St Mirren enjoyed a happy ending to 2023 as Stephen Robinson’s men finished the year with a win over Aberdeen that improves their standing in the top six of the cinch Premiership.

The Buddies took the lead through captain Mark O’Hara’s deflected strike before the same man missed from the penalty spot.

However, Jonah Ayunga doubled the lead before Greg Kiltie netted from the spot in injury-time to cap the win.

The Dons had started brightly, winning a corner after just 13 seconds, which sparked a period of pressure culminating in a hopeful penalty claim from Jamie McGrath.

They continued to press and perhaps Duk will feel he could have done more as he allowed Graeme Shinnie’s cutback from the left through his legs when a flick could have opened the scoring.

But after such a bright start, the home side were ultimately masters of their own downfall.

Leighton Clarkson gave away possession cheaply in midfield and St Mirren punished them after 12 minutes. Kiltie’s cross was never dealt with convincingly by the home side and when the ball dropped to O’Hara, he rifled home the opener via a deflection.

O’Hara could have had a double just six minutes later as a VAR check confirmed a handball call against Dons defender Richard Jensen from Lewis Jamieson’s shot, but the Buddies captain sent the spot-kick wide left.

The home side came back into things, with a Slobodan Rubezic header blocked and Bojan Miovski firing wide, before Zach Hemming was forced into a smart low stop to deny Clarkson.

And they were left feeling hard done by when Jimmy McGarry looked to have been bundled over in the box by Marcus Fraser three minutes before the interval, but referee Grant Irvine waved play on with seemingly no intervention from the VAR official Greg Aitken.

The visitors were first to threaten after the interval, Jamieson’s low effort proving easy meat for Kelle Roos, before McGarry at the other end saw a powerful drive pushed round the post by Hemming.

Aberdeen were knocking on the door but came close to shooting themselves in the foot as Rubezic just about recovered a wayward Dante Polvara pass, moments after the American midfielder had headed wide. Rubezic would then slip, presenting a chance to Toyosi Olusanya, though Roos was able to save comfortably.

But fellow sub Ayunga would fire in from close range at the back post after Scott Tanser was allowed to curl in a sweet cross from the left, following more defensive chaos.

There was time for more mayhem as referee Irvine pointed to the spot after Stefan Gartenmann challenged Olusanya, only for an offside flag to go up, seemingly ruling out the award.

There then ensued a lengthy VAR check that ultimately decided there was no offside, leaving Kiltie to blast into the top-left corner from the spot.

Theo Bair discovered his form as Motherwell beat Livingston 3-1 to record a first win in 16 cinch Premiership matches.

The forward scored two and set up another for Blair Spital as Motherwell doubled their first-half goal tally for the league season inside 35 minutes.

Scott Pittman had made it 2-1 but Bair’s fourth goal of the season put the game beyond the reach of the bottom side.

Livi continued battling but could not get a lifeline as they drifted seven points behind their rivals at the foot of the table.

The game pitted two teams in desperate need of a turning point in their season against each other.

Since their previous meeting, which Livi won 2-0, David Martindale’s side had only scored two goals and collected two points in 11 games, while Motherwell’s long run without a win was piling pressure on manager Stuart Kettlewell.

Kettlewell made a big call as he handed Oli Shaw his second start since his loan move from Barnsley and recalled Bair in a three-pronged strikeforce with Callum Slattery and Harry Paton dropping to the bench.

Motherwell had only opened the scoring once since their previous win, against Hearts on September 3, but they came close twice inside four minutes. Bair sliced wide off a defender before Shamal George saved well from Mika Biereth from close range following Georgie Gent’s cross.

The game stopped for 60 seconds at the 10-minute mark as applause rang out around Fir Park for former Motherwell skipper Phil O’Donnell, 16 years and a day after he died after collapsing during a game.

Bair saw another effort deflected wide before setting up the opener in the 14th minute.

Joel Nouble dallied in possession just outside his own box and was robbed by Biereth, who played it on to Bair. The former St Johnstone striker looked like he might have passed up the chance but he played the ball in front of Spittal just in time for the midfielder to stab home.

Spittal repaid the service five minutes later when he played Bair in behind from near the touchline and halfway line. The Canada international got there before George to stab home.

Boos rang out from among the 216 away fans after each goal but they were cheering in the 23rd minute when Cristian Montano chipped the ball over the home defence and Pittman volleyed into the top corner.

The home side restored their two-goal lead in the 35th minute. Bair was already shouting for a pass down the line when Biereth intercepted a Livingston pass and the Dane delivered.

