Liverpool lose in shock second half, Manchester City rely on Gundogan and Crystal Palace suffer without Zaha

After two consecutive losses at home — first 1-0 to Brighton then 4-1 to Manchester City — Liverpool proved that their form has gotten just as bad away from home this season. Plagued by injuries (including the absence of their wolrd class Dutch defendter Virgil Van Dijk), Liverpool have struggled to keep their footing in the league.

Jurgen Klopp’s side, who are reigning champs, lead the game 1-0 in the start, thanks to a singular goal from Mo Salah. But the final 12 minutes changed everything.

The match fell apart spectacularly for the Reds as Leicester netted three goals in tight succession. Liverpool lost 3-1 and are now down to fourth place on the table, lagging 13 points behind table leaders Man City, who have a game in hand.

With that, the Reds dream of another title win is firmly out of the window. Klopp says his team isn’t “silly” enough to think they’re still challengers for the title.

“I don’t think we can close the gap. We are not worrying about the title, we are not silly,” said the German manager, who has been transformative to Liverpool’s journey, both in the league and in Europe.

This is the first time Liverpool lose three games in a row since 2014.

Man City v Spurs

Ilkay Gundogan was the man of the match yet again for Manchester City, proving his worth in the continued absence of star striker Sergio Aguero.

However, Pep Guardiola’s comfort in having a strong striker in the German midfielder might be short-lived, as Gundogen was seen limping off the pitch after a victorious performance against the Tottenham Hotspurs.

Gundogan scored two of City’s three goals, 16 minutes apart, to sink the Spurs. This, after Rodri netted a penalty 23 minutes into the game.

Gundogan’s reliable performances every week have guaranteed City a convincing chance to get their title back. The player also scored two goals against Liverpool in City’s last EPL match.

Speaking of Gundogan’s injury, Guardiola said: “We will see tomorrow. He told me it was tight. He is intelligent to say it but we will see tomorrow.”

The Spanish manager also said he was “delighted” with Gundogen proving him right on the pitch.

“I said many times he can play as a false nine and the people laughed at me. Today it was a clear action to win the penalty and then the two goals. He is so good in those terms. I am delighted with his performance, he won the Player of the Month award for January and he still keeps playing this way. In February he could win it again.”

Crystal Palace v Burnley

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace suffered an upset at home at the hands of Burnley, in a match that ended in a 3-0 result.

It was a big score for Burnley, who achieved as many goals in this one match alone (three) as they had scored in 10 prior away league games.

For Palace, the struggle without Wilfried Zaha continues. This was the 18th match out of their last 20 games, where an injured Zaha was absent from play, and Palace lost.

However, Burnley's victory was overshadowed by an injury to their captain Ben Mee, who had to be stretchered off in a neck brace 12 minutes from the final whistle.