Pep Guardiola has thanked Everton for their pro-Ukraine gestures prior to Saturday's Premier League match at Goodison Park.

Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday and attacks have continued in the two days since, with fighting reaching the capital of Kyiv.

Both City and Everton named a Ukrainian player on the bench, with Vitaliy Mykolenko among the hosts' substitutes and Oleksandr Zinchenko present for the visitors.

Zinchenko was spotted at a rally in Manchester on Thursday as he protested Russia's attack on his home nation, and he received a touching reception from Everton fans during the warm-up.

He and Mykolenko also shared an embrace on the pitch before the match, while Everton fans unfurled pro-Ukraine banners in the stands.

Everton also opted to drop their use of an air-raid siren as the teams entered the field, with the sound used in recent seasons to boost the atmosphere in the stadium.

City players donned white T-shirts bearing the Ukraine flag and the slogan 'no war' written across it – the Everton starting XI took to the pitch draped in flags.

City won the game 1-0 thanks to a late Phil Foden goal, but much of the pre-match focus remained on the emotional scenes.

"I said on behalf of Manchester City thank you so much for the lovely gesture for Aleks and their player and the concern that happened," Guardiola told reporters.

"The concern is all around the world and I'm pretty sure the UK showed what a strange situation it is when people send innocent people that don't hate each other in Ukraine and Russia to kill each other because one guy at home decides to do it.

"Hopefully it can be resolved soon and there are no more victims in this conflict."

Manchester City avoided giving Liverpool further encouragement in the Premier League title race as Phil Foden's late winner rescued a 1-0 victory at Goodison Park.

Pep Guardiola's were seemingly struggling to bounce back from their 3-2 home defeat by Tottenham last weekend, but Foden struck eight minutes from time to time to ensure the champions went six points clear again.

Everton were more dangerous in the first half but could not make the most of their opportunities.

City were initially having similar struggles until Foden pounced on Michael Keane's defensive error, and the visitors somehow escaped a late penalty concession when Rodri was not penalised for handball in the area.

Pre-match focus at Goodison Park centred on tributes to Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing invasion, with the public's reaction all the more poignant in the presence of Ukraine internationals Oleksandr Zinchenko and Vitaliy Mykolenko.

The contest itself took a little while to capture the imagination, but it was Everton who first went close, with Jonjoe Kenny slamming into the side-netting.

Richarlison should have done better with a close-range snapshot shortly after, hammering it straight at Ederson, who then watched Anthony Gordon's 25-yard free-kick fly agonisingly over on the stroke of half-time.

City livened up at the other end in the second half as Foden, Joao Cancelo, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva all tested Jordan Pickford in a short period.

But he was helpless as Foden capitalised on Keane's inability to cut out a deflected pass to break the deadlock.

Everton might have been given the chance to level from the spot, but neither referee Paul Tierney nor the VAR felt the need to punish Rodri for handling in City's box.

Manchester City and Everton showed solidarity with Ukraine ahead of Saturday's Premier League meeting at Goodison Park.

The reigning champions and Frank Lampard's strugglers both have Ukrainian players within their squads – Oleksandr Zinchenko and Vitaliy Mykolenko – who were named on the respective benches.

Zinchenko and Mykolenko embraced during the warm-ups and received a warm reception from fans inside the ground.

More tributes were paid before kick-off, with Ukrainian flags and a banner showing support for Mykolenko on show from the Everton faithful.

City's players came out for kick-off in tops bearing the slogan 'NO WAR' and the Ukraine flag, while Everton's squad made their way onto the pitch with Ukrainian flags draped around their shoulders.

Everton also elected against playing an air-raid siren prior to their walk-out anthem of Z-Cars, with The Hollies' ballad 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' played over the tannoy. It was previously used by the club to show solidarity with rivals Liverpool over the Hillsborough disaster.

Zinchenko and Mykolenko both seemed close to tears on the sidelines.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, to international condemnation. The fighting has since escalated.

Zinchenko attended a vigil in Manchester on Thursday, with Pep Guardiola saying the full-back was "incredibly strong".

