Liverpool consolidated their place in the Premier League’s top four with a dominant home victory over managerless bottom side Swansea.
Philippe Coutinho’s sublime long-range finish – curled into the top corner after Mohamed Salah’s pass – opened the scoring in the sixth minute.
The away side responded well and dominated possession for spells in the first half but Roberto Firmino should have doubled the lead when he dragged wide just before the break.
Instead, the Brazil international put his side two goals up six minutes after half-time, firing home from Coutinho’s lofted free-kick.
Nineteen-year-old full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold added a third with his first Premier League goal for the club, chasing down a loose clearance and smashing in off the bar from inside the box.
Just two minutes later, Swansea self-destructed further as Salah pounced on a misplaced pass before cutting back to Firmino to tap home – then Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain completed the rout by planting the ball in the net after another poor clearance.
The result means Jurgen Klopp’s side reclaim fourth spot from Tottenham and restore their one-point advantage over the north London side, who briefly moved above them with a 5-2 win over Southampton in Boxing Day’s 12:30 GMT kick-off.
Swansea stay bottom of the table, five points from the safety of West Ham’s 17th place.
Earlier in the day, it was Jesse Lingard’s stoppage time goal that denied Burnley a famous win at Old Trafford but he could not stop Manchester United’s fading title hopes from suffering another blow.
Ashley Barnes fired the Clarets ahead after three minutes when Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s free-kick was not cleared, and Steven Defour made it 2-0 with a superb 30-yard free-kick into the top corner.
Lingard came off the bench for the second half and quickly reduced the deficit with a clever back-heel finish from an Ashley Young cross.
United had 75% of possession after the break but struggled to turn their pressure into clear chances until the ball broke to Lingard on the edge of the area in the 91st minute, and he fired into the bottom corner.
Lingard’s goal was a dramatic end to a thrilling game but still represents two points dropped for United, who conceded a late equaliser against Leicester on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho’s side are 12 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City, who play Newcastle on Wednesday.
The United manager was unhappy with his side’s defending for Burnley’s first goal, but praised the way they recovered from going 2-0 down.
“The boys do what they can,” Mourinho said. “They are trying hard with the problems we have, with the injuries we have.
“I am not happy with the result, I was not happy with the result against Leicester, but I am happy with my players. No critics to my players.”
