The Premier League returned with a bang on Boxing Day, with eight games to enjoy.

---

Liverpool stays on track for comeback win

Goalscorers: Gakpo 45+1′, Jones 49′, Salah 82′; Yes, 6′

Thanks to a 3-1 comeback win over struggling Leicester City, Arne Slot’s Liverpool now have a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

In an unexpected start on Merseyside, the Foxes took an early lead thanks to André Ayew’s close-range finish in the seventh minute, but Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men were unable to build momentum before the Reds took control.

Mohamed Salah hit the crossbar in the final minutes just before injury time, but Netherlands international Cody Gakpo directed his shot into the top corner, leveling the score at 1-1.

Curtis Jones scored with a deft touch from close range to finally give Liverpool the lead in the 49th minute after Alexis Mac Allister’s cut-back (his second assist of the night) found the England midfielder inside the five-yard penalty area and slots men in the lead took course to its eighth Boxing Day victory in a row.

Salah secured all three points on the night with a perfect finish with less than eight minutes remaining, ensuring Liverpool snapped into Chelsea’s losing streak today.

---

Pereira in dreamland as Wolves win again

Goalscorers: Cunha 58′, Hwang 90+9′

Vítor Pereira will be celebrating having picked up three points in a row since joining the Premier League as Wolves beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0.

Matheus Cunha continued his brilliant 2024-25 league season with his 10th goal of the season to separate the two sides at Molineux, while Ruben Amorim will no doubt be frustrated after captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off.

Both teams maneuvered well in the first 45 minutes but went into the break nil-nil before the Portuguese star was sent off for a second yellow card shortly after the restart.

Although Man Utd worked incredibly hard to level the score despite being down a man and a goal, Wolves were able to retain the full number of points on offer while moving away from the bottom three, securing all three points with one last shot of the ball after a close-range finish by Hee-chan Hwang.

This makes Pereira the first Wolves manager since Sammy Chung in August 1977 to win his first two top-flight games in charge.

---

Chelsea beat Fulham

Goalscorers: Palmer 16′; Wilson 82′, Muniz 90+5′

Fulham staged a late comeback to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as Rodrigo Muniz came off the bench to secure three points for Marco Silva’s side.

It was the visitors who dominated the ball in the early stages, with the Blues taking the lead after 17 minutes through talisman Cole Palmer.

The Englishman mastered two challenges against Fulham and rolled the ball into the bottom corner from 20 meters to give his team the lead.

Despite their lead, the two teams remained well coordinated until half-time, with Maresca’s side unable to score the important second goal.

Fulham continued to try and equalize, with Marco Silva’s side scoring the most shots in the second half despite not having any real clear-cut chances.

Ultimately, however, their persistence was rewarded when substitute Harry Wilson tapped the ball at the back post after Timothy Castagne nodded the ball back across goal to give his side an equaliser.

Both sides still had time to find a winner, but Bernd Leno secured the point for his team with an excellent save from Jadon Sancho from close range.

That save proved crucial as five minutes into stoppage time, another substitute Rodrigo Muniz pounced to secure all three points for Fulham.

---

Tottenham loses to Nottingham Forest

Goalscorers: Elanga 28′

Nuno Espirito Santo got the better of his former side at the City Ground as Anthony Elanga scored the only goal of the game to move his side to third place in the Premier League

It was an open start to the game as Heung Min-Son tested Matz Sels. But just before the half-hour mark, Nottingham Forest took the lead when Morgan Gibbs-White played an inch-perfect pass for Anthony Elanga, who slotted past Fraser Forster to give the hosts the lead.

Tottenham remained a threat as Sels was forced into an excellent save by Brennan Johnson, but they went into the break trailing.

The game remained evenly balanced after the break as Fraser Forster came on to keep the score at just 1-0 before Sels denied Johnson another seemingly assured equalizer.

But despite increasing the pressure, Spurs were unable to find a way past the Nottingham Forest defense before Djed Spence was shown red in stoppage time and Spurs faced even more personnel problems ahead of the upcoming clash with Wolves.

This meant the home side held on to a result that left them third in the Premier League and handed Spurs their ninth defeat of the season.

---

10 man Aston Villa loses to Newcastle

Goalscorers: Gordon 2′, Isak 59′, Joelinton 90+1′

Newcastle United stormed out of the starting blocks at St James’ Park and Anthony Gordon put them ahead within two minutes when the striker hit the long corner from the edge of the box.

Villa never really got going and their afternoon got even worse just before the half-hour mark when striker Jhon Duran was shown red for a decidedly high follow-up on Fabian Schar.

However, despite Newcastle’s manpower and dominance, they failed to score a second goal as Alexander Isak forced Emi Martinez into a smart save.

A few minutes later, however, it was Isak’s turn to beat Martinez, converting a Jacob Murphy attack to double the home side’s lead.

Bruno Guimaraes was denied a third goal with ten minutes remaining, but the points were undoubtedly scored by his Brazilian midfield colleague Joelinton, who fired the ball into the top corner in added time to finally defeat Aston Villa.

---

Juric loses the first game at St. Mary’s

Goalscorers: Bowen 60′

Ivan Juric’s first game as Premier League manager ended in defeat as Jarrod Bowen secured all three points for West Ham at St Mary’s.

It was West Ham who started the game better, scoring several tries without testing Aaron Ramsdale.

However, the Saints improved, with Mateus Fernandes and Paul Onuachu both close to opening the scoring.

Meanwhile, Loperegui’s side were forced to make early changes when Max Kilman was forced off the pitch, before a lengthy break ended with Fabianski being carried off just after the half-hour mark.

VAR came to West Ham’s aid after they overturned a red card for Guido Rodriguez just minutes into the second half.

Despite scoring a total of 19 shots in the first half, both teams had to wait until the hour mark for their 20th shot.

But when the time came, it broke Southampton’s hearts when Jarrod Bowen capitalized on a shot from Niclas Fullkrug after the Saints failed to clear a corner, giving the visitors the winner just before the hour.

Despite being better than they were under Russell Martin, the Saints could not find a way past the Hammers defense in the final half hour, despite dominating the ball and having several golden chances, leaving them eight points from safety and Juric with a mountain to climb.

---

Draw between Bournemouth and Crystal Palace

Bournemouth will be looking to continue their strong form against Crystal Palace and the two were neck-and-neck in the early stages when the game looked scrappy.

Neither team was able to assert any real dominance as the game progressed, with Bournemouth having more shots on goal but Crystal Palace arguably having the clearer opportunities as they went into the break.

The second half was a similar story, with both teams looking to their benches and trying to break the stalemate.

But neither side could find a way out and both were forced to settle for a point on the south coast.

---

In the lunch game…

The city is left behind again

Goalscorers: Bernardo 14; Ndiaye 36′

Manchester City’s Premier League woes continued with a 1-1 draw against Everton.

Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Ederson were notable absences for the hosts as they looked to halt a slide of nine defeats in their last 12 games.

Bernardo Silva gave the hosts an early lead in the 14th minute, slotting the ball past Jordan Pickford after heading clear down the left.

Sean Dyche’s side hit back with a great shot from Iliman Ndiaye, who fired a half-volley past Stefan Ortega when Abdoulaye Doucouré found him in the box.

After Vitalii Mykolenko conceded a penalty shortly after half-time for a foul on Savinho, the eliminated champions looked poised to regain the lead.

But Jordan Pickford kept the Toffees in the game with a low save from the penalty spot to deny Erling Haaland, whose follow-up shot was ruled offside.

Pep Guardiola moved up to sixth after failing to win his fourth straight top-flight game, while Everton moved up to 15th after a third straight draw.

---

📸 PAUL ELLIS – AFP or licensors