London: Luis Suarez celebrated his return at Anfield with a goal as Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace 3-1 on Saturday to move to the top of the English Premier League.
In his first competitive match in front of his home crowd since his 10-match ban, the Uruguay striker received a rapturous welcome from the Reds fans and opened the scoring after 13 minutes despite losing his balance as he shot. Suarez's strike partnership with Daniel Sturridge again proved lethal, with the England striker doubling his team's lead four minutes later with a solo effort.
Captain Steven Gerrard then scored from the spot in the 38th for his 99th Premier League goal before Dwight Gayle headed home a consolation goal. Liverpool moved one point clear of Arsenal, which has a match in hand.
In another match, Darren Bent scored a late winner Saturday to give Fulham a much-needed 1-0 victory over Stoke in the Premier League. Bent collected a deflected ball in the area in the 82nd minute and slotted into the net to give Fulham its first home win of the season, and only second overall after its opening-day victory at Sunderland.
The win should relieve some of the pressure on under-fire manager Martin Jol and lifted Fulham out of the relegation zone above West Ham ahead of its fellow London club's game against Tottenham on Sunday. The Stoke players and manager Mark Hughes were left furious at referee Roger East after he waved off several penalty appeals in the first half.
Loic Remy scored twice in the first half Saturday to give Newcastle a 2-1 victory at Cardiff in the Premier League.
Remy opened the scoring in the 30th with a solo effort as he broke down the left flank, then cut inside past two defenders and slotted a shot from outside the area inside the near post. He added the second with a deft finish from outside the area when a rebound fell into his path seven minutes later.
Peter Odemwingie pulled a goal back for Cardiff by slotting in from 12 yards in the 58th as the Welsh club threatened a comeback. Substitute Jordon Mutch set up the goal and helped create several other chances as Cardiff pushed forward in search of an equalizer, although Newcastle nearly added a third on a counter attack when Moussa Sissoko's shot was saved by David Marshall.
Hull held Aston Villa to a 0-0 draw in the Premier League on Saturday in a match short of chances and entertainment. Newly promoted Hull kept its unbeaten home record and remained one point clear of Aston Villa in the standings, with 11 points from seven matches.
Gabriel Agbonlahor had Villa's best chances but lacked the cutting edge while Tom Huddlestone's strike from long range was not enough to break the deadlock for Hull.
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