Party like its 1979: Forest snatches 2nd place

The Premier League table is starting to have a 1979 kind of feel to it — with Liverpool at the top of the standings and Nottingham Forest in second place as its closest challenger.

Liverpool padded its lead with a 5-0 rout of West Ham on Sunday, while upstart Nottingham Forest climbed into second place by beating Everton 2-0 to continue its surprising push for a Champions League place.

Forest was runner-up behind Liverpool in the English top tier in 1979 — the same year it won the first of two consecutive European Cups under Brian Clough — but hasn't finished that high in the domestic first division since then.

The club's long-suffering fans finally have reason to believe that the good times are back under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Although, the Portuguese manager was the first to point out that his team may not stay in second place for very long.

"It doesn't mean anything," Nuno said of his team's position. "We haven't achieved anything yet."

Forest could find itself back in fourth place by Jan 1, as it is only one point above Arsenal and two ahead of Chelsea, with both London clubs having a game in hand.

Liverpool could prove a lot harder to overtake, though, as Arne Slot's team only seems to be growing stronger and stronger.

The performance at West Ham was one of its most impressive yet, with five different players getting on the scoresheet — including Mohamed Salah, who netted the team's third for his league-leading 17th of the season.

Salah also had two assists to take his tally to 52 goal contributions in all competitions for the 2024 calendar year — 29 goals and 23 assists.

Salah was asked after the match if he would soon have good news for fans about his future beyond the end of this season, when his contract expires.

The Egyptian told Sky Sports: "No, we are far away from that."

"The only thing on my mind is I want Liverpool to win the league, and I want to be part of that," Salah said. "I will do my best for the team to win the trophy. There are a few other teams catching up with us, and we need to stay focused and humble and go again."

Liverpool is nine points ahead of Arsenal and 10 above Chelsea, with all three teams having played 18 games.

Manchester City is 14 points back having played 19 games, after beating Leicester 2-0 away.

Guardiola marks milestone

In his 500th game in charge of Man City, Pep Guardiola had some reasons to smile again.

City marked Guardiola's milestone not only with a win, but also a goal from Erling Haaland — things that the Spaniard used to take for granted, but have been increasingly rare of late for the struggling, four-time defending Premier League champion.

Savinho also netted his first goal for the club in a much-needed win, although the team still looked far from the juggernaut that has dominated English soccer for much of the Spaniard's reign.

Leicester had several chances for an equalizer before Savinho set up Haaland for City's second in the 74th minute as it ended a five-game winless run in all competitions.

"Just relief, that is the word to express how all of us feel," Guardiola said.

"It was not the ideal performance, but hopefully the victories will give our mood a better position. Hopefully, in the new year, we can bounce back a bit from a bad moment."

This was only the club's second win in 14 games in all competitions. And, even against a team mired in the relegation zone, City was pegged back for much of the second half until Haaland's header ended Leicester's resistance.

Savinho put the team ahead in the 21st minute when he pounced on a rebound, after Phil Foden drove forward and attempted a low shot from distance.

Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk pushed it to the side, and the ball fell into the path of the onrushing Savinho, who lifted it over Stolarczyk and into the net.

The winger then turned provider by lifting a perfect cross into the box for Haaland to head home for the second, shortly after Jamie Vardy had missed a good chance for a Leicester equalizer.

Spurs drop points again

Tottenham's rollercoaster of a season had another downturn, as Spurs conceded a late equalizer to draw 2-2 at home against Wolves.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has come under increasing criticism of late, and his team's all-attacking style of play and defensive vulnerabilities were on full display once again, as Jorgen Strand Larsen was afforded the space to beat Fraser Forster at his near post in the 87th minute.

Wolves had taken the lead through Hwang Hee-chan after a well-worked freekick routine in the seventh minute, but Rodrigo Bentancur equalized five minutes later and Brennan Johnson gave Tottenham the lead on the stroke of halftime.

Substitute Dango Ouattara netted an even later equalizer for Bournemouth to draw 2-2 at Fulham, while Crystal Palace came from a goal down to beat last-place Southampton 2-1.

Agencies via Xinhua