Liverpool beats Man City 2-0 to move nine points clear in the Premier League

Liverpool is in control of the Premier League title race. Manchester City is in free fall.

A 2-0 win against City on Sunday moved Liverpool nine points clear at the top of the standings and 11 ahead of Pep Guardiola’s four-time defending champion.

Goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah exposed the gap between the title rivals and emphasized the deepening crisis for Guardiola, whose serial title winners languish fifth in the standings.

“We weren’t perfect, but we came close to perfection and that’s the only way you can beat a quality team like City,” Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said.

It’s now seven games without a win for City in all competitions, including six losses during that run.

The latest defeat at Anfield could have been even more emphatic, with Virgil van Dijk hitting the post and Salah missing the target when through on goal in a game which Liverpool totally dominated.

The home crowd mocked Guardiola, chanting he would be fired in the morning. With his team unable to respond, it was left to him to hold up six fingers in reference to the six league titles he has won in seven years during a period of unprecedented domestic dominance.

“Maybe they're right, that I must be sacked (fired) for the results we have, but I didn't expect (that) in Anfield,” Guardiola said. “It’s fine. It’s part of the game. I understand completely and accept it. We had incredible, incredible battles together.”

City's dominance looks increasingly likely to come to an end this season, with Guardiola enduring the worst losing streak of his managerial career and Liverpool looking a potential champion after such an impressive start under Slot.

It’s 11 wins from 13 games in the league for Slot, whose team also leads the Champions League standings.

Victory against City came days after beating European champion Real Madrid by the same score line and having already seen off German champion Bayer Leverkusen 4-0.

“I don’t think anyone including me would have predicted this,” Slot said of his team's start to the campaign.

In contrast, City’s players look bereft of confidence, having thrown away a three-goal lead against Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday, just days after being thrashed 4-0 by Tottenham.

Guardiola’s team could have been behind even before Gakpo’s opener in the 12th minute, following a wonderful threaded cross by Salah. And Liverpool should have wrapped up the game long before Salah eventually converted a penalty in the 78th when City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega brought down Luis Diaz in the box.

Guardiola has now lost four straight league games for the first time as a manager, Premier League stat supplier Opta said. The last time City lost four in a row in the league was 2008, Opta said.

Ruben Amorim got Manchester United fans smiling again after a 4-0 win against Everton.

In his first Premier League game at Old Trafford, the home crowd serenaded United’s players with “ole” as they played one of their best performances of the season. It marks a big change from the boos that rang around the stadium toward the end of former manager Erik ten Hag’s reign.

In Amorim’s third game in charge in all competitions since taking over last month, United produced its best performance under him, with Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee scoring two goals each.

“It is a nice result. It is important with a new coach and a new way of playing, we are still learning. We have to back up this performance,” Rashford said.

Amorim is undefeated since taking over last month and United is ninth - four points off the top four.

While performances on the field are pleasing supporters, there were protests off it over increasing ticket prices.

A banner displayed both inside and outside the stadium read: “Stop exploiting loyalty”.

It hasn’t taken long for Amorim to get United’s strikers scoring.

Rashford has three goals in three games under the Portuguese, having managed four in 18 before that.

Rasmus Hojlund scored twice in the Europa League win against Bodo Glimt and Zirkzee’s double on Sunday were his first goals since the opening game of the season.

Goals had been hard to come by under Ten Hag, with United only scoring eight in nine games in the league before he was fired.

Rashford began the rout against Everton in the 34th minute and Zirkzee doubled United’s lead five minutes later. Rashford scored again a minute into the second half and Zirkzee’s second came in the 64th after a swift break.

Third-placed Chelsea moved back level on points with second-place Arsenal after inflicting the latest loss on Aston Villa.

Goals from Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer ensured Chelsea kept up with London rival Arsenal.

For Villa, it’s eight games without a win in all competitions and a fifth defeat during that run.

Villa dropped into the bottom half of the standings in 12th place.

Tottenham couldn’t follow up last week’s stunning victory against City with another win that would have seen it edge closer to the top four.

Brennan Johnson put seventh-place Spurs in front in the second half, but substitute Tom Cairney leveled the game before getting sent off late on.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Fans hold a banner prior to the start of the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Everton at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's fans show a banner during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Everton at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah runs celebrating after scoring his side's second goal from the penalty spot during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola reacts after Liverpool scored their second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's second goal from the penalty spot during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-Min, left, and Fulham's Issa Diop in action during the English Premier League soccer match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Cole Palmer, right, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at the Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Everton at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Joshua Zirkzee, right, challenged by Everton's Ashley Young scores during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Everton at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's head coach Ruben Amorim follows the game of the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Everton at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Joshua Zirkzee, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Everton at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Ohio State, Miami and Clemson plunged in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday following their losses during a wild weekend, eight of the top 10 teams moved up one spot and Oregon was No. 1 for the seventh straight week.

The shakeup creates two top-five matchups in conference championship games coming up on Saturday, a day before the College Football Playoff bracket is announced. Oregon, the nation's only unbeaten team, will face No. 3 Penn State in the Big Ten game in Indianapolis. No. 2 Texas will play No. 5 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference game in Atlanta, a rematch of their top-five meeting in October won by the Bulldogs.

No. 4 Notre Dame, 11-1 and a winner of 10 straight, won't play again until the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State, which lost for the fourth straight time to Michigan and was knocked out of the Big Ten title game, dropped five spots to No. 7, behind Tennessee.

SMU is No. 8 and followed by Indiana and Boise State. The Broncos are in the top 10 for the first time since 2011 and the highest-ranked Group of Five team, two spots ahead of No. 12 Arizona State, the highest-ranked Big 12 team.

If the Broncos win the Mountain West title and are one of the top four-seeded conference champions in the final CFP rankings, they would receive a bye to the quarterfinals.

Miami's loss at Syracuse cost the Hurricanes a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, and possibly the CFP, and dropped them six spots to No. 14. Clemson, which plays SMU in the ACC game, lost at South Carolina and fell six places to No. 18.

South Carolina has won six straight — four against ranked opponents — and earned a three-rung promotion to No. 13. Mississippi remained No. 15 and was followed by Iowa State and BYU.

Ohio State's 13-10 loss to Michigan marked the fifth time this season a top-five team lost to an unranked opponent, the most since it happened five times in 2017.

Miami's 42-38 loss to Syracuse was the 12th by a top-10 team against an unranked opponent, the most since there were 12 such losses in 2021.

It's been 10 years since South Carolina was ranked higher than in-state rival Clemson. In 2014, the Gamecocks were No. 13 following a 3-1 start and finished 7-6 and unranked in Steve Spurrier's last full season as coach.

Notre Dame has its highest ranking since it was No. 4 on Dec. 22, 2020.

No. 23 Syracuse enters the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 30, 2022, after winning nine games for the first time since 2018 under first-year coach Fran Brown. The win over Miami was its first over a top-10 opponent since 2017.

No. 25 Memphis, which was last ranked in October 2020, knocked off Tulane as a double-digit road underdog and has 10 wins for the second straight year.

Tulane, which plays at No. 24 Army in the American Athletic Conference title game, went from No. 18 to out of the rankings.

Texas A&M, No. 20 last week, was bounced after losing at home to Texas and dropping its last three SEC games.

SEC — 7 (Nos. 2, 5, 6, 11, 13, 15, 22).

Big Ten — 5 (Nos. 1, 3, 7, 8, 21).

ACC — 4 (Nos. 8, 14, 18, 23).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 12, 16, 17, 20).

AAC — 2 (Nos. 24, 25).

Mountain West — 2 (Nos. 10, 19).

Independent — 1 (No. 4).

— No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 3 Penn State in Indianapolis, Big Ten championship.

— No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia in Atlanta, Southeastern Conference championship.

— No. 8 SMU vs. No. 18 Clemson in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlantic Coast Conference championship.

— No. 10 Boise State vs. No. 19 UNLV in Boise, Idaho, Mountain West championship.

— No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 16 Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Big 12 championship.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Georgia linebacker Chaz Chambliss (32) celebrates his fumble recovery in overtime of an NCAA college football game against Georgia Tech, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)