Bair cut inside Mikey Devlin and waited for George to go down before dinking the ball over the goalkeeper and sparking gasps of astonishment from the crowd.

Bair almost had his hat-trick when Shane Blaney’s header bounced off him and went in but it was disallowed for offside.

The Irish defender pulled up with a hamstring problem in the closing seconds of the half and was replaced by Bevis Mugabi, who was busy with the rest of the Motherwell defence for much of the second period.

Livingston’s best chances fell to defenders though and Devlin and Ayo Obileye were off target following set-pieces to leave the visitors in deep relegation trouble, although they have three home league games in succession to follow against Hearts, Dundee and Ross County.

Rodri and Julian Alvarez struck as Manchester City closed out a remarkable year with a routine 2-0 win over Premier League bottom side Sheffield United.

Champions League final match-winner Rodri put City on course for a comfortable win at the Etihad Stadium with a fine strike after 14 minutes and Alvarez finished the job in the second half.

After a tricky spell earlier in December, City have now ended 2023 – a year which brought five trophies including English, European and world titles – looking more like their old dominant selves.

It was the first time they had secured back-to-back Premier League wins since the first week of November and ended a run of eight games without a clean sheet.

The game also saw Kevin De Bruyne back in a matchday squad for the first time since August.

Jack Grealish retained his place in the City side despite a difficult few days following a burglary at his home and played 52 minutes before being withdrawn.

Manager Pep Guardiola made two changes to his starting line-up with Josko Gvardiol replacing the injured John Stones and Mateo Kovacic coming in for Matheus Nunes.

De Bruyne did not see any action but earned one of the biggest cheers of the afternoon when he warmed up in the second half.

In truth, City did not need the Belgium international as they comfortably outplayed the struggling Blades.

The hosts soon settled into their usual rhythm, controlling possession and patiently waiting for openings to arise.

It seemed just a matter of time before they broke through and the moment arrived in 14th minute as Rodri seized possession after a challenge on Phil Foden.

The Spaniard confidently drove forward and drove a low shot past Wes Foderingham from 18 yards.

Bernardo Silva shot wide after being played in by Foden and Grealish tested Foderingham from a tight angle.

The visitors missed James McAtee, who was unable to face his parent club, and offered little in attack until a brief flurry just before the break.

William Osula got behind the defence to meet a Jayden Bogle cross but his first-time shot was blocked by Manuel Akanji. Osula had another chance from the resulting corner but his header was saved by Ederson and Bogle also had an effort easily claimed by the City goalkeeper.

Back at the other end Rodri shot over and Foden almost got round Foderingham early in the second half but the keeper just managed to claw the ball away.

Foden had better luck when he created the second goal for Alvarez on the hour, breaking into the area from an Oscar Bobb pass and squaring for the Argentina forward to slide in.

Alvarez almost snatched another when Foderingham smashed a clearance straight at him but it ricocheted over.

Mauricio Pochettino praised a “deserved” Chelsea victory after watching his side resist a late Luton fightback to sign off 2023 with a 3-2 win.

Chelsea looked to be cruising as a Cole Palmer brace sandwiched a goal from Noni Madueke to put them 3-0 up with 10 minutes remaining at Kenilworth Road.

There was then late drama, with Ross Barkley and Elijah Adebayo netting for the Hatters, but Pochettino was satisfied that his team were worthy of the win.

“I think we controlled the game until 65 minutes,” he said. “We were the better side and we fully deserved the result. (There were) many positive performances.

“When you concede it increases the opponent’s belief. The Premier League is like this. If you see (Luton’s) previous games – against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle – you can understand the difficulty of playing here.

“We need to give them credit. They really believe in the way they play. It’s always tough to play here. We got what we wanted.

“Football is about emotions. When you’re winning 3-0, always you’re still nervous because things can happen to put the game in a difficult situation. We conceded one goal and their belief increased, that’s normal.

“Too many games that has happened in the Premier League. Brighton led against Tottenham 4-0 (on Thursday), in the end it was 4-2. That’s why the Premier League is tough.”

The win ended a run of four straight losses away from home for Chelsea, their worst streak on the road in 23 years, and means they have now taken nine points from their last four games.

With Madueke included from the start for only the second time this season and responding by scoring his second goal in two matches, the manager said he was pleased that his fringe players are proving capable of impactful contributions.

“That’s why you have a big squad,” he said. “We have plenty of numbers when they’re all fit, many players that can perform. It’s very positive to increase the level in all positions.”

Chelsea struck first on 12 minutes through Palmer, rifling into the bottom corner after Issa Kabore’s error had gifted him the ball inside the box.

Madueke made it two, rocketing in when he stood up Amari’i Bell and shot high into Thomas Kaminski’s top corner.

Chelsea’s third and the moment of the match came from Palmer. Nicolas Jackson showed good strength to take control in midfield, turn his man and play a clever early ball through, though at that stage Palmer still had plenty to do.

Kaminski came out, but in shaping to shoot Palmer got the better of the Luton goalkeeper with a sublime roll of his boot over the top of the ball, outfoxed the covering defender Albert Sambi Lokonga who went to ground, and knocked in what at the stage looked like the goal that would kill the game.

But Luton had performed well here in recent games against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City before beating Newcastle last time out, and ensured Chelsea did not walk away easily with their three points.

First Barkley headed in against his former team from a corner, then Adebayo was quickest to the rebound after Djordje Petrovic had saved Alfie Doughty’s effort, as Rob Edwards’ side gave the visitors an uncomfortable finish.

Luton boss Edwards reflected on a game in which his team showed further evidence of their progress in the top flight.

“We have evolved a lot,” he said. “I like the way we are moving and we have the second part of the season to improve.

“I like what I am seeing. The boys are fully committed and we will continue to keep working hard and building.”

Celtic beat Rangers 2-1 at Parkhead to consolidate their place at the top of the cinch Premiership.

Brilliant strikes from Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi put the hosts into a commanding position which seemed to be strengthened by Leon Balogun’s red card.

However, James Tavernier’s superb free-kick sparked a late fightback from Rangers in an exciting finale.

Here are five things we learned from the final Glasgow derby of 2023.

Don’t write off Kyogo Furuhashi

The Japan striker had only scored twice in his previous 14 matches but continued his impressive record against Rangers when he swept a magnificent effort into the top corner from 22 yards. The pass looked on but he showed he had lost none of his confidence as he netted his seventh goal in his last six starts in the derby.

Maik Nawrocki was ready

The Polish centre-back had not featured at all since suffering a hamstring injury in the third game of the season. But the summer signing was called into action in the 35th minute after Stephen Welsh damaged a shoulder while deputising for the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers. Nawrocki delivered an excellent display as he made some key interventions.

VAR from perfect communication

The half-time talking point was a penalty claim for Rangers after Alistair Johnston clearly handballed and video assistant referee Willie Collum checked the incident without calling Nick Walsh to his monitor. It was well into the second half before word got to broadcasters Sky Sports that Abdallah Sima was offside in the build-up to the incident. The communication to fans and armchair viewers should be a lot clearer.

Paulo Bernardo settles in

The on-loan Benfica midfielder prodded home his first goal for Celtic on Boxing Day at Dundee but his second was far more memorable. The 21-year-old had already come close twice before producing brilliant technique to arrow a volley home. Bernardo appears to be adapting to Scottish football after getting most of his early appearances for Celtic in the Champions League.

Plenty to work with for Philippe Clement

The Rangers manager pointed out his side had more shots than their hosts and ultimately lost to a “world-class” strike from Furuhashi, after the first defeat of his Ibrox reign. The way his side pushed Celtic with 10 men and the imminent arrival of Wolves forward Fabio Silva will give him plenty of encouragement. Rangers can move two points behind Celtic by winning their two games in hand and the title race will very much be on if they immediately rediscover their recent form.

Brendan Rodgers outlined his impressive Old Firm credentials after Celtic handed Philippe Clement his first defeat as Rangers boss with a 2-1 win at Parkhead.

The Belgian was unbeaten in 16 games since taking over from Michael Beale in October, which offered encouragement travelling to the east end of Glasgow – albeit with no away fans in the stadium due to a ticket dispute between the two clubs.

Celtic had stumbled recently with defeats against Kilmarnock and Hearts but goals from midfielder Paulo Bernardo and striker Kyogo Furuhashi came before Rangers defender Leon Balogun was sent off for denying Daizen Maeda a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Gers skipper James Tavernier fired in a free-kick in the 88th minute to make it a nervy ending for the home side, who held on to move eight points clear having played two games more.

Rodgers has now won 12 and lost just one of his 15 Old Firm derbies, having faced five permanent Rangers managers – Clement, Beale, Steven Gerrard, Mark Warburton and Pedro Caixinha.

“Over my two spells here I have worked against five Rangers managers and every time Rangers were coming,” said Rodgers, who revealed defender Stephen Welsh injured a shoulder before he was taken off.

“So for me it’s normal. If I listened to media and press then we would be in constant crisis mode and constant fear of Rangers.

