Chelsea beat Brentford to move closer to leaders Liverpool as Spurs hammered Southampton

Enzo Maresca's high-flying Chelsea beat Brentford 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to close to within two points of long-time leaders Liverpool, who have 36 points. The home team dominated the first half and got the reward they deserved shortly before the break when Marc Cucurella nodded home Noni Madueke's cross.
Nicolas Jackson doubled Chelsea's lead in the 80th minute and they held out for the win despite a late strike from prolific Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo. It is a fifth straight win for Chelsea, who look increasingly like being Liverpool's main challengers this season, with Arsenal and City faltering.
But Maresca is still being coy over his side's title chances. "It's not about how many games we win," he said. "It's about being realistic. There are things we have to do better. That's why I said for me we are not ready."


Tottenham's romp on the south coast was the latest chapter in a topsy-turvy season for Ange Postecoglou's men, who have now won seven and lost seven of their 16 top-flight matches. James Maddison opened the scoring in 36 seconds and further goals followed for Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Sarr in a staggering 25-minute spell. England midfielder Maddison grabbed a second goal deep into first-half stoppage time to make it 5-0 but there were no additions in the second half.
Shortly after the match Southampton issued a statement saying they had made the "difficult decision to part ways" with Martin with the club rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, nine points from safety. Wolves, also in the relegation zone, fired O'Neil after a fourth straight defeat. ​United finished the day 13th in the Premier League table - where they started - after Tottenham hammered bottom club Southampton 5-0.
Elsewhere on a day of high drama in the English top flight, Wolves manager Gary O'Neil and Southampton boss Russell Martin were both sacked, paying the price for their teams' struggles. In the early kick-off, Ismaila Sarr scored twice as Crystal Palace moved four points clear of the relegation zone following a 3-1 victory at Brighton.