LONDON: Chelsea are now just two points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool after goals from Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson gave them a 2-1 win over Brentford.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for Enzo Maresca’s squad in the league.

Chelsea pressed Brentford from the start, with 15 attempts in the first half, but only Cucurella’s 43rd-minute header beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken. It was the Spanish centre-back’s first league goal for Chelsea.

However, Cucurella’s glorious night ended with a red card when he received a second yellow card for a foul on Kevin Schade late in the game.

10 minutes from time, Jackson added his ninth Premier League goal of the season after receiving a pass from Enzo Fernandez.

According to Jackson, the players followed the plan set by the manager.

“We did that. It was harder at the end because they wanted to score again,” Jackson said.

Jackson’s goal saved Chelsea after Brentford finally found the target in the last minute through Bryan Mbeumo.

“Our second half was amazing, and I think we were unlucky not to capitalise on it,” said Brentford manager Thomas Frank.

Meanwhile, Maresca maintains his stance that Chelsea are not yet ready to compete for the league title this season due to more experienced rivals.

“No matter how many games we win, I don’t think we’re ready. They won’t concede goals like we did.

“One of the reasons is because I think the competition is the way to win the title. We can’t concede like that and give the opponent a chance.

“Fans can put that dream into practice, but for me we’re not ready yet,” Maresca said.

LIVERPOOL: Mohamed Salah has come out to defend Darwin Nunez from fan criticism, even comparing his teammate to the former Liverpool star.

Nunez has been the victim of criticism from fans after only scoring three goals in 18 appearances this season.

But Salah dismissed criticism of his team-mate and claimed he was happy playing with Nunez, just like he was with Roberto Firmino.

The Brazilian also suffered a slump at Anfield but he and Salah showed their compatibility and managed to stay with Liverpool for eight seasons, with the duo scoring 36 goals in 245 appearances.

“Who is my favourite pairing? Firmino. Now generally I like to play with Nunez.

“A lot of people don’t like him but I like playing with him. Nunez has different skills. Not everyone understands his game,” said Salah.

Salah and Nunez have played 96 games together and scored 16 goals between them.

LONDON: Liverpool have reportedly agreed to offer their main striker Mohamed Salah a new contract.

There has been much speculation about the future of the winger, whose current contract expires at the end of June.

As reported by The Mirror , Salah is now close to signing a new two-year contract to remain at Anfield.

Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas told Liverpool he wanted a three-year contract for his client, with Fenway Sports Group initially only prepared to offer him a one-year extension.

However, an agreement has now been reached with the 32-year-old player continuing to play for the English Premier League (EPL) giants since his first appearance in 2017.

Salah currently earns around £400,000 a week at Anfield, with money not being an issue for his future.

Liverpool also want to tie down Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold by offering them new contracts, as both are also in the final year of their current contracts.

Salah remains a key player for Liverpool, as evidenced by the fact that he has scored 13 goals and made eight assists in 14 EPL matches this season.

In total, the Egyptian star has scored 226 goals in 370 matches with Liverpool.

He won the EPL title, Champions League, FA Cup and two League Cups during his time with the club.

Positive news about Salah must be exciting for boss Arne Slot, with his team now occupying the top spot in the EPL.

Last month, Salah revealed his disappointment at not being offered a new deal by Liverpool.

Speaking to a small group of reporters after Liverpool’s win at Southampton, Salah said: “We’re almost into December and I still haven’t received any offers to stay at this club. I’d probably rather think about leaving than staying.

“You know I’ve been at this club for many years. There’s no club like this. But ultimately it’s not in my hands to decide. As I said it’s December now and I haven’t received anything else about my future.

“I love the supporters. The supporters love me too. Ultimately it’s not up to me or the supporters (to decide).”

LONDON: Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was not carried away by the string of excellent results of his young squad after the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in the English Premier League.

For Maresca, the situation does not change his previous stance that Chelsea are not mature enough to compete for the league title this season.

Chelsea dominated the game against Villa with Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer finding the target to lift them to third in the league, sharing 25 points with second-placed Arsenal and nine behind leaders Liverpool.

According to Maresca, his squad is still far behind Liverpool and Manchester City in terms of experience in important matches and the pressure of chasing the title.

“These players, some of them, in their life, their experience, may have only played one final.

“So you’ve got to go through it more often to get better and when we start getting that experience, we’ll be better to compete.

“We will get there soon, but for now we are still far away and not ready to compete with the clubs,” said Maresca.

Chelsea reached the League Cup final at Wembley last season but lost 1-0 to Liverpool.

LONDON: Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, admitted that his team needs to reach an almost perfect level if they want to catch up with the leaders of the English Premier League, Liverpool, who are now far ahead.

After an inconsistent start to the season, Arsenal returned to form with an emphatic 5-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in midweek.

Before that, they also ended a four-match winless drought in the league by defeating Nottingham Forest 3-0.

Victory over West Ham, early this Sunday morning is expected to propel Arsenal to second place in the league, at least before the important action between Liverpool and Manchester City at midnight on Sunday.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference today, Arteta said his team’s main focus was to maintain consistency.

“If Liverpool continue to be at this level, they will be difficult to catch. But, our focus is on our own performance. Consistency will open up opportunities for us to win more matches,” he said.

Arteta also praised the team spirit of his players after recording two important wins after the international break.

“The win gave new energy and confidence to the team. Now, it’s a matter of maintaining the momentum, especially with a tight schedule every three days,” he said.