“But it’s the fifth manager now. So for me my focus is only on Celtic and concentrating very much on here and a lot of the stuff that maybe does go around, thankfully I ignore it.

“We showed today that with a team still missing key players, and players who will make the difference for us, that we are competitive and we can play football and we can compete. And that is what we will continually do.

“There is no doubt Philippe has improved Rangers. He’s come in, he has used his experience and common sense. He has set the team up well. They are competitive and they play as a team.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge for us. We had to take on the challenge and that is what I have always done when I’ve been here.”

Asked if he expect to be stronger after the winter break, the former Liverpool and Leicester boss said: “We will be. (Reo) Hatate is back involved today, in a different stage of the game we could have given him some game time.

“(Liel) Abada coming back makes a difference for us, he is a goalscorer. Other players will come back, Cameron Carter-Vickers will be ready after the break.

“And hopefully we can add to the squad. I would expect us to be better.”

On the game itself, Rodgers said: “It was as you expect from these games, very tense and an amazing atmosphere.

“I felt we deserved to win the game. We did well with (Rangers’) quite direct approach at times, trying to put pressure onto our back four.

“But they were coming into the game with confidence. I thought in the spells we had when we moved the ball around – which was difficult because the pitch is difficult, I have to say – I thought particularly after the second goal we were very, very good in the game without too many scares.”

Philippe Clement’s first Old Firm game ended in his first defeat as Rangers boss as goals from Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi gave Celtic a 2-1 win at Parkhead.

The Belgian had gone 16 games unbeaten since taking over from Michael Beale in October but with no away fans inside the ground due to an allocation dispute between the two clubs it was always going to be the acid test for the injury-hit visitors.

The Ibrox side started the game positively before Hoops midfielder Bernardo scored after 25 minutes, with the Gers missing at least a couple of good chances to level.

Celtic’s prolific striker Furuhashi curled in a second from 20 yards less than two minutes after the restart and there was more woe for the Light Blues in the 71st minute when defender Leon Balogun was shown a straight red card by referee Nick Walsh for denying Daizen Maeda a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Rangers hung on and skipper James Tavernier fired in a wonderful free-kick in the 88th minute but the comeback could not be completed in eight added minutes.

Brendan Rodgers’ side move eight points clear of their Glasgow neighbours at the top of the cinch Premiership and despite having played two games more, the victory could be the springboard to yet another title win.

It was wall-to-wall green and white inside the packed out 60,000-capacity stadium for the lunchtime kick-off and as expected, Hoops centre-back Stephen Welsh replaced the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers with fit-again duo Reo Hatate and Liel Abada back on the bench.

Defender Connor Goldson shrugged off a groin issue and John Lundstram returned to the midfield for Rangers, who gave as good as they got in the early stages.

But in the 12th minute, as the game began to ebb and flow, Bernardo headed a Luis Palma cross past the far post.

Rangers were getting behind the Celtic defence but could not capitalise, with Abdallah Sima’s wild drive over from the edge of the box after 20 minutes a prime example.

Bernardo drove just past the post from a similar distance but moments later, when Palma’s corner from the right ended up at his feet 16 yards out via the head of Sima, the on-loan Benfica player volleyed it powerfully past Gers keeper Jack Butland.

However, there was was huge let-off for the home side on the half-hour mark.

A slack pass from Parkhead full-back Alastair Johnson saw Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers dispossess Welsh to go through against keeper Joe Hart – but inexplicably he refused to shoot and allowed Johnston to get back with a recovery tackle.

Welsh had injured his shoulder in Dessers’ tackle and was immediately replaced by Maik Nawrocki, whose last game was in August.

Ross McCausland and Todd Cantwell both had efforts for the Govan side which should have brought a leveller, and then Clement was shown a yellow card.

There was a possible Rangers penalty for a Johnston handball which came to nothing after a VAR check, with an earlier offside against Sima cited.

The Light Blues would have considered themselves unfortunate to still be behind at the break but in the 47th minute Furuhashi took a pass just outside the box from Matt O’Riley and bent an unstoppable shot past the helpless Butland to totally change the complexion of the encounter.

Kieran Dowell replaced Cantwell and Scott Wright took over from Sima as Clement tried something new while David Turnbull came on for Bernardo just before Balogun was dismissed for taking Maeda down as he raced clear on goal, with centre-back John Souttar coming on for Lundstram in a reshuffle.

However, after a third Celtic goal did not arrive, Tavernier set up a nervy ending when he curled a trademark free-kick from 20 yards past the flailing Hart at his near post.