Pep Guardiola described Oleksandr Zinchenko as "an incredibly strong guy" for his attitude amid the escalating crisis in his home country of Ukraine.

Zinchenko joined a group in Manchester demonstrating against Russia's invasion of Ukraine outside the city's Central Library on Thursday.

The full-back had previously expressed support on Instagram for his compatriots at home and condemned the actions of Russian president Vladimir Putin, who ordered the military action on Thursday.

Manchester City boss Guardiola would have no problem selecting Zinchenko for Saturday's Premier League game at Everton.

"We spoke personally with him and everyone has spoken," Guardiola said. "These are headlines today all around the world, and it's a concern but Aleks is an incredibly strong guy.

"It's not easy, but yesterday in training, he was brilliant. He is ready to play if he has to."

When asked about Zinchenko attending the Manchester vigil, Guardiola said: "What would you do if someone abroad attacked the UK?

"It's how he feels. What happened in Yugoslavia, no-one did anything. Around the world, there are many wars. It's a pity. Innocent people will die when they just want to live in peace.

"All around the world, you want a house, to sleep well, food on the table, movies, food, someone to love. When you are not involved, they attack your country, and it should be complicated to arrive at this point.

"Always innocent people pay the terrible price, the decisions of one or two people; still we don't learn what happened in the past. Right now in Syria, many places. At the end, the strong part always kills the weak one."

City saw their 15-game unbeaten run in the league end in a dramatic 3-2 home defeat to Tottenham last time out, Harry Kane scoring an injury-time winner moments after Riyad Mahrez had made it 2-2 with a penalty.

Liverpool's 6-0 thrashing of Leeds United in their game in hand means City now lead the Reds at the top of the table by just three points with 12 matches remaining.

"When we were champions, it wasn't in December or January," Guardiola said. "[On Thursday] We saw Wolves-Arsenal, so intense, they are so good. What's next? Try to win the next game.

"Why should I not be excited? I'm more than delighted to be in this position. We want to defend it, attack better and try to win games. It's so tough, I saw yesterday the game, how Tottenham played the last game. Every game is so difficult.

"What we achieved in the last years, the contenders are so intense. From the start of the season, I couldn't expect it wouldn't be what it is now.

"I'm more than grateful we're better than I thought at the start of the season. The way we defend some situations, we didn't deserve to win, trying to attack when defending teams in this way.

"A football teams never ends, is never finished. Every time we can go to training to do better. Otherwise, it would be so boring. I never felt it would be over. We want to be there and this is what I want from my team."

Sergio Aguero "had nothing more to achieve" before his unfortunate early retirement, according to fellow Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain.

Aguero was forced to call time on his illustrious career last December due to a heart problem following chest pains in a draw with Deportivo Alaves on October 30.

The former Manchester City star was informed it would be too much of a risk to continue playing, having made just five appearances in all competitions for new club Barcelona, who he joined in July.

While Higuain understands the circumstances behind his retirement were far from ideal, the Inter Miami man believes Aguero will reflect on his achievements fondly.

"Clearly no player wants to retire like this, but also Kun [Aguero] made an extraordinary career," Higuain, who played with Aguero during their time with Argentina, told Stats Perform.

"He is the top foreign goalscorer in the Premier League. Nobody wants to retire like that, but if he looks back he had nothing more to achieve. 

"Perhaps he lacked a Champions League, but that does not change the quality of player that he is and how he will be remembered. 

"I wish him to be happy and find something he is passionate about. Health comes first. We shared many years together and from the heart I wish him the best."

Indeed, Aguero leaves behind a remarkable legacy. The 33-year-old scored 184 times in the Premier League at a rate of one every 108 minutes, the best frequency of any player to net at least 20 in the competition's history.

Even when you extend it to all competitions throughout City's history, nobody gets within 80 goals of Aguero, with his 260 well clear of Eric Brook (177).

He also boasts the most Premier League goals for a single club in history, with his final strike – a header against Everton in May – taking him past Wayne Rooney's haul of 183 for one club (Manchester United).

Aside from personal accolades, Aguero lifted the English top-flight title on five occasions, tasted success at Copa America in 2021 and raised the EFL Cup an astounding six times. 

