Premier League, Chelsea beat Leeds 3-2; Liverpool win: Records broken
Chelsea beat Leeds United 3-2 in a crunch Premier League encounter on Saturday at Stamford Bridge. Jorginho scored an injury-time penalty to help Chelsea gain massive three points. Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah's penalty saw Liverpool overcome Aston Villa 1-0. After Manchester City's win over Wolves, both Chelsea and Liverpool have kept this title race alive ahead of a busy festive period.
Why does it matter?
With City winning earlier on Saturday, it was going to be crucial for both Chelsea and Liverpool to make sure they don't slip. Chelsea looked like dropping two points but Jorginho's winning penalty will give them respite. Leeds have themselves to blame, conceding two penalties. Meanwhile, Liverpool earned a hard-fought 1-0 win and the three points will please Jurgen Klopp.
Leeds pay for their mistakes
Marcos Alonso's challenge inside the box saw Leeds get awarded a penalty and Raphinha made no mistake. Mason Mount equalized for Chelsea with a fine goal just before half-time. Raphinha then gave away a penalty which Jorginho accepted with glee. Leeds weren't done as substitute Gelhardt equalized in the 82nd minute. The game headed for a draw before Leeds conceded another needless penalty.
Notable feats achieved by Rudiger and Mount
As per Opta, Antonio Rudiger is only the second Chelsea player to win two penalties in a single Premier League match, after Yuri Zhirkov against Aston Villa in March 2010. Mount has now been directly involved in 10 Premier League goals this season (6 goals, 4 assists), with only Mohamed Salah (22) and Emmanuel Dennis (12) exceeding that total.
Leeds' Raphinha and Gelhardt script these records
Raphinha is the first Leeds player to both score and concede a penalty in the Premier League. This is the 13th instance of a player doing so in a Premier League game. Gelhardt is the first teenager to score a Premier League goal for Leeds since James Milner against Everton in April 2004. Notably, Gelhardt scored with his very first touch of the game
Salah hands Liverpool all three points
Steven Gerrard's return to Liverpool as Aston Villa manager ended in a 1-0 defeat. Salah won and converted the penalty in the 67th minute as it was enough for the Reds to gain vital points. The win sees Liverpool stay second above Chelsea on 37 points. Villa suffered their ninth defeat of the campaign and are stationed at 12th.
Salah nets 14th PL goal of the season
Salah has scored each of his last 15 Premier League penalties. As per Opta, he is just the second player to score as many consecutively in the competition, after Matthew Le Tissier (23 in a row between January 1994 and April 2000). Notably, Salah has raced to 111 Premier League goals. He scored his 14th PL goal of the season.
