Liverpool close gap on Man City, Chelsea thrash Burnley

BURNLEY, England :Liverpool rode their luck in a 1-0 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday to turn up the heat on leaders Manchester City, who face a derby showdown on Sunday.

Sadio Mane's 12th league goal of the season, tucked away midway through the first half, proved just about enough to secure the win as Liverpool narrowed City's lead at the top to three points with both teams having 11 games left to play.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp, asked if he would be taking a close interest in City's game with fourth-placed Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, said: "Of course we are interested in it, but we have no influence on it.

"We have to win the games we play. Those we do not play in we have no hand in it. We don't think about it or talk about it, we just try to win our games."

Earlier, Chelsea put aside their ownership issues to solidify their grip on third place with a 4-0 win at Burnley.

Leeds United slipped further into trouble with a 1-0 loss at Leicester City under new manager Jesse Marsch, but Newcastle United's resurgence continued with a 2-1 home win against Brighton & Hove Albion to move further away from trouble.

Ryan Fraser and Fabian Schar scored in the space of two minutes for Eddie Howe's Newcastle side who then dug deep to extend their unbeaten run to eight games after Lewis Dunk pulled one back for Brighton in the 55th minute.

Brentford dealt a hammer blow to bottom side Norwich City's hopes of escaping the drop zone and eased their own fears as Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 victory at Carrow Road.

Aston Villa's Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho scored one goal and made another as they thrashed visiting Southampton 4-0, while Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha