MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Virgil van Dijk headed home a dramatic winner in the 10th minute of stoppage time to earn Liverpool a 2-1 victory at Everton in a Merseyside derby featuring a record-tying goal from Mohamed Salah on Sunday.
Salah, who is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season after nine trophy-filled seasons, marked his final derby by slotting in a low finish in the 29th minute. His ninth Merseyside derby goal drew him even with Liverpool great
Steven Gerrard for the most in the Premier League era (since 1992).
It was Liverpool's other stalwart, Van Dijk, who sealed the win by turning in a corner by Dominik Szoboszlai.
There was so much stoppage time because Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was forced off on a stretcher after sustaining an injury attempting in vain to save a 54th-minute shot by Beto that brought Everton level.
Liverpool moved seven points clear of sixth-place Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification, with the top five assured of a berth in Europe's top competition next season.
A win for Everton in the first derby at its new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock would have lifted the team just two points behind Liverpool.
Aston Villa consolidated its spot among the Champions League qualification places by beating Sunderland 4-3 thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Tammy Abraham.
Villa stayed in fourth place, behind Manchester United on goal difference, but moved 10 points ahead of sixth-place Chelsea with five rounds remaining.
Ollie Watkins scored a first-half double and also set up Morgan Rogers for Villa’s other goal against Sunderland, which briefly equalized through Chris Rigg to make it 1-1 and then scored in the 86th and 87th minutes via Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor, respectively.
Morgan Gibbs-White scored a second-half hat trick as Nottingham Forest rallied to beat Burnley 4-1 and further boost its survival hopes.
Forest moved five points clear of third-to-last Tottenham in the relegation zone, while next-to-last Burnley slipped closer to the drop to the Championship.
Igor Jesus scored a late fourth for Forest, which fell behind to Zian Flemming's goal in first-half stoppage time.
Later, it could be a defining day in the title race when Manchester City host Arsenal in a meeting between the top two. The Premier League trophy is on display, pitchside, at Etihad Stadium for the big occasion.
A win for Arsenal and the long-time league leaders will regain a nine-point advantage, leaving them in a strong position to become English champions for the first time since 2004.
A win for City and the gap would be reduced to three points. City would also have a game in hand, at next-to-last Burnley on Wednesday. After that, both teams would have five matches left.
A draw would suit Arsenal more, keeping a six-point cushion between the teams.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