Antonio Conte has no problem with Harry Kane's "great ambition" yet hopes he can be the man to convince the striker to stay at Tottenham.

Kane pushed for a move away from Spurs ahead of this season, with Manchester City widely considered his most likely destination.

But Tottenham stood firm and Kane was forced to stay in London, toiling for much of the season while City have charged to the top of the Premier League table.

The England captain is still without a major honour for either club or country, explaining his desire to depart his boyhood club.

However, Saturday's match between City and Tottenham provided cause for optimism, as Kane brilliantly led his side to a dramatic 3-2 win at the league leaders.

Kane scored two and had a hand in the visitors' other goal in a performance that was widely praised.

His future plans have therefore returned to the forefront of discussion ahead of Tottenham's trip to Burnley.

Kane's wish to win trophies fits with Conte's own plans, though, having been appointed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium having lifted five league titles across his previous three club jobs with Inter, Chelsea and Juventus.

"Harry is a player with great ambition and it must be this way because a player like him, I repeat, we are talking about a world-class striker," Conte said.

"He has to be ambitious. For sure, for a player and for a striker, it's very important to improve, to beat records.

"Records are important but, at the same time, it's also important at the end of your career to lift trophies, because only if you win and lift trophies can you go into the story of the club.

"My task in this moment is to try to improve him. But in the same way, with the other players, to become more complete.

"For sure, to improve a player to stay in this level is not easy because the space [to improve] is not so much. But I still think he's improving a lot and Harry is another player who gives me great availability."

Suggesting he could have a hand in any decision Kane makes on his next move, Conte added: "There is only one way to convince this sort of player.

"It is to work, it is to convince of your football knowledge and to improve them. Only in this way you have the respect of your players.

"I have only this way to show to my players – I am here because we are trying to start to build something important together.

"It won't be easy but now I think it will be very good to continue this way and I think that Harry, like the other players, understood the situation.

"They also understood that the club wanted to give an input by appointing a coach that in the past won things. We have to train for these three or four months to try to improve and then continue to build something important.

"But I understand then that every single player has to make the best decision at the end of the season."

Jurgen Klopp implored Liverpool to continue "annoying" Manchester City as the Reds pursue the Premier League leaders.

Guardiola's defending top-flight champions are six points clear at the top, though they fell to a 3-2 reverse against Tottenham on Saturday.

Liverpool are in second and have the opportunity to cut the deficit to just three points when they host Leeds United on Wednesday.

Following last week's Champions League win over Sporting CP, Guardiola joked that the Reds were a "pain in the a**" and Klopp wants his side to carry on pestering City.

"First and foremost, it's important that we are close to whoever is at the top because that shows that some things are going in the right direction," Klopp said when asked about the title race on Tuesday.

"In the last four seasons - we were not around one year because of our problems, and we had some struggles - but before it was an insane race.

"Both teams are able to do some special stuff, I have to say with all respect [because] what City is doing is incredible.

"I think we are pushing each other as well, not only us because I don't forget the other teams like Chelsea, [Manchester] United, Arsenal and Tottenham. 

"But, we are pushing each other and that's how it is, and it keeps you going. There is no chance to get a bit soft because the other one will be there immediately to catch you.

"I think what Pep said - that we are the pain in the lower back, that's a good description and that's how it should be. 

"We try to be as annoying as somehow possible until we have a chance to overtake, but I don't know when that will be or if that will be the case.

"But, what I always said is that we have the decisive moments of the season, but it's not now in February; it's March and April."

Many are billing the clash between the top two at the Etihad Stadium on April 9 as a potential deciding factor in the title race, but Klopp insisted his team must keep the pace now to make that the case.

"You have to be close enough to make a decision in your direction and I don't know if that will be the case because what we do is pretty special, and I don't expect that to happen every week, and you cannot turn around games every week," he added.

"We have to be at our absolute best to play the best possible season for us and unfortunately, only twice a year in the Premier League, we face the other team [City].

"The first one was a draw where we were not brilliant but good enough to get a point, and the next one is not played yet, and we have to play the other teams including Tottenham and United as well. 

