Liverpool slumped to just their second English Premier League defeat this season as Fulham clinched a shock 3-2 win over the runaway leaders, while Southampton were relegated in record-setting time after a 3-1 loss at Tottenham on Sunday.
The drama at Craven Cottage and Tottenham overshadowed a drab 0-0 draw between Manchester United and Manchester City.
Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday left Liverpool needing just 11 points to secure a record-equaling 20th English top-flight title.
Photo: AFP
Arne Slot’s men were unbeaten in 26 league games and looked set to take another step toward the title when Alexis Mac Allister’s stunning strike opened the scoring.
However, poor defending allowed Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz to turn the game around for Fulham.
The Reds appear to be running out of steam after challenging in four competitions for most of Slot’s largely impressive first season since replacing Juergen Klopp.
However, Liverpool are still almost certain to win their first title since 2020 with only seven games remaining for second-placed Arsenal to catch them.
After a UEFA Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain and League Cup final defeat to Newcastle, Liverpool edged Everton 1-0 in a feisty Merseyside derby on Wednesday last week to get back to winning ways.
However, their lethargic effort against Fulham might delay the title party for a little while longer.
“In general, we are not making many of these errors, let alone three in one game,” Slot said. “People want to make stories which is their job. Many teams find it difficult to play Fulham. The second half performance was outstanding. We had chances, but in the end, we lacked time.”
In north London, Brennan Johnson struck twice in the first half and Mateus Fernandes’ late reply was too late to stop bottom-of-the-table Southampton crashing back to the Championship.
Beaten for the 25th time in 31 games, Southampton are the first Premier League team to be relegated with seven matches still to play.
Ipswich Town and Derby County were relegated with six games left in 1994-1995 and 2007-2008 respectively.
Ivan Juric’s side are also still one shy of matching Derby’s 2007-2008 record low Premier League total points of 11.
Juric, whose team are without a win in their last seven league matches, admitted this week that avoiding the record low points tally is Southampton’s only target for the rest of their dismal season.
“We have to avoid that record. Do our best. It cannot happen,” Juric said.
Southampton were pushed to the brink of relegation when fourth-bottom Wolves came from behind to beat Ipswich 2-1 on Saturday, leaving Saints 22 points from safety.
Their slide down to the second tier was confirmed 315 days after they clinched promotion by beating Leeds United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
“It’s a difficult day, a tough day, but I see the fans, how they love their players and their team. It’s something incredible. This experience has to serve to create something stronger than this,” Juric said.
Tottenham have been in turmoil themselves for much of the season, with fan protests against chairman Daniel Levy before and during the game underlining the depth of the problems in north London.
However, under-fire boss Ange Postecoglou, who was jeered by Tottenham fans during Thursday’s defeat at Chelsea, earned a little breathing space thanks to a first win in five league games.
Manchester City missed a chance to climb into fourth place after a dour derby stalemate at Old Trafford.
Pep Guardiola’s side remain fifth, which is likely to be the final place that brings qualification for next season’s Champions League.
However, City have only a one-point advantage over sixth-placed Aston Villa and are just two points ahead of seventh-placed Newcastle, who have two games in hand.
Cole Palmer was left on the bench for almost an hour as fourth-placed Chelsea’s winless run on the road continued with a 0-0 draw at Brentford.
Blues boss Enzo Maresca raised eyebrows by dropping England forward Palmer despite his side’s battle to qualify for the Champions League.
Chelsea have a UEFA Conference League quarter-final trip to Legia Warsaw on Thursday.
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