Liverpool and City march on as Spurs fall further behind

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring their first goal from the penalty spot Action Images via Reuters

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters): The Premier League title battle appears a two-horse race after leaders Liverpool and champions Manchester City both won on Wednesday while third-placed Tottenham fell to a second straight defeat.

Liverpool thrashed Watford 5-0 and champions City claimed a narrow 1-0 win over West Ham United, but third-placed Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat at Chelsea left them nine points off the top, needing a remarkable turn of events to make up the gap.

Liverpool, who had struggled to create openings in recent goalless draws with Bayern Munich and Manchester United, returned to their prolific best by crushing eighth-placed Watford.

Senegalese striker Sadio Mane and Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk both scored twice for JuergenKlopp’s side who took early command.

Mane scored both his goals inside the opening 20 minutes – the first a header and the second a cheeky back-heel with both set-up by the excellent Trent Alexander-Arnold.

United remain fifth, a point behind Arsenal who smashed Bournemouth 5-1 at the Emirates with MesutOzil marking his first Premier League start of 2019 with a goal and an assist.

Southampton climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-0 win over second-bottom Fulham with first-half goals from OriolRomeu and James Ward-Prowse.

The win lifts the Saints onto 27 points, two points above 18th-placed Cardiff City. Fulham are 19th on 17 points, three clear of bottom side Huddersfield Town.