It was an anxious end to the game for the home fans as Rangers went all out for the leveller, but ultimately to no avail.

Chelsea survived a spirited late fightback by Luton to edge a dramatic match 3-2 at Kenilworth Road and end their four-game losing streak away from home.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side looked to be cruising to a first victory on the road since early November thanks to two goals from Cole Palmer – his second a sensational piece of individual skill – and one from Noni Madueke who scored for the second time in two games as the visitors took a 3-0 lead.

But that breathing room was sucked away by Luton during a frenetic final 10 minutes, when first Ross Barkley then Elijah Adebayo struck to offer their supporters hope of a spectacular recovery.

Yet Chelsea held their nerve, claiming back-to-back league wins for just the second time under Pochettino.

They had taken the lead after 12 minutes and it was a gift from Luton.

First, the defence was caught out up the pitch and allowed Nicolas Jackson to run in from the left and through on goal. His effort was saved well by the legs of Thomas Kaminski and the ball fell at the feet of Issa Kabore, who instead of clearing his lines played an inexplicable pass straight to the lurking Palmer who took a touch and lashed it home.

Luton looked to Barkley, the former Chelsea player, for a response and he nearly provided it almost instantly, hitting a free-kick from 20 yards out that curved around the wall and cleared the bar by inches.

Chelsea were on their worst run of away league defeats in 23 years, whilst Luton had just recorded back-to-back top-flight wins for the first time this season. Yet in the first half the visitors posed much the clearer threat, attacking with a directness that has often been lacking on the road.

After 37 minutes they got their second, and it was Madueke fresh from scoring the winner against Crystal Palace on Wednesday that got it.

The ball was worked from the left flank over to the right via Palmer playing in the number 10 role. He moved it on again to Madueke, whose route to goal was barred by Amari’i Bell. Luton’s captain backed off, encouraging the Chelsea winger to run outside him and find space to thump the ball high inside the near post into the top corner.

Luton’s key creative outlets, Barkley and Andros Townsend, had been largely nullified by Chelsea’s determined pressing and harrying.

Palmer slotted easily back into his role as the visitors’ principle attacking outlet after serving a one-match suspension, whilst Jackson and Armando Broja were lively and Malo Gusto looked an increasingly able deputy to the injured Reece James at right-back.

The third goal when it came on 70 minutes was well deserved.

Jackson was clever and strong in midfield to spin away from his man and play an early ball through the middle to Palmer. Kaminski raced out to meet him, but as Palmer reached it he outfoxed the Luton goalkeeper with the deftest roll of the ball beneath his studs, sat the covering Albert Sambi Lokonga down and knocked in Chelsea’s third.

Adebayo thought he had got one back when he headed in Alfie Doughty’s cross, but VAR called offside against the winger, before Adebayo headed his next chance against the bar.

There was life in Luton and they proved it with two goals in seven minutes to stun Chelsea.

First, Barkley headed what looked a consolation from a corner, then Adebayo reacted quickest to turn the ball home after Djordje Petrovic had saved from Doughty.

Luton pushed and pushed in the closing minutes but a determined Chelsea held firm.

Chloe Kelly believes the record attendances in the Women's Super League (WSL) this season are down to the standard of football that is being played.

The attendance record for a single WSL game has been beaten twice this season, while the average number of spectators inside the grounds are also growing across the division.

Kelly Simmons, the FA director of the women's professional game, pointed to England Women's victory at Euro 2022 as the key reason for the rise in attendances.

Manchester City Women's Kelly, who scored the winning goal in the final of Euro 2022 against Germany, credited the increase in standard as spearheading the rise of women's football.

Speaking at the launch of the first ever Panini Barclays Women's Super League sticker collection at the National Football Museum, Kelly said: "[It is] definitely the football that the girls are playing.

"I think every club this season has shown exactly what they're about and I think to hit record attendance just shows the work that we're doing on the pitch but away from the pitch as well.

"I think we're showing great personalities and we want as many people to come and watch us and it's about what we do on the pitch that brings them to the stadiums."

Manchester United Women's Nikita Parris was also part of the Euro 2022 success, and she agrees with Kelly that the level of play is the main attraction for fans.

Parris highlighted the recent 4-1 victory for Arsenal Women over Chelsea Women, which broke the record for attendance at a WSL match with its crowd of 59,042, as an example of the high calibre of play.

When asked what she thought the key reason for the increased attendance was, Parris replied: "I think ultimately the standard of quality in the game.

