Resurgent bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers stunned Liverpool with a last-gasp 2-1 win at a rocking Molineux on Tuesday to offer a glimpse of a miraculous escape from relegation while putting a big dent in the top-five hopes of Arne Slot’s side.
A dull game burst into life in the final stages with Rodrigo Gomes putting the hosts ahead only for Mohamed Salah to level with his first Premier League goal since November.
But a deflected effort by Andre wrong-footed keeper Alisson in the 94th minute to seal a second successive win for Wolves who also beat Aston Villa at home on Friday — manager Rob Edwards celebrating with a wild sprint down the touchline.
Everton shrugged off a seven-match winless run at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium with a 2-0 victory over Burnley boosting their chances of European qualification.
Leeds United’s Premier League relegation fears deepened with a 1-0 home defeat by Sunderland on Tuesday.
Bournemouth and Brentford drew 0-0 — a result that moved Bournemouth into the top half and left Brentford seventh.
Wolves have looked doomed since picking up two points from their opening 18 matches — the worst start in Premier League history — but suddenly they are re-energised.
They are still bottom with 16 points from 30 games, 11 points from the safety zone, but where there was only despair and gloom, pride has been restored and a glimmer of hope, even if relegation still looks a certainty.
“Never mind the position you’re in, any time you beat Liverpool you have to enjoy it,” Edwards, whose side also drew with leaders Arsenal last month, told Sky Sports.
“It was a big, big night for us. We are trying to build momentum and turn things around. We are showing fight and spirit and also quality. We are competing with everyone and there is a belief we are going in the right direction.”
The teams meet again on Friday in the FA Cup fifth round.
It was the fifth time this season Liverpool have lost in stoppage time and it left Slot’s side in fifth place with 48 points, three behind Aston Villa and Manchester United who play on Wednesday, and three ahead of Chelsea who will move above them if they beat Villa.
“It was down to ourselves, we were slow, we were predictable and sloppy in possession,” captain Virgil van Dijk said.
James Tarkowski’s first-half header and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s second-half shot gave eighth-placed Everton their first home win for three months to put them two points behind Chelsea.
Everton’s move out of their historic Goodison Park home to a state-of-the-art arena next to the River Mersey has elevated the club’s income but wins have been hard to come by.
But David Moyes’s side comfortably disposed of second-from-bottom Burnley.
Defender Tarkowski broke the deadlock against his former club in the 32nd minute with a thumping header from James Garner’s in-swinging delivery. The hosts doubled their lead on the hour when Iliman Ndiaye sent Dewsbury-Hall clear to dink a finish over Martin Dubravka.
Idrissa Gueye almost made it 3-0 with a curling effort that smacked against the crossbar. Burnley’s 18th league defeat of the season left them eight points from the safety zone with nine games remaining and only three points above in-form Wolves.
Fifteenth-placed Leeds had the chance to move nine points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United but missed out as Sunderland took the points thanks to a second-half penalty converted by Habib Diarra at a raucous Elland Road.
Leeds had seen a goal by Joe Rodon ruled out for offside shortly before Sunderland’s penalty, awarded after a VAR check for a handball by Ethan Ampadu.
The win put promoted Sunderland on 40 points, 15 ahead of the relegation zone, and seemingly safe.
Agencies
