after the break.
Elsewhere, Kevin Schade scored a hat-trick in Brentford's 4-1 win at home to Bournemouth, Burnley drew 0-0 with Everton. Manchester United won 1-0 at home over Newcastle United in the only game played on Friday.
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