Liverpool’s Conor Bradley jumps for a header with Fulham’s Kevin during the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Liverpool in London, on January 4, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
Liverpool stretched their unbeaten Premier League run to eight games after a frenetic 2-2 draw at Fulham and Manchester United’s hopes of pressurising their north-west rivals for a top-four spot were hit in a 1-1 draw at Leeds United on Sunday (January 4, 2026).
With their hopes of retaining the title all but over, Liverpool’s priority is ensuring a top-four finish but two dropped points at Craven Cottage hardly helped their cause.
Liverpool trailed to Harry Wilson’s 17th-minute effort but Florian Wirtz’s second goal in three games after a barren start to his Liverpool career levelled it up before the hour mark. Cody Gakpo thought he had won it for the visitors in the fourth minute of stoppage time but Harrison Reed’s 30-metre rocket in the 97th-minute earned Fulham a deserved share of the spoils.
“Not satisfied at all. We need points and we wanted three points today,” Wirtz said.
Of Reed’s equaliser, he added: “The strike, there is nothing to say. It was unbelievable. You cannot save that ball.”
Liverpool remain in fourth place on 34 points from 20 games, 14 behind leaders Arsenal and three ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United who once again fell short.
Ruben Amorim’s United side have lost only two of their last 14 league games, but too many of them have been draws against teams they would be expected to beat.
After Tuesday’s home draw with bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers, they wasted another opportunity at Leeds and it could have been worse as they trailed to a goal by Brenden Aaronson.
Matheus Cunha’s equaliser ensured United took something from the traditionally feisty fixture but it did not improve the mood of Amorim whose future remains a subject for debate.
“I just want to say that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach,” the Portuguese said in his post-match press conference.
“And every department — the scouting department, the sports director — needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on.”
Thiago hat-trick
Brentford’s Brazilian striker Igor Thiago has seen his goal tally dry up after a superb start to the season, not scoring since November, but he returned to form with a hat-trick in his side’s 4-2 win at Everton.
Thiago opened the scoring in the 11th minute and struck again after Nathan Collins made it 2-0 soon after halftime.
Beto replied for Everton before Thiago grabbed his third goal to seal the points as Brentford moved into seventh place with 30 points after a five-game unbeaten league run.
“Strikers live and breathe (goals) and get a lot of confidence from it,” Brentford manager Keith Andrews said of Thiago, who now has 14 Premier League goals this season.
“His performance today was sensational.”
Tottenham Hotspur’s woeful home form continued in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland that increases the pressure on manager Thomas Frank. Ben Davies’s close-range effort looked as though it might give Spurs their third home league win of the season but Brian Brobbey powered home an 80th-minute equaliser.
Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes paved the way for a 2-0 home win against Crystal Palace that took Eddie Howe’s stuttering side into the top half of the table.
He broke the deadlock with a 71st-minute header and Malick Thiaw wrapped it up for the hosts from close range.
Published – January 05, 2026 01:32 am IST
