Updated at 23.08
Liverpool 2 Bournemouth 2
LIVERPOOL WERE HIT by a late sucker punch as Bournemouth snatched a 2-2 draw at Anfield tonight.
Benik Afobe struck for Bournemouth in the seventh minute, but Philippe Coutinho bagged Liverpool’s equaliser with a typically cool 40th-minute finish.
That made Coutinho the joint highest Brazilian scorer in Premier League history, alongside former Middlesbrough playmaker Juninho, with 29 goals.
Divock Origi put Liverpool in front in the 59th minute, but Josh King blasted his eighth goal in eight appearances to rescue Bournemouth in the 87th minute.
Liverpool’s latest slip against lowly opposition leaves Jurgen Klopp’s third-placed side six points above fifth place in the race for the Champions League.
Arsenal 3 West Ham United 0
Mesut Ozil fired back a response to his critics with a goal and an assist as Arsenal overcame a resilient West Ham 3-0 at Emirates Stadium in the Premier League.
Germany international Ozil — making his 150th Arsenal appearance — has come under fire for lacklustre displays this season and the ire aimed in his direction increased during a run the Gunners took into Wednesday’s game that had seen them win just three times in their last 10 matches in all competitions.
Ongoing speculation around the 28-year-old’s future in north London has added to the animosity he has been subjected to, but his first goal of 2017 put Arsene Wenger’s side on the path to ending a three-match winless run in the top flight.
Ozil then set up Theo Walcott to angle in the second, capping a performance that may appease sections of the support unhappy with him and Wenger.
Substitute Olivier Giroud capped the win with an exquisite finish, with Arsenal now fifth following Manchester United’s draw with Everton on Tuesday, providing a much-needed boost to their Champions League ambitions as the seasons enters its final stretch.
For Slaven Bilic, however, a fifth successive defeat and seventh winless match provides further concern after he was given the vote of confidence this week.
Hull City 4 Middlesbrough 2
Harry Maguire produced a superb captain’s performance as Hull City moved out of the bottom three with a thrilling 4-2 Premier League win over Middlesbrough.
Manager Marco Silva’s run of 39 home league games without defeat, which stretches back to March 2014 with Estoril, appeared under threat when Alvaro Negredo gave Boro a fifth-minute lead.
However, it was extended to 40 in a pulsating contest at the KCOM Stadium, Lazar Markovic’s first Hull goal and an Oumar Niasse strike turning the game on its head.
Maguire had a huge hand in Hull’s third goal, converted by Abel Hernandez, but Middlesbrough pulled one back before half-time, though Marten de Roon’s effort should have been disallowed for offside.
But a well-deserved three points were wrapped up by Maguire’s first league goal for Hull — plunging Boro further into the mire with Steve Agnew’s men seven points adrift of safety.
Both Hernandez and Maguire were withdrawn through injury, but Hull are now two points above 18th-placed Swansea City.
Southampton 3 Crystal Palace 1
Southampton defender Maya Yoshida’s first Premier League goal for 14 months inspired a 3-1 win over struggling Crystal Palace at St Mary’s.
Christian Benteke’s 31st-minute strike put Palace ahead, but Nathan Redmond equalised on the stroke of half-time.
Japan’s Yoshida netted in the 84th minute and James Ward-Prowse got the third moments later.
With reporting by AFP
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