"We don't sit here and count those points as done, and then we wait for the middle of April for the City game.

"But, what the boys did over the past four years is pretty special and I'm happy with that, but not overly happy that I think that's enough.

"So far, it's not a bad season, but the decisions will be made later, and we just have to make sure that we are always in and around when these decisions will be made."

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has taken aim at his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola after Spurs' 3-2 Premier League win at the Etihad Stadium.

Conte mocked the latter's assertion that Tottenham played on the counterattack during their dramatic victory in a post on Instagram.

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min starred as Spurs grabbed a last-gasp win at the home of the Premier League champions, despite twice having squandered a one-goal lead.

Each of Tottenham's last three wins in the Premier League have now come courtesy of 90th-minute goals (1-0 v Watford, 3-2 v Leicester City, 3-2 v Man City), as Spurs kept pace with their rivals in the hunt for Champions League qualification.

After the contest, during which the visitors managed just 29 per cent of the possession and racked up six shots to City's 21, City boss Guardiola told of how the north London team had "defended in the 18-yard box" before catching the league leaders on the break.

Conte has now moved to mock those assertions on social media after dealing City their first Premier League defeat since October.

On his personal Instagram account, Conte posted a video of his team's three goals in the match, displaying the complete build-up to each, with the caption "Counterattacks?!? Maybe not…", complete with three laughing emojis.

The former Juventus, Chelsea, and Inter boss has led Tottenham to 11 wins in 20 matches since taking charge across all competitions, with their comeback win in Manchester ending a run of three successive league defeats for the top-four contenders. 

Spurs will continue their chase for European football when they face Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday, having only lost one of their last 12 Premier League meetings with the Clarets.

Mauricio Pochettino's future at Paris Saint-Germain is unclear amid rumblings that he wants out.

Manchester United have been linked with the ex-Tottenham manager, who took over at PSG in January last year.

The Red Devils dismissed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November, with Ralf Rangnick taking over on an interim basis.

TOP STORY – LOS BLANCOS KEEN ON POCHETTINO

Real Madrid are set to rival Manchester United to land Pochettino this off-season, claims the Daily Mail.

The Red Devils are understood to be circling for the Argentine, who is reportedly unhappy at Paris Saint-Germain.

But the report claims Madrid have doubts over current boss Carlo Ancelotti's future and believe that Pochettino is obtainable in the off-season.

ROUND-UP

- Manchester City's Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva is dreaming of a switch to join Real Madrid, claims Calciomercato.

- Calciomercato also reports that Inter are monitoring Gabriel Jesus' status at City, with a view to bolstering their attack.

- Nicolo Schira reports that Atalanta are keen to move for Torino's Italy international striker Andrea Belotti in the off-season when he is a free agent.

- TuttoMercatoWeb claims Arsenal, Newcastle United, Borussia Dortmund and Inter are all in the race to sign Lille's Canadian forward Jonathan David.

- GiveMeSport claims Liverpool are "seriously interested" in West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen.

- Roma are keen on signing Barcelona's USA international defender Sergino Dest according to Fichajes.

It wasn't so long ago that Raheem Sterling's long-term future at Manchester City was shrouded in doubt.

The England forward has long since been linked to LaLiga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.

However, it appears Sterling may now be in line to commit his future to the reigning Premier League champions.

TOP STORY – PEP WANTS NEW DEAL FOR STERLING

City boss Pep Guardiola has reportedly given the green light on awarding Sterling a new contract, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Sterling, who has 13 goals and four assists across all competitions for City this season, had been linked with a move to Barca as recently as the January transfer window.

But having played his way back into the team, City want to renew his deal – though the club want a swift decision with Sterling's present contract due to expire in 2023.

ROUND-UP

- Alvaro Morata is a man in demand. Barca were thought to be keen on signing the Spain striker in January, but Arsenal remain interested in the Atletico Madrid forward – who is on loan at Juventus – according to the Boot Room .

- Memphis Depay 's future at Camp Nou was hurt by the departure of Ronald Koeman. Sport reports that Serie A trio Inter , Milan and Juventus are interested in the Netherlands star.

