London, Jan 15, 2025, IANS

London, Jan 15 (IANS) Liverpool maintained their six-point lead in the Premier League after a 1-1 draw away to Nottingham Forest. Forest striker Chris Wood continued his excellent season with a left-foot finish to put his side ahead in the eighth minute after a swift counterattack, and his team was content to sit deep and defend with energy and order against the league leaders. Liverpool drew level in the 66th minute when coach Arne Slot's substitutions paid off, as Kostas Tsimikas crossed for Diogo Jota to score just a minute after both players had entered the match, reports Xinhua. Liverpool dominated the closing minutes, but Forest held on to move above Arsenal into second place, although Arsenal could narrow Liverpool's lead to four points if they win on Wednesday. Chelsea and Bournemouth played out a thriller, with the visitors showing their strong form by coming back from a goal down to lead 2-1 before Reece James equalised in the 95th minute. Chelsea appeared on track in the 14th minute, but a penalty from Justin Kluivert, awarded after a push on Antoine Semenyo, made it 1-1 in the 50th minute. Semenyo then scored an individual effort in the 68th minute to put Bournemouth ahead. James rescued a point for Chelsea with a 95th-minute free-kick into the bottom corner. Brentford fought back from 2-0 down to earn a point at home against Manchester City in an end-to-end contest after goals in the 67th and 78th minutes from Phil Foden tilted the game in City's favour. Yoane Wissa brought Brentford back into contention in the 81st minute, capitalising on Nathan Ake's defensive error, and Christian Norgaard's towering header in the second minute of injury time sealed a 2-2 draw. Bryan Mbeumo then saw his header cleared off the line for Brentford as the home side threw everything forward in the closing moments. New West Ham coach Graham Potter got off to a positive start against Fulham in his home debut, following his appointment last week to replace Julen Lopetegui. Carlos Soler opened the scoring for West Ham after 31 minutes, punishing Fulham's failed attempt to play out from the back. Three minutes later, Tomas Soucek fired home a first-time shot from Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross on the right. Alex Iwobi pulled one back for Fulham in the 51st minute, but Lucas Paqueta's persistence earned him West Ham's third in the 67th minute. Although Iwobi netted his second of the match 12 minutes from time, Fulham could not salvage a point.