LONDON — Liverpool survived three penalty appeals to boost its bid for a top-four finish in the Premier League with a contentious 2-0 win at Southampton Sunday. Brendan Rodgers' side moved up to sixth place, within two points of fourth-placed Manchester United, as goals from Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling secured its sixth win in its last seven matches in all competitions. But fifth-placed Southampton had reason to feel aggrieved after a trio of penalty claims were turned down in the first half, starting in the opening moments when Emre Can tugged at Filip Djuricic. Coutinho responded by lashing Liverpool into a third-minute lead with a brilliant long-range strike that streaked into the top corner for the Brazilian midfielder's first league goal since November. Djuricic's second penalty appeal came when he appeared to be fouled by Joe Allen, but again referee Kevin Friend ignored his appeals. Then Can handled in the penalty area as he tried to control before clearing a cross, yet once more Friend waved play on. Liverpool took advantage of more good fortune to seal the points in the 73rd minute when Southampton's Matt Targett slipped while trying to clear and the ball fell perfectly for Sterling to slot a deflected shot past Fraser Forster. Elsewhere on Sunday, Mauricio Pochettino praised the fighting spirit of his Tottenham Hotspur players after Harry Kane rescued a dramatic 2-2 draw against West Ham United. There was more late drama at Goodison Park, where Everton snatched a 2-2 draw against bottom-of-the-table Leicester City thanks to Matthew Upson's 89th-minute own-goal. Roma's title hopes fade Roma's slim title hopes faded further Sunday as it drew 1-1 at Hellas Verona in Serie A to leave it nine points behind league leader Juventus. Francesco Totti fired Roma in front in the 26th minute but Verona leveled when Seydou Keita deflected Bosko Jankovic's header into his own net. It was Roma's sixth draw in its past seven league matches. Elsewhere, Lazio moved provisionally into fourth as Antonio Candreva helped it beat Palermo 2-1. Lazio went two points ahead of Fiorentina, which was playing Torino later, and two behind Napoli, which hosts Sassuolo Monday. AC Milan recorded only its second win in nine matches with a 2-0 victory over Cesena, while Empoli beat fellow struggler Chievo Verona 3-0. Inter Milan also plays Monday, away at relegation-threatened Cagliari. Parma's match against Udinese was postponed with the club unable to pay for security and electricity. With Juventus beating Atalanta 2-1 Friday night, Roma knew it had to win to stay in touch with the defending champion ahead of its match at the Stadio Olimpico next week. Heavy rain in Genoa Saturday forced the postponement of the ‘Derby della Lanterna' between city rivals Sampdoria and Genoa in Italy's Serie A. PSG on top Teen midfielder Adrien Rabiot scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain beat Toulouse 3-1 to move provisionally top of the French league Saturday. — Agencies