"You've seen the game against Arsenal and Chelsea, a great spectacle, quality on both sides and goals. Goals bring spectators, goals bring games and the more goals you score in the game definitely the more exciting it is."

Rachel Brown-Finnis, now a pundit after a long playing career, is delighted with the growth in the women's game and is hoping its rapid rise continues, explaining: "Where the women's game is now, it's unprecedented.

"We're successful, we've won the European Championships, we've got to the final of the World Cup, we're seeing crowds that we've never ever seen before.

"People want to attend domestic games, people clearly want to attend Lionesses' matches which is why most of them are hosted at Wembley, and sell-out Wembley's. That's on an upward trajectory, that I don't see anything really dipping that."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp joked he is six times happier than he was a year ago with his team top of the Premier League.

Their position may have slipped by the time they play Newcastle on New Year’s Day as Arsenal could reclaim top spot by beating Luton the day before, but it will still not be as bad as 12 months ago.

On January 2 they lost 3-1 at Brighton to sit sixth, 15 points behind the Gunners who were the then leaders.

With just one defeat, and that a controversial one at Tottenham, all season and having dropped only four points at home, Klopp is pleased to see his side back on track and ahead of schedule.

“Six times happier! I can’t even remember (the first game of 2023),” said Klopp when asked how he felt compared to last new year.

“A horrible time last year. It feels better, no doubt about that, but it is not like we really think too much about it.

“We had a lot of good spells in games where we didn’t win or we had lesser-good spells in games we won and these kind of things, so it’s a process.

“This team is in the middle of something and we just try to make the best of it, to deal with different situations. We had a lot of injuries, we are now without key players – both left-backs are not in – but so far we found a way to compete.

“Obviously it’s better to be first than sixth, but both gives you a lot of work to do for the rest of the season.”

While much is made of Liverpool’s attacking options – they have scored in all but one of the last 37 matches – it is their defence on which the foundations of this season have been built.

Their 16 goals conceded is the best in the league and compares favourably with their title-winning 2019-20 campaign when they had conceded just 14 at the same stage. Last season it was 25.

“It started with the defensive record. Everybody buys into how we have to work,” Klopp said.

“How many goals did we concede, 16? Probably eight or nine of them were after we lose the ball and are a bit exposed and that was obviously last year even more a problem.

“We do better now. Recently we stepped up counter-pressing-wise, which helps as well, as that means everybody reacts better – front line, midfield line and in the last line.”

That defensive security also has a positive effect at the other end of the pitch as players know they are not likely to concede many, if at all, so there is rarely a necessity to score a lot.

“We are not desperate (to score) – we were a bit against Manchester United (a 0-0 draw) to be 100 per cent honest – because we don’t think we concede all the time and then we have to score immediately,” said Klopp.

“Even though we conceded quite a lot of times the first goal, but even in these moments we didn’t get desperate. That’s really important.”

Ange Postecoglou will hope fit-again Giovani Lo Celso can provide the creative spark for Tottenham when Bournemouth visit on Sunday.

Spurs’ selection issues have increased after Dejan Kulusevski received his fifth caution of the season in Thursday’s 4-2 loss at Brighton and will sit out the New Year’s Eve clash.

Kulusevski had stepped up in the absence of chief creator James Maddison, but Postecoglou is pleased to have Lo Celso to call upon again after a recent muscle injury.

“Gio dropped out the team because he was injured. It wasn’t by decision,” he said.

“He was going well when he got injured. We’re going to have to make another adjustment there (in midfield).

“I thought Gio, when he came on (against Brighton), was good. He was good last week when he came on (against Everton). It’s good to have him back fit and available.”

Lo Celso had scored in consecutive matches before sustaining an injury earlier this month as he attempts a redemption arc at Tottenham.

Signed for a hefty fee in 2019, the Argentina playmaker has struggled but been given a lifeline by Postecoglou and despite continued interest from Barcelona, Spurs have no intention of letting the midfielder leave in January, the PA news agency understands.

Both Lo Celso and Oliver Skipp could earn starts against Bournemouth, who have won six of their last seven games.

Postecoglou added: “Yeah, tough. Every game’s tough. We played Everton, they were on a great run as well.

“Every week’s a challenge. Short turnaround for us. Hopefully we might get Oliver Skipp back, probably the only fresh legs we’ll have to contribute to what we’re doing, but good challenge for us.

“We’re at home. Whilst we’ve had a couple of losses at home, every home game we’ve been well in them and we’ll need to be at our best to match Bournemouth.”

Postecoglou acknowledged it would be a “different” challenge compared to Tottenham’s 2-0 win at Bournemouth in August and also paid tribute to his opposite number Andoni Iraola.

