Former Red and a legend of Liverpool, Steven Gerrard – now manager of Aston Villa – came to Anfield and was pretty close to leaving with a point in the bag. However, a penalty converted by Mohamed Salah was enough (1-0) to keep Liverpool second in the standings only a point behind Manchester City. In the English capital, recent table toppers Chelsea disappointed again but kept all three points against tricky Leeds side at Stamford Bridge (3-2).Before the match, Gerrard showed little emotion regarding his return to a place that was once his temple. He played 710 times for Liverpool in all competitions, the third-most in the Reds’ history. Former players managing against the Reds at Anfield in the Premier League have lost 15 of their last 17 visits – Stevie G was another member on the losing side of history.The number of chances Liverpool created was surprisingly low. As expected possession was theirs, statistics were almost completely tilting to the left side of the scoreboard but the most important part of statistics (goals) was missing.A lot of blocked shots and intercepted crosses surely annoyed Jurgen Klopp. Andrew Robertson’s header was blocked in the 17th minute and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s long range shot went over the crossbar to show some intensity from the hosts.Visitors could have scored in the 31st minute when Ollie Watkins received a neat pass inside the box and instantly thumped the ball goalward, but a defender made a last ditch block to deny him.Sterling’s 100th Premier League goal and a controversial VAR decision helps City to defeat WolvesA major opportunity for Mohamed Salah came just before the half-time whistle. Emiliano Martinez was forced into action to thwart the Egyptian. He found himself some space after latching on to a pass and unleashed a shot to the bottom left corner but couldn’t beat the keeper.Home team woke up a bit in the second period. Virgil Van Dijk’s header in the 53rd minute was exquisitely denied by Martinez while seven minutes after Salah tried with an effort from the edge of the box but it went just wide of the left post.Not long after, Salah had an easier task – to convert a penalty shot. In the 65th minute Tyrone Mings brought one of his opponents down and the Egyptian was cool enough to bring his team ahead.Villains took over the conceded goal and tried shifting the weight of the match closer to Alisson but Liverpool were collected enough to bring the match to a calm ending.Elsewhere, London Blues are still wobbly in form – since that shocking draw against Burnley. Yes, there were confident wins against Juventus and Leicester but it just not look like that dominant-in-defence-Chelsea since that clash with the Clarets.In the 27th minute, Marcos Alonso mistimed a tackle in his own box and took down Daniel James. Raphinha was sure of himself and scored past Edouard Mendy from the spotIt did not take long before the hosts equalised. In the 42nd minute Alonso redeemed himself to a point with an assist provided for Mason Mount who caught a low cross and sent a low shot behind Illan Meslier.Until the half-time mark, European champions had one more big chance which was not materialized by Kai Havertz.Second half opened with Chelsea being the more intense side and they were awarded for their efforts with a penalty. Antonio Rudiger was taken down inside the opponents box and Jorginho calmly found the back of the net,Leeds did not give up after the conceded penalty. They started pressuring Chelsea’s midfielders which resulted in several dangerous build-ups but the home team defenders reacted with few great blocks to deny guest’s attempts.Then 82nd minute came and Rafinha was substituted by teenager Joe Gelhardt. He needed less than a minute to score his debut goal in the Premier League, breaking the hearts across the home crowd.But just as everyone thought this will be another winless match for Tuchel – Rudiger earned another penalty for his team. For the second time, Jorginho tricked Meslier and brought another lead to the hosts.All three top teams were helped by penalty goals to keep the standings the same.Also in London but a bit north, the scoreboard shows that Arsenal had less trouble than the title contenders. But there were issues for the Gunners against Southampton – the Saints are going back to the south coast empty handed even though they could have taken a point at least – 3-0 in favour of Arteta’s crew.It took six minutes for Arsenal to distance themselves with two goals. In the 21st minute Alexandre Lacazette took advantage of Bukayo Saka’s assist while in the 27th minute Norwegian Martin Odegaard scored his third goal in three matches in a row.To bring more peace to Arteta and his staff, Gabriel added one more for the Gunners in the 62nd minute.PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 16FridayBrentford – Watford 2-1 (0-1)/Jansson 84, Mbeumo 90+5 pen – Dennis 24/SaturdayMan.City – Wolverhampton 1-0 (0-0)/Sterling 66 pen/Liverpool – Aston Villa 1-0 (0-0)/Salah 65 pen/Chelsea – Leeds 3-2 (1-1)/Mount 42, Jorginho 58 pen, 90+4 pen – Raphinha 28 pen, Gelhardt 83/ Arsenal – Southampton 3-0 (2-0)/Lacazette 21, Odegaard 27, Gabriel 62/20:30: (8.00) Norwich (4.50) Man.Utd. (1.47)Sunday17:00: (3.80) Burnley (3.50) West Ham (2.10)17:00: (1.85) Leicester (3.70) Newcastle (4.60)19:30: (2.40) Crystal Palace (3.10) Everton (3.45)Brighton – Tottenham POSTPONED***odds are subject to change
