Aston Villa

In front of a boisterous home crowd, Villa flew out of the blocks and took a third-minute lead when Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson spilled a header from Douglas Luiz straight back into the path of the Brazilian forward who fired in from close range.

Juergen Klopp's side equalised less than three minutes later, when Virgil Van Dijk met Trent Alexander-Arnold's free kick and although Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez managed to get a hand to his effort, Joel Matip poked in the rebound.

The win moves the North London side up to ninth spot, level on 14 points with sixth-placed Manchester United, and there were real signs that manager Mikel Arteta is finally putting together a side with prospects.

Emile Smith Rowe delivered another excellent performance on the left of midfield, capping his display with the third goal, but there was a good shape and confidence to the entire team.

A Smith Rowe corner led to the opening goal with Thomas Partey's attempted headed glancing off his shoulder and going in the far corner to give the Gunners' a 23rd minute lead.

The result left United second on 70 points from 34 games, 10 behind City who have played a game more and missed a chance to secure the title after they suffered a 2-1 home defeat by Chelsea.

It also stretched United's unbeaten away league run to 25 games but came at a cost as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed captain Harry Maguire may be ruled out of the Europa League final against Spanish side Villarreal on May 26.

Spurs have jumped above Liverpool and are now just a point behind West Ham United, who earlier blew a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Arsenal.

Arsenal are now ninth, a point above Villa.

Meanwhile, Leicester City are through the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1982 after beating Manchester United 3-1.

Leicester will face Southampton for a place in the final at Wembley.

Chelsea have drawn Premier League leaders Manchester City in the other semi-final after the Blues beat Sheffield United 2-0.

United trail their traditional rivals on goal difference with both teams on 33 points from 16 matches ahead of their clash at Anfield on January 17.

Liverpool travel to Southampton on Tuesday (NZ time) while United visit Burnley on January 12.

United stretched their unbeaten league run to 10 games as Bruno Fernandes capped another fine individual performance with a penalty after Bertrand Traore had cancelled out Anthony Martial's opener for the home side.

Villa beat Derby 2-1 in the League Championship playoff final, which is the most lucrative one-off match in world football.

Watching from a VIP box high in the stadium, Prince William — one of Villa's most famous fans — saw Anwar El Ghazi put the team ahead in the 44th minute with a diving header. John McGinn then got in front of Derby goalkeeper Kelle Roos to nod in a second goal in the 59th.

Steve Bruce's side will face Fulham in the final at Wembley as they look to return to the Premier League from which they were relegated in 2016.

Having won the semi-final first leg 1-0 courtesy of a Mile Jedinak strike, Villa showed some organised defending to hold off Boro who were looking for an immediate return to the top-flight.

At the heart of that defence was former Chelsea and England centre back John Terry who joined the club last year on a free transfer and whose appointment as captain appears to have had a significant impact.

Montreal Impact striker Montreal Impact Didier Drogba has laughed off reports linking him with a move to Aston Villa.

Social media went into overdrive when Villa owner Tony Xia claimed the Championship club were closing in on a "world class" striker.