- Stefan de Vrij could be on the move at the end of the season. InterLive says the centre-back could be reunited with Antonio Conte at Tottenham .

- Lucas Vazquez wants to make Spain's World Cup squad and El Nacional says the 30-year-old winger is prepared to leave Real Madrid in order to do so.

Harry Kane produced a "special" display against Manchester City that will be tough to match in the Premier League this season, says Jamie Carragher.

Tottenham stunned City with a thrilling 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, a result that gave Liverpool fresh hope in the title race.

Kane scored twice and had another goal ruled out by VAR but it was his creative play against a City team who tried to sign him last year that delighted Liverpool great Carragher.

The England captain's pass sparked the move that saw Dejan Kulusevski open the scoring and his link-up play with Son Heung-min – who racked up two assists – was sublime throughout.

"That was one of the best performances I have seen this season, it really was," Carragher said to Sky Sports about Kane, who had 19 passes in the opposition half, with no other Spurs player reaching double figures.

"It was a privilege to watch. What made it so special was that Kane didn't get a lot of the ball, but when it came into him, everything he did was pure class.

"Kane is one of the best passers of the ball in the Premier League, he's not far behind Kevin De Bruyne."

Another former Liverpool star, Graeme Souness, felt Kane had shown exactly why clubs contending for honours like City want to buy him.

Souness said: "Harry Kane was fantastic - he's put himself in the shop window again. 

"Not just his goals but his general play. He was a real problem. He gets over the ball, he's got the technique and the vision to see things, and he can deliver on what he sees.

"Some of his passing was an absolute delight, as good as it gets."

Liverpool play Chelsea in the EFL Cup final next week but Carragher feels the Reds should be even more enthused by the prospect of catching City.

The Reds – 3-1 winners over Norwich City in their game at Anfield - are now just six points behind Pep Guardiola's leaders and have a game in hand at home to Leeds United on Wednesday.

"I certainly think for the next four or five days, the Leeds game at Anfield is more important than the cup final on the Sunday against Chelsea," added Carragher.

"I'd still favour Man City [for the title] with Liverpool still to come to the Etihad and Liverpool's fixtures may be tougher.

"But there was a little bit of hope that Liverpool could do something, a glimmer of hope, when Man City dropped points at Southampton.

"It was the first time in such a long time that they hadn't won and you very rarely see a Pep Guardiola team get pegged back.

"I'd still say they are very much in the hotseat - even a team of Liverpool's quality coming [to the Etihad] to win will not be easy.

"But the great thing, not just for Liverpool supporters but for the country, is that it looks like we could have a title race on.

"Four to six weeks ago we thought that wasn't going to be the case so long may it continue."

Ilkay Gundogan says Liverpool's relentless pursuit of Manchester City in the Premier League title race is "not a situation that we're not used to".

City were beaten 3-2 by Tottenham in a classic encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, as Harry Kane netted an injury-time winner shortly after Riyad Mahrez's penalty had seemingly earned the hosts a point.

Liverpool's own come-from-behind 3-1 triumph over Norwich City means the Reds are six points back of leaders City, with a game in hand over the reigning champions.

Jurgen Klopp's side have racked up five straight league wins and suffered just one top-flight defeat in their past 14, while they still have to visit their rivals early in April.

For midfielder Gundogan, the thrilling tussle is just part and parcel of what has become the norm over recent seasons.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "It's not a situation that we're not used to.

"We know from recent years that Liverpool are always contenders. They're always up there.

"We know they'll try everything to make our lives as difficult as possible. The good thing is that they still need to come here to the Etihad, but there are still many games to go."

Gundogan had already levelled from Dejan Kulusevski's opener, before Kane – a City transfer target prior to the season – put Spurs back ahead just before the hour.

Mahrez's thumping spot-kick in additional time looked certain to have clinched City a point prior to Kane's dramatic late intervention.

"We kind of thought we'd rescued it," Gundogan conceded.

"If you look at the whole game, we deserved to win. But football is sometimes crazy and we made easy mistakes. We gave them the ball to have possibilities to counter and that made us lose the game.

"They were also ruthless in their finishing up front. We had a lot of chances and the possibility to score a few more goals, but we gave them the chances they had too easily. 

