EPL: Manchester City go second; Liverpool whip West Ham

Manchester City rise to second, behind Arsenal; Liverpool score dominant victory over West Ham.

Manchester City kept the pressure firmly on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a nervy 1-0 victory at Leeds United on Saturday, pulling within two points of top spot courtesy of Antoine Semenyo's strike on the stroke of half-time.

City, who were without league-leading scorer Erling Haaland, were made to work at Elland Road, but the victory took Pep Guardiola's side to 59 points. Arsenal, who have also played 28 games, host Chelsea on Sunday as the title race tightens. 

Leeds had the better first-half chances, including a couple of near-misses by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, before Semenyo scored his sixth goal for City in first-half injury time.

Rayan Ait-Nouri was sent through on the left side of the box and Semenyo slid to touch home his square ball from close range.

"It means everything," Semenyo told Sky Sports on cutting the gap to two points. "I think we just want to win all our games and whatever Arsenal do we just have to wait and see.

"We just need to control what we can control, win our games, and yeah, we'll see what happens. But we're all happy."

Second-placed City's win was their fifth in six league games, and eighth out of nine in all competitions.

City are 11 points clear of fourth-placed Manchester United, who play on Sunday, and Liverpool in fifth spot.

Haaland missed the Leeds match with what Guardiola called a "little injury" in training this week. Rayan Cherki started in his place.

Leeds manager Farke gets red card

Leeds boss Daniel Farke made a beeline for the referee after the final whistle and was quickly shown a red card.

"I had a short chat with him," assistant manager Edmund Riemer told Sky. "There were incidents, there was time wasting. They got a yellow card in added time. Six minutes.

"You are emotional and then he ran on the pitch and he got a red card, I think for what he said. Perhaps it was too aggressive."

Buoyed by recent draws with Chelsea and Aston Villa, Leeds were on the front foot from the start and Calvert-Lewin missed a gilt-edged chance when he inexplicably fired wide and sent another shot from a tight angle trickling past the far post.

City settled into the game and started dominating possession before Semenyo's goal.

Leeds kicked off the second half with the same energy as they did the first and Calvert-Lewin latched onto a ball from Anton Stach only for Matheus Nunes to charge in and clear it.

Marc Guehi nearly doubled City's lead late in the game but his header was clawed out by Welsh goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

Leeds kept pressing and Jaka Bijol headed a corner just wide in the dying minutes as Farke held his head in disbelief.

His team are in 15th place with 31 points from 28 games, six points above the relegation zone.

Liverpool Too Good for West Ham

Liverpool moved level on points with fourth‑placed Manchester United after a chaotic 5-2 home win over West Ham United, their third successive Premier League victory.

Arne Slot's men are 13 points behind leaders Arsenal, who host Chelsea on Sunday, but remain firmly in the hunt for European football. United host Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Seventh-placed Brentford edged Burnley 4-3 in a controversial thriller, Everton responded to a late goal by Newcastle en route to a 3-2 victory, while Sunderland snapped a three‑game losing league run with a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.

Liverpool exploited West Ham's persistent vulnerability at set pieces, with Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister all striking off corners in a dominant first half.

Relegation‑threatened Hammers, who are 18th on 25 points, refused to fold though. Tomas Soucek pulled one back early in the second half and, even after Cody Gakpo made it 4-1, Valentin Castellanos reduced the deficit to keep Liverpool on edge. 

Substitute Jeremie Frimpong killed off the game, his late burst forcing Axel Disasi into an own goal as West Ham slipped to a defeat that leaves them two points from the safety zone.

"We had a difficult moment during the season, but hopefully these last few games are the start of something beautiful," Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo told Sky Sports. 

"We're coming to the end of the season and we're still in the Champions League and FA Cup. There is a lot to play for. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum we have and end the season in a good way."

Everton Secures Victory Over Newcastle

Everton climbed to eighth in the table with their smash-and-grab victory over 12th-placed Newcastle. 

The Magpies' Jacob Murphy levelled with eight minutes remaining and the home fans hoped it was the springboard for a late winner.

Instead, the good vibes lasted less than a minute as Anthony Gordon gifted Everton possession and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall cut the ball back for Thierno Barry to score an 83rd-minute winner.

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford ensured the victory when he pushed a Sandro Tonali shot off the bar in injury time.

"It's a massive win," Everton's first goalscorer Jarrad Branthwaite said. "We knew coming here was going to be difficult but we had to get a result. We dug in and then the way we bounced back from conceding."

Brentford vs Burnley: Seven-Goal Thriller

Burnley fought back from three goals down and looked headed for a draw with Brentford before Mikkel Damsgaard's 93rd-minute goal, his second of the day. Brentford pushed forward and Rico Henry launched a ball into the box, and Damsgaard fired perfectly into the bottom corner.

"We know we have to stay in it and fight hard," Damsgaard said. "We have to find a way to keep the ball and do the small things right."

Ashley Barnes thought he had equalised at the death for Burnley, but VAR chalked off the goal for a controversial handball.

Sunderland and Bournemouth Draw

Sunderland were helped by the return of Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka after five matches out with an ankle injury. 

Back in the starting lineup, he wasted little time reasserting himself in marshalling the midfield and helping keep Bournemouth at bay until Evanilson's 64th-minute equaliser cancelled out Eliezer Mayenda's early goal.

"To have a natural leader like that come into the team is great," said defender Dan Ballard. "We've missed him."

Sunderland are 11th, two places behind Bournemouth.

Second-placed Manchester City were playing at Leeds United in Saturday's late game.