Jurgen Klopp hailed Liverpool's 2-0 win at Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday as "really special" as his team moved to within a point of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.

A tight contest was decided by second half goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino as the Reds won their ninth league game in a row.

Mikel Arteta's team arguably shaded the first half and came close to taking the lead just before Jota's opener but Martin Odegaard's effort with the goal at his mercy was somehow kept out by a diving Alisson.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Klopp was delighted with the three points and praised the way his side ground out the win. 

"It's really special," he said. "Coming here in our situation, and their situation, and not having a brilliant first half and then turning the game in the right direction is pretty special.

"You have to be on your toes because they are a proper threat."

Since the turn of the year, Liverpool have won more points than any other Premier League team (28 – W9 D1 L0), and are the only side yet to suffer a league defeat in 2022. In fact, Liverpool have avoided defeat in their opening 10 league games of a calendar year for the first time since 2015.

The title race is now finely poised with just one point separating City and Liverpool, with nine games to go each and the two set to face each other in April, but Klopp insists all his team can do is continue to win games.

"We have had a good period," he added. "We are one point behind but the only thing we can do is win football games. No game is easy in this incredible league and we have to keep going.

"The only thing I'm really interested in is how we can prepare for the next game, how we can get through this. It's so difficult – I think it's game number 13 since we met Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. For them, it's seven – that's six more games for us. We don't complain about it, we wanted it like this. Let's see how it goes.

"In 10 years, do you think somebody will say you should be proud [of finishing second by one point]? Probably not. We know we have a special group here and we're trying to squeeze everything we can out of the situation."

Andrew Robertson – who registered his 50th assist in 211 games for Liverpool when he set up Firmino's goal – believes City are still in a better position, but insists it will be a "sprint to the finish line."

When asked if Liverpool are the team with momentum, the Scotland captain told Sky Sports: "Yeah, but they've got an extra point than us (laughing).

"Look, they're a point better off. A fantastic team, one of the best in the world and they'll obviously try and have a strong finish. That's us done with the Premier League until after the international break [for] both teams, and then it's a sprint to the finish line."

Robertson has provided 10+ assists in three of his last four seasons in the Premier League, while since the start of the 2018-19 campaign, only team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold (43) has provided more assists in the competition than him (40).

"We're in the race," he continued. "A lot of people maybe didn't think we were going to be [in] January but we're definitely in the race and we just need to focus on what we're doing and picking up as many points as possible."

Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool can go on and take the Premier League title from Manchester City, following their 2-0 win over Arsenal on Wednesday.

The Reds moved to within one point of City after goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino claimed the three points from the Emirates Stadium.

Since a 2-2 draw with Chelsea in January, Jurgen Klopp's side has reeled off nine straight league victories, setting their match at City in April up as a potential title decider.

With that game in mind, Carragher believes the Premier League title is up for grabs, saying while working as a pundit for Sky Sports: "It's 50-50, because of the situation, the game is at the Etihad.

"This is the first time I've ever felt Liverpool can win the league at any time this season. I've always said City, before a ball was kicked.

"That Chelsea game, 2-2, when Liverpool after that game found themselves 11 points behind Manchester City – and Graeme [Souness] in the studio said Liverpool were still in this race – I thought it was well done."

Since Liverpool's draw with Chelsea, City have only lost one league game in their past eight – a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham in February, though a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday allowed the Reds to make up further ground.

Given the quality of the two contenders, Carragher believes the title race is more down to Liverpool’s ability to apply pressure with their current form, than a dip from City.

"Man City aren’t in bad form or losing lots of games or dropping lots of points. Because these teams are so good now, just drawing a game feels like a loss," he added.

"We are watching two of the best teams we have ever seen in the Premier League and a draw is a defeat now. A draw now feels like the end of the world because you’re just expecting these teams to just win.

"I just feel like the signing of [Luis] Diaz, not just as an individual but what he's done to Liverpool. What Liverpool brought off the bench [against Arsenal] is much better than the year they won the Champions League [2018-19] and the year they won the league [2019-20]."

Thomas Tuchel says he wants Chelsea to be the side that everyone aims to avoid heading into the Champions League quarter-finals.

The reigning champions kept their title defence on track on Wednesday by advancing to the last eight with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Lille.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg at Stamford Bridge three weeks ago, Tuchel's side fell behind at Stade Pierre-Mauroy to a Burak Yilmaz penalty.

However, Christian Pulisic responded in first-half stoppage time, before Cesar Azpilicueta completed the turnaround with 19 minutes remaining.