"It didn't feel like a bad game from us. They defended so, so deep, particularly towards the end of the first half. It's not so easy.

"Sometimes you have these kind of games and you need to learn from it. It's a wake-up call for us. There's still a long way to go."

Cristiano Ronaldo's future with Manchester United is uncertain amid a difficult season at Old Trafford.

The 37-year-old only joined United from Juventus in August, following interest from rivals Manchester City.

But the Red Devils are well out of the title race, with Ronaldo contributing nine league goals, in a tumultuous season that has seen Ole Gunnar Solskjaer axed as manager.

TOP STORY – MAN UTD WOULD BOW TO RONALDO TRANSFER DEMANDS

Manchester United will allow five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo to depart if he demands to depart in the off-season, reports the Sunday Mirror.

The Portuguese is ready to quit the Red Devils should they miss the top four and subsequently fail to qualify for the Champions League.

The report claims that Ronaldo was expecting to transfer United into title contenders but that his presence has become a sideshow, meaning they are willing to let him go.

ROUND-UP

- Raphinha has caught the eye of Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona but Leeds United plan to rebuff any offers him in the off-season according to The Mirror.

- The Mirror also reports that Arsenal are in the race for Napoli's Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz , joining Madrid and Barcelona.

- Liverpool target Fabio Carvalho is being pursued by Manchester United too, claims the Daily Star. The Fulham teenager came close to joining the Reds in January.

- Manchester City and Raheem Sterling are set for contract talks at the end of the season but the English leaders may sell him if he does not agree to a new deal, according to the Times.

- Fiorentina are interested in Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot but would need to convince him to lower his wages, reports La Nazione. Dalot is in line for a new deal with United according to the Star.

- Liverpool Echo reports that Everton's Jean-Philippe Gbamin could join CSKA Moscow on loan with the Russian transfer window open until February 22.

Saturday was quite a day in the Premier League, with shock results impacting both ends of the table, and the middle.

Liverpool appear to live challengers again in the title race after their 3-1 victory against Norwich City was followed by Tottenham's dramatic 3-2 win away to leaders Manchester City.

Mohamed Salah scored his 150th goal for Liverpool and Luis Diaz bagged his first in English football, while former City target Harry Kane insisted on shoving narrative into everyone's faces with a sensational performance for Spurs at the Etihad Stadium.

Elsewhere, a late Hakim Ziyech goal secured Chelsea a win at Crystal Palace, Arsenal's youngsters earned them a 2-1 win against Brentford, while West Ham were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle in the early game.

Burnley produced a surprising performance to win 3-0 at Brighton, with Wout Weghorst getting off the mark for his new club, while Watford also threw a spanner in the works of the relegation fight with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa.

The other game of a busy day in England's top flight saw Southampton beat Frank Lampard's Everton 2-0 at St Mary's thanks to goals from Stuart Armstrong and Shane Long.

Manchester City 2-3 Tottenham: City Kane-d by ruthless Spurs

Pep Guardiola's City team had looked imperious since losing at home to Crystal Palace in October, until today.

City were dominant but wasteful against Spurs, finding the target with only four of their 21 shots, while the visitors made Ederson work with five of their six efforts, beating him three times to take the points.

Kane’s winner, timed at 94:25, was the latest winning goal scored against City in the Premier League since Michael Owen for Manchester United in September 2009 (95:27).

Tottenham duo Kane and Son Heung-min have now assisted one another for 36 Premier League goals, the joint-most of any pairing in the competition's history, moving level with Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

Son has been directly involved in 10 goals in 15 appearances against City (seven goals, three assists); only against Southampton (15) and West Ham (11) has he had a hand in more goals for Spurs.

Meanwhile, Guardiola has lost twice to Tottenham this season, and has only lost more games to Chelsea (eight) than Spurs (six) in his entire managerial career.

Liverpool 3-1 Norwich: Reds come back thanks to usual suspects, and a new one

Early in the second half at Anfield, it did not look like Liverpool would be cutting Manchester City's lead on Saturday, finding themselves 1-0 down to the Canaries after Milot Rashica's first Premier League goal.

