Salah returns, Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0 as Arsenal escape via two own-goals to stay five points clear
Sunday December 14, 2025
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Mohamed Salah’s uneasy week at Liverpool ended with a rousing ovation and a decisive contribution as the defending Premier League champions beat Brighton 2-0 at Anfield, while leaders Arsenal needed two own-goals deep into stoppage time to edge last-placed Wolverhampton 2-1 on a nervous Saturday.
Salah, who publicly vented his frustrations last weekend and was omitted from Liverpool’s midweek Champions League trip to Inter Milan, entered in the 26th minute for the injured Joe Gomez to a rapturous welcome. He promptly helped close out the game, delivering the corner that Hugo Ekitike headed in for his second goal in the 60th minute to seal a fifth straight match unbeaten in all competitions for Arne Slot’s side. Ekitike had put Liverpool ahead with a rising strike inside the opening minute.
“For me, there is no issue to resolve,” Slot said when asked about the club’s star forward after the match. The pair held talks Friday, paving Salah’s return to the matchday squad and de-escalating a row that had seen the Egyptian benched in three straight league games before his midweek omission.
Salah’s cameo comes with a clock now ticking on his Liverpool availability. He will depart for the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, potentially missing more than a month of club action if his country reaches the latter stages. The forward’s immediate future is clear; the question, as he heads to AFCON, is what awaits him at Anfield when he comes back.
The result bumped Liverpool to sixth and steadied a title defense that has been uneven to start the winter calendar. It also offered a glimpse of a reset between Slot and Salah, whose chemistry and clarity will be pivotal once he returns from international duty.
At the top, Arsenal preserved a five-point cushion but in the most precarious fashion, profiting from two Wolves own-goals to scrape a win at the Emirates. After a tense hour, the pressure finally cracked the visitors in the 70th minute when goalkeeper Sam Johnstone diverted into his own net. Substitute Tolu Arokodare appeared to steal a point for Wolves with a 90th-minute equalizer, only for Yerson Mosquera to inadvertently head in Bukayo Saka’s cross in stoppage time.
“Sometimes you need (luck) and today it went our way,” Saka said, having delivered both crosses that forced the decisive own-goals.
Wolves’ misery deepened with a club-record ninth straight defeat that leaves them stranded on two points from 16 matches. Their form is historically bleak: since the start of November, they have scored two league goals while conceding three own-goals. The all-time Premier League low-water mark is Derby County’s 11 points in 2007-08; at their current pace, Wolves are on track to undercut even that.
Manchester City, Arsenal’s closest pursuer, can trim the gap back to two points on Sunday at Crystal Palace. The defending treble winners have been steady without being spectacular and now face the familiar task of keeping pressure on a leader that looks far from settled.
Elsewhere in London, Chelsea beat Everton 2-0 to jump into fourth, with Cole Palmer marking a second straight start by opening the scoring in the 21st minute at Stamford Bridge. Running onto Malo Gusto’s through ball, Palmer slipped a cool finish inside the near post before Gusto struck just before halftime to double the lead.
Palmer, who has been limited to seven appearances this season by a groin problem, cautioned that he is still managing his comeback. “It’s just a matter of not doing too much too soon,” he told the BBC. “Literally, it’s just a day-by-day thing. Hopefully it gets better.”
Manager Enzo Maresca, however, sounded a note of disquiet despite the win, complaining afterward about a lack of support at the club “in general,” and describing the past 48 hours as his toughest since arriving in the summer of 2024.
At Turf Moor, Burnley’s slide continued with a seventh straight loss as Fulham won 3-2. Harry Wilson was the difference-maker, setting up two goals and scoring the other to help the Londoners secure their first victory at Burnley since 1951 and climb to 13th. Last season’s Championship winners remain next-to-last, five points from safety, and were booed off by home supporters at full time.
Saturday’s results sharpened the league’s dividing lines. Liverpool found relief and a path forward amid a delicate man-manager balance; Arsenal banked points but invited fresh scrutiny over their form; and the relegation picture tilted ominously toward a Wolves side spiraling into unwanted history. What happens next hinges on two immediate variables: City’s response at Selhurst Park and how Liverpool navigate the coming weeks without Salah as AFCON begins.
Premier League snapshot
- Liverpool 2, Brighton 0 — Hugo Ekitike 2; Mohamed Salah assists from a corner
- Arsenal 2, Wolverhampton 1 — Two Wolves own-goals bookend Tolu Arokodare’s 90th-minute equalizer
- Chelsea 2, Everton 0 — Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto score; Blues up to fourth
- Fulham 3, Burnley 2 — Harry Wilson scores one, assists two; Burnley jeered after seventh straight loss
- Up next: Manchester City at Crystal Palace on Sunday, with a chance to cut Arsenal’s lead to two
For Liverpool, the immediate mission is clear: bank points, keep the peace, and hope their best player returns from the Africa Cup of Nations sharper than he left. Saturday felt like a first, necessary step.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
