Manchester United closed in on the Premier League's pole position after a 2-1 home win over Aston Villa on Friday put them level on points and games played with champions and leaders Liverpool.

United trail their traditional rivals on goal difference with both teams on 33 points from 16 matches.

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

The hosts had the upper hand in the first half and Martial forced an acrobatic save from Emiliano Martinez before he buried a superb diving header past the Villa goalkeeper after Aaron-Wan Bissaka's cross in the 40th minute.

The visitors came close through Ollie Watkins before Traore got on the end of a sharp Jack Grealish pass at the far post and beat United keeper David De Gea with a slick shot from close range in the 58th.

But Villa's joy was short-lived as Fernandes drilled his penalty into the bottom right corner three minutes later after Paul Pogba went down under a challenge from Douglas Luiz, with the spot-kick given after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.

In another Premier League match on Friday, a late strike from Tomas Soucek gave West Ham United a 1-0 win at Everton in the first Premier League game of 2021 that had been short on fireworks until the Czech midfielder's well-deserved winner in the 86th minute.

The Hammers lost goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to injury during the warm-up but his replacement Darren Randolph barely had a save to make as Everton struggled to break down their rearguard.

It took until just before halftime for either side to register a shot on target as Everton's Brazilian winger Bernard fired a fizzing drive goalwards, but Randolph was alert to the danger and got down smartly to keep the ball out.

The introduction of Mikhail Antonio as a 59th-minute substitute provided a much-needed shot in the arm for West Ham and they had a flurry of chances in quick succession around the hour mark, but it was Soucek's late strike that sealed it.

The Premier League has to cope with the surge of coronavirus cases as five players of Manchester City have tested positive for COVID-19, said City's manager Pep Guardiola on Friday.

The surge in infections led to the postponement of Everton's clash with Manchester City on Monday and Tottenham Hotspur's home game against Fulham two days later.

Earlier this week, West Bromwich Albion manager Sam Allardyce called for a temporary suspension of the league following a record number of positive cases in a week.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes the Premier League must avoid implementing a "circuit-breaker" shutdown to help reduce COVID-19 infections, saying the safety measures in place will ensure the competition is not affected.

"It is understandable (to have concerns), but we try to do everything to keep the boys as safe as possible and I think the competition can go on," Klopp told reporters ahead of Monday's trip to Southampton.

"People want to watch it and, in this case, we are not part of society because usually we isolate, we go to the training ground and stuff like that, so I think we really can carry on.

"But I am not a specialist and I respect all the decisions made in the next few weeks."

Klopp said he will not look back at 2020 with much fondness despite Liverpool ending their 30-year wait to secure a top-flight title.

"What happened in 2020 was a new experience for all of us. We had to deal with it and we are still dealing with it," he said.

"We will face a few more challenges in life and I'm happy 2020 is over. Apart from becoming champions, it is not a year I will think a lot about in the future."