However, a marvellous overhead kick from Sadio Mane was soon followed by a historic moment for Salah, who scored his 150th goal for Liverpool in just his 233rd appearance. Only Roger Hunt (226) has reached that total faster in the club's history.

Luis Díaz became the 16th different Colombian player to score a Premier League goal, producing a nice finish after a Jordan Henderson throughball. He was also Liverpool’s 16th different goalscorer in the competition this season (excluding own goals), the joint-most of any side in 2021-22 (Chelsea and City both also 16).

Henderson was a standout performer on the day as well, drastically improving from his showing at Burnley last weekend.

He completed just 50 per cent of passes (18 out of 36) in the 1-0 win at Turf Moor, but on Saturday produced his second-best pass success rate in the Premier League for Liverpool in a game where he made at least 100 passes, with 97.2 per cent (104 of 107), only bettering that against Hull City in 2016-17 (97.3 per cent, 108 of 111).

Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea: Late Ziyech strike saves Blues

Chelsea returned to Premier League action after winning the FIFA Club World Cup last week to eventually secure three points against Palace thanks to an 89th-minute Ziyech strike. The Moroccan has scored in three consecutive league matches for the first time since September 2019 in the Eredivisie with Ajax.

The Blues have now won back-to-back league games for the first time since October, when they won four in a row, and could also be looking up the table after City's wobble.

It was another clean sheet for Chelsea, who have kept 37 in 70 matches in all competitions under Thomas Tuchel, more than any other Premier League side since the German’s first match in charge in January last year.

It was not all good from Tuchel's men though, with struggling striker Romelu Lukaku managing just seven touches, one of which was at the kick-off, the fewest in a single top-flight game for a player to feature for at least 90 minutes since Opta started collecting the data in 2003-04.

Arsenal 2-1 Brentford: Young guns fire Arteta's side to victory

Goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka earned Arsenal a hard-fought win against Brentford, despite Christian Norgaard's late strike for the Bees.

Smith Rowe bagged his ninth league goal this season; the only player to score more in a single campaign for Arsenal when aged 21 or younger was Nicolas Anelka in 1998-99 (17).

Saka registered his 11th goal involvement in the Premier League this season (seven goals, four assists), the most of any under-21 player and a haul bettered only by Jarrod Bowen (16), Mason Mount (13) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (12) among English players.

The Gunners netted their 600th (and 601st) Premier League goals at the Emirates Stadium, reaching the milestone in their 297th game there, with only United at Old Trafford (283) and City at the Etihad (290) doing so at a single stadium in fewer games in the competition.

Brentford are winless in their last seven league games, last having a longer run between September and October 2018 (eight games). Thomas Frank's side have also lost their last five away league games, their longest such run since February 2011 (also five).

West Ham 1-1 Newcastle: Magpies continue to rise under Howe

Eddie Howe's 500th league game as a manager (410 with Bournemouth, 77 with Burnley and 13 with Newcastle) ended with a well-earned point from the London Stadium in the day's early kick-off.

Craig Dawson gave West Ham the lead before Joe Willock's equaliser came just before half-time.

Newcastle have now taken 12 points from their last six Premier League games, two more than they managed in their previous 18 this season (10 points).

Dawson's goal was the 11th scored from a set-piece by the Hammers in the league this season (not including penalties), a figure only Liverpool (14) and City (12) can better.

Brighton and Hove Albion 0-3 Burnley: Weghorst gets off the mark in big Clarets win

A quite remarkable performance from Sean Dyche's side in his 250th Premier League game in charge of Burnley saw them ease to a 3-0 win at the Amex Stadium, with Weghorst, Josh Brownhill and Aaron Lennon all finding the net.

Brighton suffered the heaviest defeat by a team hosting the English top flight's bottom side since Crystal Palace lost 4-0 at home to Sunderland in February 2017.

This was Burnley's first away win in the league since May 2021 (v Fulham), ending a run of 12 games without a win on the road. They also scored more goals in this game than they had in their previous five Premier League away games combined (two).