Tuchel is hopeful his side will have the fear factor in the quarter-final draw, which takes place on Friday.

The head coach also heaped praise on skipper Azpilicueta, whose last Champions League goal also came against Lille back in December 2019.

"I want us to be the team nobody wants to play," Tuchel said. "That's the role we want to see ourselves in this last eight.

"[Azpilicueta] is maybe the perfect example to describe a person as a leader. He is doing it in good times and bad times, if he is a regular starter or not. 

"If he is playing a wing-back, which is maybe not his best position, he is there. We do not need extra, extra at the moment; we just need reliable teamwork and reliable spirit.

"I don't know if Azpi is talking to the players; I just know he is doing what he normally does."

Chelsea are back in action on Sunday, when they travel to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

The build-up to the tie was dominated by the club requesting that home supporters also be blocked from attending the Riverside, after restrictions imposed following the sanctioning of owner Roman Abramovich rendered them unable to sell any tickets beyond the 600 already sold from their away allocation.

The Blues subsequently withdrew the request, which had been met with widespread ridicule and opposition, with Tuchel also welcoming that decision.

"We love to play in front of spectators and I don't think the spectators of our opponents should suffer from the consequences," he added. "We love to play in front of spectators. 

"Me and the team were not involved in this decision. We were happy it was withdrawn."

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted he would play the same way again despite his side's "ugly" Champions League last-16 exit at the hands of Villarreal on Wednesday. 

The Bianconeri conceded three goals in the final 12 minutes to Unai Emery's side – two of which came from the penalty spot – to suffer a 3-0 defeat at the Allianz Stadium, following a 1-1 draw in the first leg three weeks ago. 

It was Juve's joint-heaviest home defeat in the Champions League and saw them dumped out at the last-16 stage for the third consecutive season. 

Despite that, Allegri has no regrets over the way he set his side up and refused to criticise his players. 

"I would play it the same way, as the players did well for 65 minutes," he told Amazon Prime Italia. "At a certain point, Villarreal put everyone in defence and only an incident could break that deadlock. 

"We have to accept this defeat, it's ugly, but I cannot complain about the lads as they played well. 

"This is football, sometimes it goes in your favour, sometimes it's against you. It's just about accepting that." 

Villarreal scored with all three of their shots on target to equal their biggest margin of victory in the Champions League. 

Juve largely struggled to break them down at the other end, and Allegri believes they lost their discipline after Gerard Moreno's opener from the penalty spot. 

"We tried to move the ball around," he added. "Villarreal had nine men behind the ball and didn't even try to counter at one stage. 

"We had our chances in the first half. They were aiming to either take it to extra time or make the most of incidents. 

"We were naive on the penalty and rather than turning it around, we conceded another two goals and lost control of the match." 

Juan Cuadrado's 50th Champions League appearance for Juve ended in disappointment, yet the Colombia international wasted little time in turning his attention to domestic action. 

"We had a good first half, didn't take our chances and that affected us," he said. "We tried to move the ball more to create spaces after the break, but Villarreal defended well and were happy to wait for a counter-attack. 

"We tried to do what the coach asked, move the ball around more to create spaces, but Villarreal were so well set out in defence that the only way of finding a way through was crosses. This is football. 

"We now have to fight to the end to do well in Serie A. It's natural to feel upset, but we still have objectives in Serie A and the Coppa Italia. We need to turn the page quickly and try to be at 100 per cent for those remaining matches." 

Chelsea's culture was pivotal to them overcoming tough circumstances to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, according to Thomas Tuchel. 

There were question marks over the Blues' ability to travel to Lille for the second leg of their Champions League games after sanctions were imposed on their owner Roman Abramovich by the United Kingdom government. 

Upon arrival in France, there were concerns the game may not have been able to go ahead after the European Union hit Abramovich with further sanctions. 

However, Chelsea - who are expected to be sold to new owners before the end of the season - were able to take on Lille and fought back after falling behind to Burak Yilmaz's first-half penalty. 

Goals from Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta sealed a 4-1 aggregate win over the Ligue 1 champions, with Tuchel claiming a record-breaking 32nd victory after 50 Champions League games as a coach. 

"The quarter-finals is a big step. We showed resilience and mentality to overcome difficulties. We did what was necessary. We dug in and got a deserved win. It's difficult here," Tuchel told BT Sport. 

