Liverpool in a sense ended the Premier League’s title race in Week 19, by beating second-placed Leicester City 4-0 on the road to open up a 13-point gap at the top of the table.
Elsewhere Carlo Ancelotti got his Everton career off to a winning start, but Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta wasn’t so lucky.
Manchester United cruised past Newcastle United, and Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to beat Brighton & Hove Albion.
Here are the Boxing Day results:
The Reds saved what might have been their best performance of the season for what was supposed to be their toughest challenge in some time, demolishing Leicester away from home.
Roberto Firmino bagged a brace―one goal in each half―and James Milner and Trent Alexander-Arnold also got in on the fun after the break. The 4-0 final score wasn’t even exaggerated, with the Reds missing a number of chances in the first half.
Arsenal and Everton both played their first match under new managers, with mixed results.
While a single goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin was enough to secure three points for Ancelotti’s troops, Arteta and his Gunners had to settle for a draw against Bournemouth. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang canceled out a Dan Gosling opener.
Anthony Martial scored twice in Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Newcastle, while Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood also got on the scoresheet. Matthew Longstaff opened the scoring, but it was one-way traffic after that.
The stats showed just how dominant the Red Devils were in possession:
Harry Kane and Dele Alli scored second-half goals to lead Spurs past Brighton, and Chelsea dropped a clanger in front of their own fans, losing 2-0 against Southampton. Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond got the goals.
