Premier League: Manchester United make it 7 in 7 under Solskjaer, Liverpool consolidate lead

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's record-breaking start to life in the Manchester United dugout continued as Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford struck against Brighton on Saturday to secure a seventh successive win in all competitions.

On a day when Old Trafford stood to remember Matt Busby ahead of the 25th anniversary of his death on Sunday, the caretaker coach broke another of the Scot's long-standing United records.

In the process of claiming a seventh consecutive victory, Solskjaer became the first United coach to win his first six league games, with Pogba's penalty and a Rashford stunner seeing off Chris Hughton's Brighton 2-1.

The streak sees United's 1999 treble hero go level with Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola in the Premier League record books, and further justifies the club's decision to parachute him in to replace Jose Mourinho a month ago.

Pogba was reduced to a watching brief under the divisive Portuguese but continues to go from strength to strength under Solskjaer.

The France midfielder scored the penalty he won in a first half that also saw in-form Rashford mark his 150th appearance for the club with a stunning strike from an acute angle.

Pascal Gross netted the only goal of the second period as Brighton pushed but ultimately failed to end Solskjaer's winning run.

LIVERPOOL 4 - 3 CRYSTAL PALACE

Liverpool survived a scare from Crystal Palace at Anfield as they beat the London club 4-3 to consolidate their lead at the top of the table.

Crystal Palace went ahead thanks to a Andros Townsend goal but Mohamed Salah equalised right after half-time to level the scoring. Roberto Firmino then gave the lead to the home side by scoring in the 53rd minute but James Tomkins struck in the 65th minute to cancel it out./

Salah returned to haunt Roy Hodgson's men again as he netted his second in the 75th minute to restore Liverpool's lead but they suffered a late blow as James Milner was shown a red-card on the 89th minute and they were reduced to 10 men.

But, Sadio Mane brought some relief with a 4th in the 93rd minute of the game. But, it was not all over as Max Meyer added one more on Palace's behalf in the 95th minute but the Londoners ultimately ran out of time to get something out from the game.

With the win, Liverpool now have a seven-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, who will travel to Huddersfiled on Sunday.

SOUTHAMPTON 2 - 1 EVERTON

James Ward-Prowse's second strike in as many Premier League matches and an own goal by Lucas Digne led Southampton to a 2-1 home victory over Everton that helped the south-coast club pull further clear of the relegation zone.

Midfield player Ward-Prowse produced a thunderbolt effort in the 50th minute, a rising drive that left England's Jordan Pickford helpless in goal.

Southampton added a second goal 14 minutes later when Nathan Redmond went racing clear and, as left-back Digne tried to stop him, the Everton defender only succeeded in flicking the ball past a stunned Pickford.

Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a late consolation for the visitors with a well-taken, side-footed finish.

BOURNEMOUTH 2 - 0 WEST HAM

West Ham received a potential warning over life in the Premier League without unsettled forward Marko Arnautovic as Callum Wilson underlined his value to Bournemouth by setting the Cherries on course to a 2-0 win.

Austria international Arnautovic, who has been heavily linked with a big-money move to China, was left out of the Hammers' squad for the trip to the Vitality Stadium.

Bournemouth top scorer Wilson has himself been subject to January transfer rumors and he returned from a two-game injury absence in style by smashing home early in the second half before Joshua King sealed a 2-0 win in stoppage time.

Wilson's powerful strike was his 10th Premier League goal of the season and is likely to fuel further speculation of him moving to Chelsea or replacing Arnautovic at the London Stadium.

It also helped to end Bournemouth's five-match winless run in all competitions and secure just a third victory from its last 13 top-flight games.

Andy Carroll took Arnautovic's place in the only change made by Pellegrini following last weekend's win over Arsenal. With the game still goalless, Carroll blazed wildly over from around two yards out after Michail Antonio made a mess of the first opportunity.

Bournemouth perhaps had cause for complaint in the midtable clash when Nathan Ake's header was ruled out with 20 minutes played. Ake was onside when he headed home Ryan Fraser's inswinging cross from the left but assistant referee Adrian Holmes raised his flag, presumably against Wilson who challenged for the ball without touching it.

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe opted to drop goalkeeper Asmir Begovic for the first time in the top flight since his 2017 move from Chelsea, preferring 38-year-old Artur Boruc.

NEWCASTLE 3 - 0 CARDIFF

Fabian Schar scored the first goals of his Newcastle career to drag Rafael Benitez's men out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-0 home victory over Cardiff.

The Switzerland defender, signed from Deportivo La Coruna in the off season, opened the scoring after a spectacular solo run from the back in the 24th minute.

Fellow defender Jamaal Lascelles then rose to flick on Matt Ritchie's corner in the 63rd minute and there was Schar again, arriving at the far post to slot the ball home.

Relegation rival Cardiff rallied as it attempted to find a way back into the game, but Ayoze Perez made it 3-0 in stoppage time after rounding off a speedy counter attack as Newcastle claimed a second league win in 10 attempts.

WATFORD 4 - 3 LEICESTER

Diogo Jota completed a hat trick in the third minute of stoppage time as Wolverhampton Wanderers snuffed out Leicester's fightback to recover a 4-3 win in the Premier League.

Leicester captain Wes Morgan had brought his side level for the second time in the 87th minute with a header that tied the game at 3-3 but Jota still found time to meet Raul Jimenez's cross.

It allowed Wolves to leapfrog Leicester into eighth place in the standings in its first season back in the top flight since 2012.

Jota put Wolves ahead in the fourth minute, volleying into the net from Joao Moutinho's cross. Ryan Bennett headed the hosts further in front in the 12th.

Leicester pulled a goal back two minutes into the second half when Jamie Vardy found Demarai Gray, who skipped past a challenge and drilled the ball into the net. The 2016 champions were level in the 51st when Harvey Barnes, an academy graduate making his first Premier League start, pounced on a loose ball in the box and it deflected off Wolves defender Conor Coady into the net.

Although Jota restored Wolves' lead in the 64th, Morgan's late goal looked to have secured a point for Leicester until the Portuguese midfielder grabbed his third.

"It was erratic, things going wrong all over the place," Bennett said. "We knew it was going to be a tough game."