Thursday’s briefing: Jota wins derby for Liverpool as Mourinho grabs rival boss

Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside Derby of the season.

Jack Grealish was on target as Leicester’s slide towards relegation continued with a 2-0 defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Jose Mourinho grabbed rival manager Okan Buruk’s face amid wild scenes at the end of Fenerbahce’s 2-1 Turkish Cup defeat against rivals Galatasaray.

Reds take another step towards title

Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory for Liverpool kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length with only 24 points to play for across the remaining eight fixtures.

It also ended Everton manager David Moyes’ nine-match unbeaten league run since taking over in January and extended his personal record to 22 Anfield visits without a win.

The derby was far from a classic – with Everton defender James Tarkowski fortunate to avoid a red card – but after back-to-back defeats in two cup competitions, a return to winning ways for Arne Slot’s side brought a second title in five years one step closer.

Foxes in danger zone

Grealish scored his first Premier League goal in 16 months as City, without the injured Erling Haaland, recorded a comfortable win against Leicester at the Etihad Stadium.

Omar Marmoush was also on target for the hosts in what was a seventh successive loss without even scoring a goal for Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s side. The Foxes are now 12 points adrift of safety.

The result seemed inevitable from the moment Grealish opened the scoring with just two minutes gone.

Marmoush doubled the lead before the half hour and City then eased through the remainder of the game to move back into the fourth Champions League qualification spot. Newcastle are a point behind in fifth following their 2-1 win against Brentford.

Mourinho in bizarre bust-up

Mourinho appeared to pinch rival boss Buruk’s nose following the final whistle of Fenerbahce’s defeat against Galatasaray on Wednesday.

Buruk fell to the pitch holding his face in his hands as former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho was dragged away from the remarkable flashpoint.

Mourinho had just seen his side crash out of the quarter-finals of the Turkish Cup after Victor Osimhen sent Galatasaray on their way to victory with a first-half brace.

Galatasaray later tweeted a picture of Buruk and Mourinho captioned: “You should not attack, you should digest!”

What’s on today?

Chelsea host Tottenham in the final match of this week’s Premier League fixtures.

The Blues will want all three points to move back ahead of City and Newcastle and into fourth spot, while Spurs, 14th in the table, are bidding to land their first victory in the league since February 22.