Arsenal and Liverpool dealt hammer blows in Premier League title battle
◆ Man City the big winners on a seismic Sunday as rivals suffer shock home defeats
It’s now advantage Manchester City in the Premier League title race after a siesmic Sunday saw both Liverpool and Arsenal suffer damaging home defeats.
Pep Guardiola’s defending champions moved two points clear at the top of the table on Saturday with a 5-1 win over Luton Town at the Etihad and that is where they remained after Crystal Palace claimed a surprise 1-0 win at Anfield while Aston Villa scored twice in the final six minutes to stun the Emirates and seal a 2-0 victory over the Gunners.
Liverpool were first to crack in the earlier kickoff with Eberechi Eze’s goal after 14 minutes proving the difference as Jurgen Klopp’s side fell to a first home league defeat of the season. The Reds were guilty of profligate finishing with Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones all responsible for glaring misses, while Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson put in a fine display with a number of key saves.
If that was a warning to Arsenal over the need to take advantage and avoid a similar slip-up then it was not heeded as Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins netted a dramatic late double to put a huge dent in the Gunners’ title hopes. The defeat leaves Mikel Arteta’s side two points behind City in second place, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, with six matches of the season remaining.
Klopp cited the impact of results against rivals Manchester United as a factor in Liverpool’s recent loss of momentum as their defeat to Palace capped a highly frustrating week after a draw at United last weekend and a humbling Europa League loss to Atalanta on Thursday. The German, however, pinpointed another result at Old Trafford – the dramatic FA Cup loss that ended Liverpool’s quadruple bid last month – as where they started to run out of steam.
Klopp said: “I think the problem is, a little bit, that I’m not 100 per cent sure that, in general, how we dealt with the United games helped. We lost the game in the cup and it was like a catastrophe because we were that good and lost it anyway.
“Then we drew there but were really good for a long spell. We have conceded a little bit. That’s now not the reason for today, the problems we had in the United games were completely different to the things we had today, but obviously we expected a reaction. We lost in that (United) game more than only the game. It didn’t help.”
Klopp felt his side were not at their best against Palace, yet the hosts still created a number of chances, particularly in the second half, only to be thwarted by a combination of poor finishing or stubborn Palace defending.
He added: “The goal we conceded – he (Eze) ends up completely free in the box, that cannot happen. We had other moments where we were just not together. The second half is a really good home game. I’m not sure they had chances but we had a lot – big ones where everybody would think that should be a goal, and other moments where we were nearly there. We had momentum, we could put them under pressure, but in the end it was not enough. We have to admit that.
“What it means for the title race – I am not dumb. The answer is pretty easy. If we play like in the first half, why should we win the league? If we play like in the second half, we can win football games.”
Arteta told his Arsenal players to “stand up and be counted” after suffering a fifth league defeat of the campaign. Asked if he was concerned Arsenal’s season could fizzle out – much as it did last season – from this point, Arteta’s reply was bullish.
“If one result is going to do that then we are not strong enough,” said the Spaniard, whose side had been unbeaten in the league in 2024 . “That’s very simple. We had one of the best performances that we’ve had all season in the first half against a really good team. It should have been three or four (goals) or more. It didn’t happen. In the second half the momentum shifted.
“We could not control and generate what we did in the first half. We conceded two very poor goals and we lost the game. Congratulate the opponent and stand up. Now the moment is to stand up and be counted. When you win and win and win for four months it’s very simple to do it. The moment to do it is now.”
Villa were brilliant in a second half they dominated and their superiority eventually paid off in the 84th minute as substitute Bailey tapped home at the back post before Watkins took advantage of Arsenal’s high line to burst through on goal and finish with aplomb. The visitors had also hit the woodwork through both Watkins and Youri Tielemans and Arsenal must now recover ahead of the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday, with the tie evenly-poised at 2-2.
“If you want to win championships, if you want to be there in the Champions League, when you have these moments you have to stand up,” added Arteta.
“If not that means that you don’t have a quality that is very necessary. Now it’s a big test for us.
“In any other league in the world if you won the number of games in a row that we did, you would be six or eight points clear. That is not the case here. That is the challenge.”
Elsewhere, Fulham ran out 2-0 winners against West Ham at the London Stadium, Andreas Pereira scoring a goal in either half to damage the home side’s European ambitions.
What it means for the title race – I am not dumb. The answer is pretty easy Jurgen Klopp