Liverpool overcome absences to go second, Leeds beat West Ham

LONDON - Liverpool moved above Chelsea into second place in the Premier League on Sunday thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win at home to Brentford.

Without Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Nabi Keita, who are all competing in the African Cup of Nations, Liverpool went ahead 1-0 with Fabinho's header in the 44th minute.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain doubled Liverpool's lead with just over 20 minutes left to play and Takumi Minamino sealed the win on 77 minutes.

Jack Harrison's hat-trick gave Leeds United a 3-2 win away to West Ham United, lifting Leeds further clear of danger while denting West Ham's top-four hopes.

Harrison twice put Leeds in front in the 10th and 37th minutes and although Jarrod Bowen canceled out his first goal in the 34th minute and Pablo Fornals equalized again in the 52nd minute, Harrison took advantage of Rafinha's through ball eight minutes later to score the winner.

The North London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal was postponed due to the number of COVID-19 cases in the Arsenal squad.

On Saturday, Manchester City strengthened their place at the top of the table with a 1-0 win at home to Chelsea, while Everton's 2-1 defeat away to Norwich City was the catalyst for the club to sack Rafael Benitez as coach on Sunday afternoon.