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“He’s done a great job. They didn’t have a great start and it would have been very easy, not just him but the whole club, to shy away from what they were trying to build but they’ve stuck at it,” the Spurs boss explained.

“And the results recently have been very, very promising. It’s credit to him and the football club that they’ve stuck to what the plan’s been.”

Ian Evatt hailed Bolton’s “best victory of the season” as they saw off Fleetwood on a windswept night on the Lancashire coast.

Dion Charles and Victor Adeboyejo scored in the second half to leave Wanderers just two points behind League One leaders Portsmouth.

Evatt told Wanderers TV: “That was a proper performance, I’m so pleased with that.

“For me, the best victory of the season in the circumstances – the weather, the storm, the wind, the pitch was all against us really, but I thought we were just so professional.

“I think we dominated both halves really, with the wind and against it. Obviously disappointed not to score in the first half but stayed calm, stayed composed and did the business in the second half.”

Charles opened the scoring four minutes after half-time with his 12th goal of the league season and stepped over Kyle Dempsey’s pass for Adeboyejo to hammer in a late second.

“Great time to score,” said Evatt of the first goal. “I’m delighted for Dion, who I thought was excellent tonight, and then a bit of magic from Dion again with the ‘over’ for the second one for Victor.

“As away performances go, that’s a proper performance.”

Lee Johnson rued individual errors which meant an otherwise impressive battling display from his Fleetwood side went unrewarded.

“It was a tough game,” he said. “We knew the quality Bolton have – they’re a well established side in the division that’s had time to build, and an ex-Premier League club.

“But we felt, genuinely, at half-time that we had a good chance in this game. We defended ever so well in treacherous conditions, the spirit was good, the blocking was good.

“We’re not affecting boxes anywhere near enough, we know that, and we have to because wins are very important.

“You have to give credit to Bolton but again we’re masters of our own downfall with individual errors and that seems like the story of almost the calendar year. If we want to get out of trouble, they’re the bits we have to stop.

“We had 15 players, for various reasons, unavailable for this game and it’s difficult for a club like us.

“We’re not throwing the towel in, I’m well up for the fight. We’ve got 23 games now in which we need a number of wins.

“The first thing we’ve got to stop is the individual errors because there was a clean sheet in that game, and that’s what’s frustrating.”

Leeds manager Daniel Farke insisted his side should have had a penalty after losing more ground in the battle for automatic promotion from the Championship with a 1-0 defeat at West Brom.

Farke was frustrated at referee Graham Scott’s refusal to award a spot-kick for a challenge by Baggies defender Cedric Kipre on Wilfried Gnonto in the 30th minute as Leeds suffered a second successive loss for the first time this season.

Seven minutes later, Grady Diangana scored the only goal to make it back-to-back home wins for the Baggies and move them to within three points of fourth-placed Leeds.

“Why should he go down when he’s one against one with the goalkeeper?” said Farke.

“I think the whole stadium saw the situation but they decided not to give us a penalty.

“Normally if that had been a penalty, it would also have been a red card.

“There was no intention to play the ball so it was a decisive moment in the game.

“It changed so much against a side who was so focused on defending.”

Diangana’s goal came off his knee after his first attempt was blocked by Joe Rodon after Okay Yokuslu split the Leeds defence for Jed Wallace to cross.

Despite having 63 per cent possession, Leeds failed to seriously test goalkeeper Alex Palmer and Farke admitted his team lacked a cutting edge.

“We started well, but the last two or three per cent brutality to get the shot away was not there – that’s why we lost,” said Farke.

“We changed our base formation and brought on offensive players, they brought all their defensive players on and showed great commitment to block our strikes.

“We needed that last few per cent brutality to win those headers or to shoot after a really tidy first touch to get the shot away.”

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan saluted a “special” performance from his side.

“It was special in terms of the commitment the players put into the game,” he said.

“We knew that to beat Leeds you can only have these special wins if you have a lot of good players, if you’re a very strong team and you play with a lot of team mentality, team spirit and personality.

“We found good possibilities to cross from our right side with Jed Wallace, and from one of these actions, we scored.

“The second half started balanced, but then they changed formation and were very aggressive with a lot of attacking players and we had to adapt our shape and to defend the goal we scored.”

On Leeds’ claims for a penalty, Corberan added: “I don’t know because I haven’t seen the action back yet.

“But Leeds have some of the best players in the last third of the pitch and normally they want to challenge your defenders a lot.”