Weghorst scored his first goal for Burnley, becoming the first Dutchman to score for the Clarets in the competition. This ended a run of seven league games without scoring for Weghorst, with his previous goal coming in December for previous club Wolfsburg against Cologne.

Aston Villa 0-1 Watford: Dennis a menace to Villa

Another relegation-threatened side stepped up to secure an impressive away win as Roy Hodgson earned his first victory in charge of Watford thanks to a goal from Emmanuel Dennis.

This was the Hornets' first Premier League away win since October (5-2 v Everton), and their first away win in the competition while also keeping a clean sheet since January 2020 (3-0 v Bournemouth).

After winning two of their first three home games under Steven Gerrard (L1), Villa are now winless in their last four games at Villa Park (D2 L2). This was the first Premier League home game they have failed to score in since May 2021 (v Everton), ending a run of 12 in a row in which they had found the net.

Watford have now kept as many clean sheets in four Premier League games under Hodgson (two) as they had in their previous 36 games in the competition.

Southampton 2-0 Everton: Another free-kick continues Toon revival

The revival of Everton under Lampard was nowhere to be seen at St Mary's as Ralph Hasenhuttl's side continued their good run of form.

Southampton have now won four of their last eight Premier League games (D3 L1), as many victories as they managed in their previous 20 games in the competition (D8 L8).

Everton's total of 22 points from their first 23 games in the league this season is their worst at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 1950-51 (three points for a win), when they also had 22 and were relegated at the end of the season.

Long's goal was his first in the league since February 2020 (v Aston Villa), ending a run of 799 minutes without the Irishman scoring in the league.

Pep Guardiola was given a stark reminder of what Harry Kane might have brought to Manchester City but insisted that transfer saga belonged in the past after a shock 3-2 defeat to Tottenham.

City had taken 43 points from a possible 45 across their last 15 Premier League games, while Spurs were on a three-game losing skid heading into Saturday's game at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet a double from Kane, including a winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time, gave the visitors a famous win, completing an improbable double over last season's champions.

City lead the way in the English top flight again this year, but their lead over Liverpool is down to six points, and Jurgen Klopp's team have a game in hand.

Guardiola said City had been involved in a "good game", pointing to Tottenham's deep defending as making his side's task difficult.

He added praise for how Tottenham's front three of Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski offered a threat to City's backline, adding on Sky Sports: "They are clinical, and the crosses we could not defend."

City wanted Kane during the last close-season, and the feeling was probably mutual, but the England captain remained at Tottenham and has been rejuvenated by Antonio Conte's mid-season arrival.

There is now a genuine title race, and Guardiola said: "I don't need a game today to know it. I knew it a month ago. There's many, many games to play. People are going to drop points."

When asked about Kane in a later news conference, Guardiola said signing the striker "never was an option" for City, despite admitting there was interest, and urged people to "forget" that saga.

He should be so lucky.

"It's not necessary for him to show today the goals he scored to show his quality with the ball. All the UK knows it," Guardiola said, signalling Kane's display came as no surprise.

Spurs boss Conte was impressed his team put their recent rocky form behind them to produce such an eye-catching result.

New recruit Kulusevski scored the opener after slick play involving Kane and Son, and Kane restored Tottenham's lead after an Ilkay Gundogan leveller. Riyad Mahrez looked to have pinched a point with a late penalty, only for Kane to head his second goal of the game.

Conte told Sky Sports: "It was a good win for us and a win we need to try to give us more confidence. it wasn't simple to play against Manchester City after three losses in a row, but this is a process. We are working very hard to try to improve every aspect.

"This type of game has to give us confidence to trust the work we are doing. It was important there was a reaction [to the defeats]."

Conte described Kane as "highly important", adding: "He had chances to score and I think in every game we created the chances to score, and today our strikers did very well and Harry was very good to keep the ball.

"I think the first goal was great because this goal is about our job, our work that we are doing every day."

But Conte warned: "One win is not enough. Don't forget we are coming after three losses, but for sure to win against Manchester City can give you confidence and to trust in what you are doing.

"We can improve a lot. This is a group of players that is fantastic, this group is one of the best groups of players I've worked with in my career. We have a lot of work to do but we are not scared to work."