Liverpool's dramatic late strike sinks Nottingham Forest

Alexis Mac Allister's strike in the 97th minute salvaged a point for Liverpool despite their flat display, securing a 1-0 victory over beleaguered Nottingham Forest on Sunday and bolstering their bid for Champions League qualification next term.

Vitor Pereira, the fourth boss for Forest this campaign, made his Premier League debut in charge, with his team appearing poised for a hard-earned draw until the tense conclusion.

Mac Allister saw an earlier effort disallowed after blocking Ola Aina's clearance near the end, with officials ruling it hit his arm.

Yet to Pereira's outrage, Forest ignored the close call and now trail the relegation spots by just two points.

Mac Allister finished off the loose ball following Virgil van Dijk's headed attempt being parried away.

Following a prolonged VAR check, the decision favoured Liverpool this time, even with Hugo Ekitike in an offside spot.

Liverpool hold sixth position but now match Chelsea and Manchester United on points, sitting only six behind Aston Villa.

With robust showings from English clubs in Europe this year, finishing in the top five should guarantee a Champions League spot.

Liverpool suffered a setback prior to the game when Florian Wirtz got injured during warm-up.

The German's creativity was sorely absent in an outing short on offensive drive until a final surge spared them embarrassment.

Arsenal face intense scrutiny in their subsequent match on Sunday (1630GMT) against north London foes Tottenham.

Tottenham operate under fresh leadership with caretaker manager Igor Tudor at the helm for his initial outing, aiming to steer them clear of relegation danger.

Arsenal might have pulled ahead in the title chase, but just two victories in their last seven league fixtures have let Manchester City narrow the gap to two points at the summit.

Fulham surged past Sunderland into the upper table reaches after becoming only the second away team to triumph at the Stadium of Light this season.

Raul Jimenez's brace clinched a 3-1 win for Marco Silva's squad.

The Mexican forward nodded in from Alex Iwobi's set-piece before keeping his flawless Premier League penalty record intact from 13 attempts.

Enzo Le Fee converted from the spot to reduce the deficit for the Black Cats prior to Iwobi sealing the result.

Crystal Palace quelled growing unrest at Selhurst Park with merely their second success in 16 outings.

Evann Guessand's debut goal for Palace in the 90th minute defeated 10-player Wolves 1-0.

Tolu Arokodare's early penalty was denied by Palace shot-stopper Dean Henderson.

Ladislav Krejci received a red card for delaying the game by kicking the ball away around the hour, as rock-bottom Wolves failed to surpass Derby's dismal Premier League low of 11 points.