"Chelsea has this kind of culture within the club where we work every day. What I found from day one was a football first mentality. Everybody pushes the first team every three days, everybody goes to the limit and is focused on football. 

"We've been trying to implement an atmosphere. This culture is already installed and this helps us now to focus with difficult and distracting times because it's always there. 

"We encourage the players. It feels so good we can still produce results and I'm proud." 

Chelsea struggled to create chances until Pulisic's goal on the stroke of half-time, while Xeka hit the post for Lille before Azpilicueta's goal. 

Tuchel said: "We weren't so good in the first half. The pitch was horrible and it made things complicated. It was a new pitch not ready to play on. The tactics weren't right in the first 20 minutes, I take responsibility. Then it was more fluid. 

"It was very important to calm everyone down. We were lucky with the post. 

"We hope and expect to carry on. We want to compete. It took a lot of sacrifice, we fought hard to be in the last eight. We're excited for the draw. We have a game in Middlesbrough three days later." 

Chelsea have now won four straight knockout games in the Champions League for just the second time. The last time they achieved that feat was in 2011-12, when they beat Bayern Munich on penalties in the final. 

Cesar Azpilicueta praised Chelsea's resilience after their win over Lille on Wednesday sent them into the Champions League quarter-finals. 

The Blues triumphed 2-1 in the second leg of the last-16 tie at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, going through 4-1 on aggregate. Yet it was not as easy as the scoreline suggested, with Burak Yilmaz putting Lille ahead in the first half. 

However, Christian Pulisic equalised on the stroke of half-time and Azpilicueta put the result beyond doubt when he completed the turnaround in the 71st minute. 

Chelsea are facing extraordinary circumstances following the freezing of owner Roman Abramovich's assets in the United Kingdom, but Azpilicueta showed pride in the team's ability to focus on the task at hand. 

"It has not been a normal last few weeks," Azpilicueta told BT Sport. "We are playing every three days, difficult games. We are happy to go through and win the game. 

"This group fights against everything. We know we have to do the best we can on the pitch. That is what we do. We stay together, we fight together. 

"Everything outside, the noise, it could sometimes be easier to let it go and lose the focus. But that's not us. We do everything we can that we have in our hands. From there, we have to keep playing every three days." 

The 32-year-old also scored a rare goal for Chelsea, only his 16th in 463 appearances for the club. 

"I'm not very used to scoring, so I'm happy to score and put us through the quarter-finals," he said. 

"The first half, I don't think we started very well. They were very active, we knew it was going to be difficult. We made a few mistakes, they were dangerous, but the reaction was very good." 

Chelsea will face Middlesbrough in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday. 

Harry Kane becoming the leading Premier League scorer of away goals has been hailed an “outstanding achievement” by Tottenham boss Antonio Conte.

The England captain surpassed Wayne Rooney by netting for the 95th time away from home in the English top-flight during Spurs’ 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.

After Cristian Romero gave the visitors the lead at the Amex Stadium, Kane sealed the point onto Rodrigo Bentancur’s throughball before slotting past Robert Sanchez.

Despite enduring a slow start to the campaign, the striker took his goal tally to 22 across all competitions, and Conte heaped praise on the 28-year-old.

"It is an outstanding achievement for him, but we are talking about a world-class striker," the head coach said. 

"I am pleased for Harry to score in this way because at the start of the season, he struggled a bit and didn't score a lot and now he knows very well with this team, he has great opportunities to score in every game.

"To have a striker like him makes us stronger but at the same time, his feeling now is positive because he knows he will have chances."

Victory at the Amex moved Tottenham to within three points of fourth-placed Arsenal with 10 games remaining.

And Conte was thrilled by the efforts of his players, who recorded a first away win over Brighton since September 2018.

"I am very pleased for a good performance and because we got three points," the Italian continued.

"It is the final part of the season, and it is vital to get three points. We want to stay very close to the top to see what will happen at the end of the season.

"In my opinion, we are playing very well and improving a lot with the ball and also tonight, we also showed solidity defensively."

Kane added: "I was really pleased to get the goal and help the team win the match. Milestones are great especially away from home. 

"It is always tough, so to know you can do it year-on-year against tough opposition is nice, but it is all about the team and working hard. 

"We got ahead in the game, and then I think we controlled it. Overall, it was a really good night away from home.

"We played good football; we just have to keep winning games."

Brooklyn Nets' new star acquisition Ben Simmons received an epidural injection while he was away from the team during the team's trip to Orlando.

Simmons is yet to play a game this season. He was traded by the Philadelphia 76ers after making himself unavailable due to mental health reasons following the fallout from their 2021 playoffs defeat to the Atlanta Hawks, while a back injury has delayed his Nets debut.

In Wednesday's press conference, coach Steve Nash said the hope was that the injection would assist the healing process.

Nash went on to say that the team will have to wait-and-see how Simmons reacts to the treatment, and that there is no current timetable for his return to practice.

Thomas Tuchel set a record for the most Champions League wins after 50 games as a coach in Chelsea's 2-1 win over Lille on Wednesday. 

The Blues' triumph at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in their last-16 second leg put Tuchel on 32 victories from a half-century of matches. 

It sent him past the previous benchmark set by Zinedine Zidane, who managed 31 wins in his first 50 Champions League games in the dugout. 

Chelsea had to come from behind to complete a 4-1 aggregate success against Lille, though. Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta overturned Burak Yilmaz's opener from the penalty spot to send them into the quarter-finals.

Manchester United star Paul Pogba is offering a reward for information after his home was burgled on Tuesday.

The burglary took place while the midfielder was appearing in the second leg of United's Champions League last-16 clash with Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford.

In a statement posted on his social media channels, Pogba revealed he subsequently rushed home "not knowing if our children were safe and unharmed."

The France international said the intruders were in his home for five minutes while his children were asleep in their bedroom.

Juventus were dumped out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the third consecutive season after a dismal 3-0 second-leg defeat to Villarreal on Wednesday. 

The two sides drew 1-1 in the first leg in Spain three weeks ago and Juve looked the more likely side to progress to the quarter-finals for much of the match at the Allianz Stadium. 

Unai Emery's side produced a sensational final 12 minutes, though, sealing a memorable win thanks to penalties from Gerard Moreno and Arnaut Danjuma either side of Pau Torres' close-range finish. 

Massimiliano Allegri's men looked crestfallen at the end as their 12-game unbeaten run came to an end in spectacular circumstances.

Cesar Azpilicueta scored the winner as Chelsea came from behind to beat Lille 2-1 and advance to the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday. 

Amid questions over Chelsea's ability to travel and play in Europe because of EU sanctions imposed on their owner Roman Abramovich, the Blues kept their continental campaign alive by seeing out a 4-1 aggregate success in the last-16 tie. 

Burak Yilmaz put Lille in front at Stade Pierre-Mauroy when he drilled home a spot-kick, but Christian Pulisic restored parity in the third minute of first-half stoppage time. 

Xeka hit the post for Lille in the second half but Azpilicueta ended their hopes of progression and ensured it was holders Chelsea who were in the hat for the quarter-final draw. 

Chelsea struggled to turn their dominance of possession in the opening half an hour into chances and saw Andreas Christensen hobble off injured in the 33rd minute. 

Lille were awarded a penalty when Jorginho was deemed to have handled the ball after referee Davide Massa reviewed the video footage, with Yilmaz firing home to halve the aggregate deficit. 

However, Chelsea restored their two-goal cushion in the tie before half-time when Pulisic guided Jorginho's excellent throughball into the bottom-left corner. 

Yilmaz angled a header wide shortly after the restart, while Antonio Rudiger bent a half-volley narrowly outside the post from the edge of the box on the hour mark. 

Xeka headed a cross from Yilmaz against the upright before Azpilicueta met Mason Mount's cross at the back post and steered the ball past Leo Jardim to clinch victory in the 71st minute.

What does it mean? History for Tuchel 

Thomas Tuchel was taking charge of his 50th Champions League game at Stade Pierre-Mauroy and he made history by beating Lille. 

It was his 32nd victory in the competition, which is the most by a manager upon reaching a half-century of games. He surpassed the mark set by Zinedine Zidane, who won 31 of his first 50 matches as a coach in the Champions League. 

Cesar's a lad you can count on 

Azpilicueta marked moving level with Didier Drogba on 74 major European appearances for Chelsea with a finish the iconic striker would have been proud of. Frank Lampard (115) and John Terry (121) are the only outfielders to have played more continental games for the Blues. 

Burak fights back 

Yilmaz was an unlikely hero in Lille's Ligue 1 title run last season and he did his best to help them pull off another shock against Chelsea. He became the third oldest player to score in the Champions League at 36 years and 244 days old – behind only Ryan Giggs (37 years, 148 days) and Paolo Maldini (36 years, 333 days). 

What's next? 

Chelsea have an FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough on Saturday, when Lille travel to Nantes in Ligue 1.