One more point is all Liverpool need to secure a record-tying 20th Premier League title after second-placed Arsenal on Wednesday drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace.
Arne Slot’s runaway leaders can take care of business on Sunday by avoiding defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in what is set to be a big party at Anfield. A draw or a win would ensure Liverpool cannot be caught by Arsenal with four rounds remaining. They would clinch a second title in five years, tying with Manchester United on No. 20 overall.
Becoming the champions in 2020 ended the storied club’s 30-year title drought, but Liverpool’s players could not celebrate in front of their fans because of restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: EPA-EFE
They will try to make up for it this weekend.
Arsenal twice squandered the lead at Emirates Stadium, with Jean-Philippe Mateta taking advantage of a defensive error by William Saliba to score Palace’s second equalizer in the 83rd minute and leave Arsenal 12 points behind Liverpool.
Arsenal, who started with star forward Bukayo Saka on the bench, looked vulnerable throughout against Palace, with their players perhaps having an eye on the UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain starting next week.
“We have the most important game of the season in six days,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “We need to get our energy back.”
Arsenal have been runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier League the previous two seasons and are facing a third straight second-place finish.
However, an improving City — 2-1 winners over Aston Villa on Tuesday — are only six points back in third place after Arsenal’s 13th draw of an inconsistent campaign.
The hosts went ahead through Jakub Kiwior’s header at a free-kick in the third minute, only for Palace to reply when playmaker Eberechi Eze met a corner with a brilliantly taken downward volley that skimmed off the turf and flew in off the post in the 27th minute.
Leandro Trossard wriggled free in the area and scored with a deflected shot in the 42nd minute to restore Arsenal’s lead. Mateta had the final say, though, capitalizing on Saliba’s poor pass and floating a shot over stranded goalkeeper David Raya from about 40m.
Palace remained in 12th place.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ¥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ¥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the