Watford head coach Valerien Ismael hailed his players for holding on for a point from a 1-1 draw with Stoke despite Vakoun Bayo’s 52nd-minute dismissal.

Striker Bayo was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball clash with Potters defender Luke McNally.

The pair initially tussled for the ball and both ended up on the turf – but when they picked themselves up referee Scott Oldham was convinced he saw Bayo strike McNally as play continued elsewhere.

Hornets fans stuck with their side afterwards – and gave referee Oldham a hard time throughout.

“With 10 men we played some great football,” Ismael said. “The spirit was unbelievable in the stadium – for the first time this season I got some goosebumps. The fans gave us a lot of energy.

“I’m proud of my players because they stayed calm and showed great fighting spirit.”

Ismael agreed with the home fans’ assessment that Oldham had lost control of the contest.

“Everyone got that feeling tonight that something was wrong,” he said. “It was difficult to manage all the emotion because it was not only the players, it was all over the place.”

Oldham showed a yellow card to Ismael for dissent in the first half.

“My feeling was of injustice,” the manager said. “I know I have a job to do on the sidelines, to be an example, but I am human.”

Stoke head coach Steven Schumacher admitted his players had failed to capitalise on the red card but reckoned the decision itself was routine.

“I just saw the two lads clash on the floor, I don’t know what Scott’s seen,” he said. “It was a decision that went for us but the momentum of the game changed. Unfortunately we didn’t make the most of it.

“I’m sick of talking about referees – I’ve been on the end of a few mad decisions as well. It’s part and parcel of football – it’s what happens.”

Jake Livermore put Watford ahead in the 15th minute, bundling home from close range from a corner to celebrate his first goal for the Hornets.

Ryan Mmaee’s fine strike levelled the scores in the 34th minute and despite chances for both sides before and after Bayo’s departure there was no further scoring.

The draw extended Stoke’s unbeaten run to five matches, three of which have been under Schumacher, who replaced Alex Neil on December 19. The Potters are 19th, seven points clear of the relegation places.

“We showed some good character, especially after going 1-0 down from a set-piece,” he said. “That was a disappointment but we responded really well.

“It was a great finish from Ryan. It was a goal he deserved. He has led the line really well in the last three games.

“At half-time I said to the players that the game was there for the taking if we continued to play with some energy and show more quality in their box.

“Unfortunately, especially when they went to 10 men, we just didn’t have that killer pass that would have been the difference.

“It wasn’t a poor performance but you could see there were some tired bodies out there.”

The result left Watford in 10th place, four points off the play-offs, but the draw was an upgrade on Boxing Day’s 4-1 home loss to Bristol City.

“From minute one we were much better than Tuesday,” Ismael said.

Burton interim manager Gary Mills was “proud” of his side after claiming back-to-back wins at the Pirelli Stadium with a hard-fought 1-0 success over Shrewsbury.

The home side took the lead with their first chance of the game, Joe Powell’s corner whipped perfectly onto the head of striker Beryly Lubala, who guided his effort into the back of the net on 16 minutes.

Mills said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the attitude and application of the boys over the Christmas period.

“The willingness to defend the goal as a unit is something we’ve been working on and we’re really proud.

“The game played out exactly as we planned for, we know they’re effective in what they do which makes us so proud is what we achieved as a group.”

Despite the narrow manner of the victory, Mills was particularly impressed with the quality his side showed in the defensive third of the pitch.

He added: “The lads put their bodies on the line and showed that want to keep the ball out of the net as well as the solidarity, spirit and togetherness.

“I’d hoped the forward players would help their defenders out and put the ball in the net a few more times but they’re warriors.

“The group are really together and they want to perform for each other and the football club which is fantastic.”

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor was disappointed with the nature of the defeat but wanted to highlight his players’ work-rate and commitment.

Taylor said: “I felt we did enough to win the game let alone lose it.

“I know it can’t be that a team only has to score one goal to beat us but we’re in a tough moment in terms of results but, more importantly, we’re in a really difficult spot in terms of available players.

“I can’t question the players’ effort but I can question the quality when we’re in those big moments when we get chances because the players have done it this season and we know they can do it.”

The Salop faithful were audibly upset with what they were seeing from their team and Taylor was keen to sympathise with the supporters.

He added: “I can hear their frustrations and I’ve got no issues with that but you have to understand where we are.

“This football club did really well last season with a different group of players and where we are now with the players we have available, we’re at full stretch.

“I knew the job would be tough but what I didn’t expect was all of these unforeseen issues where we would pick up injuries that you’d argue are some of our best players and make it really difficult for us.”