BURNLEY, England-- Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League as Darwin Nunez's first league goal for almost two months helped them to a 2-0 victory at struggling Burnley on Tuesday. Nunez's precision finish after six minutes gave Liverpool a flying start at Turf Moor but Juergen Klopp's side were unable to kill off the hosts as the second goal would not come. Mohamed Salah was denied by the crossbar and both Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott had goals disallowed as Burnley hung on but Diogo Jota's 90th-minute effort sealed the points. Nineteenth-placed Burnley had chances of their own in the second half and almost snatched an equaliser when Jacob Bruun Larsen's shot went agonisingly wide of the post. Liverpool's first win in three league games moved them above Arsenal as they reached the halfway point of the season on 42 points. Arsenal, who have 40, host West Ham United on Thursday. There was a sense of relief when substitute Jota fired in from a tight angle for his 50th Liverpool goal after a sweeping move as the points should have long been in the bag. "We put hurdles in front of us and eventually we find a way to get over them but it's unbelievable," Klopp told Amazon Prime. "We played an incredible game but it was only 1-0 and then they realised something was possible. "They could have scored an equaliser that would have been insane and then with the most difficult situation in the whole game we made it 2-0." Liverpool, held to home draws by Manchester United and Arsenal in their last two games, totally dominated the opening stages and Nunez produced a silky finish to curl an effort inside goalkeeper James Trafford's post after Gakpo's set-up. Salah should have made it 2-0 after good work by Gakpo and Nunez but his shot was well saved by Trafford. Gakpo then had the ball in the net but his effort was disallowed for a foul in the build-up by Nunez. Burnley played some neat football, as is their style, but lived dangerously as Salah rattled the crossbar with a dipping drive after being played in by Joe Gomez. The pattern continued after the break and Elliott produced a sharp finish but VAR again came to Burnley's rescue as referee Paul Tierney disallowed the goal for offside against Salah. That let-off inspired Burnley and they began to threaten an equaliser with Larsen giving Liverpool a big fright before Jota finally put the game to bed.
VITORIA-GASTEIZ, Spain--A stoppage time header by fullback Lucas Vazquez earned 10-man Real Madrid a 1-0 victory at lowly Alaves in LaLiga on Thursday, with defender Nacho handed his marching orders following a sliding tackle. The win left Real Madrid on top of the standings on goal difference, level on 45 points with surprise package Girona who were held to a 1-1 draw at Real Betis earlier on Thursday. Barcelona are third on 38 points. Real's old rivals Barcelona are a distant third on 38 points, three ahead Atletico Madrid who have a game in hand and host Sevilla on Saturday. A toothless Real Madrid failed to create almost any opportunities as they looked to be heading towards a dull goalless draw against a rugged Alaves who are struggling standing on 17th place in the LaLiga standings, but are tough to beat when roared on by their fans at the Mendizorroza stadium, having earned 13 of their 16 points playing at home. They made it difficult for Real, whose only real chance in the first half was when Uruguay midfielder Federico Valverde unleashed a thunderous strike from range that goalkeeper Antonio Sivera punched away in the 37th minute. But after loosing Nacho to a straight red in the 54th minute after an awful studs up sliding tackle to Samu Omorodion's ankle, Real started to show signs of life. While Alaves looked content to snatch a point from their giant rivals, Real were more purposeful going forward, missed some half chances and nearly drew first blood when Rodrygo barely missed the top left corner with a curling strike in the 75th minute. But they finally scored one minute into added time when Toni Kroos lifted a corner to Vazquez who headed home from the crowded box. A last-gasp goal and triumph that were passionately celebrated by Real Madrid players and staff, who let off steam after a troubled night and a narrow win. "This team has unknown energies," Carlo Ancelotti told a press conference. "It was a complicated match and with one man down... everyone thought that today would be a typical day for us to slip up. "But we held on well with ten men, we defended well and, in the end, we were rewarded."
MADRID-- Getafe fought back to grab a 3-3 draw at 10-man Atletico Madrid on Tuesday as Borja Mayoral scored his second with a stoppage-time penalty to level a pulsating LaLiga encounter in which Antoine Griezmann equalled the hosts' all-time scoring record.
BARCELONA-- Two second-half goals from Sergi Roberto rescued a 3-2 home win for champions Barcelona against bottom side Almeria in LaLiga on Wednesday, putting an end to their three-game winless run in all competitions as they head into the Christmas break.
JEDDAH- - Jhon Arias and John Kennedy scored in the second half to give Brazilian side Fluminense a hard-fought 2-0 win over Egypt's Al-Ahly in their Club World Cup semi-final at King Abdullah Sports City on Monday.
