Liverpool and Arsenal capitalized on a rare slipup by Premier League leaders Chelsea by claiming away wins at their fiercest rivals on Sunday to close up an intriguing four-team race for the title.
Liverpool humiliated soon-to-be-deposed champions Manchester United in a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford, with Steven Gerrard converting two penalties and Luis Suarez also scoring in a one-sided match that highlighted the gulf that has emerged between the two foes.
“It’s a nightmare,” said United striker Wayne Rooney, whose team is virtually assured of missing out on next season’s UEFA Champions League. “It’s one of the worst days I’ve ever had in football.”
Photo: Reuters
At White Hart Lane, Tomas Rosicky’s superb goal after 72 seconds sealed Arsenal’s battling 1-0 win at north London neighbors Tottenham Hotspur, a result that also likely knocked Spurs out of contention for a top-four finish.
The gap between Chelsea, who lost 1-0 at Aston Villa on Saturday, and fourth-placed Manchester City is now six points and all three teams chasing the leaders have games in hand over Jose Mourinho’s side.
It is shaping up to be the most exciting conclusion ever to a Premier League title race that for once, will not include United.
On the darkest day of David Moyes’ tumultuous first season, United were embarrassed in front of a home crowd by rivals who are attempting to recreate the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s, when they dominated English soccer.
Liverpool’s last league title came in the 1989-1990 season, but Gerrard said they have proved they are genuine contenders by running United ragged in a match the visitors could easily have won by six or seven.
Gerrard scored penalties in the 34th and 46th minutes, but missed another spot-kick in the 78th. However, it mattered little, as Suarez completed the crushing win with his 25th goal of the campaign.
“I thought we were outstanding,” said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, whose team put on a show for Argentina great Diego Maradona watching in the stands.
Such is the beleaguered state of United’s campaign that they have to win their remaining nine games to avoid finishing with their lowest points haul in the Premier League era. Such is United’s demise that Liverpool have gone from finishing 28 points behind the Red Devils last season to being 14 points ahead this season.
While Liverpool produced a masterful attacking display, Arsenal were more than happy to win ugly.
Rosicky drove a rising shot into the net from the edge of the penalty box to give the Gunners a lead that they defended stoutly in the second half to secure a first win at Tottenham since September 2007.
The loss saw Tottenham remain in fifth, seven points behind Manchester City having played three games more.
It looks to be a three-way fight for fifth and sixth place — the two spots that seal berths in next season’s UEFA Europa League — between Spurs, Everton and United.
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
Team Taiwan’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) journey ended last night when South Korea beat Australia 7-2 and won the tiebreaker with Australia and Taiwan to advance to the tournament’s quarter-finals in Miami. South Korea earned its spot by scoring a run in the top of the ninth to do just enough under the tiebreaker rules to advance. The result saw Taiwan, South Korea and Australia tied for second in WBC Pool C behind undefeated Japan with 2-2 records. The tiebreaker was determined by dividing a team’s total runs allowed by the total number of defensive outs in games among the tied teams, and
RSS