At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, and Liverpool played to a dull 0-0 draw, which highlighted the current weakened position of both clubs.
Chelsea’s interim coach, Bruno Saltor, led the team following Graham Potter’s dismissal, while Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp made six changes to his lineup after their heavy loss to Manchester City.
Chelsea had more chances, with Mateo Kovacic’s early shot cleared off the line by Ibrahima Konate, and he later missed a clear chance by shooting wildly over the bar. Kai Havertz also had a goal disallowed for handball after VAR review, and Reece James suffered a similar fate with his effort ruled offside.
Liverpool, without Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Andy Robertson, and with Virgil van Dijk hardly tested Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. The result did not help Liverpool’s bid for a top-four spot in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Brighton defeated Bournemouth 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium, giving them hope of playing in the Champions League. Evan Ferguson opened the scoring with a spectacular left-heel goal, and Julio Enciso sealed the win in second-half stoppage time.
Brighton are now four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, with two games in hand, and will play away against them this Saturday.
Aston Villa also defeated Managerless Leicester City by 2-1, while the final game of the night saw Leeds United win a crucial match against Nottingham Forest in their bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
Despite conceding an early goal to Orel Mangala, Leeds fought back with goals from Jack Harrison and Luis Sinisterra to secure the 2-1 victory.
The win took Leeds out of the bottom three and gave them renewed confidence for the rest of the season. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, suffered a further setback in their relegation battle and remains winless in eight games.