LIVERPOOL CLOSE GAP ON CITY
Chelsea pip Hammers to ease top- four anxiety
Liverpool closed the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City to one point as the quadruple chasers pushed Everton deeper into relegation trouble with a 2- 0 win, while Chelsea beat West Ham 1- 0 to ease their top- four anxiety on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side had to work hard to break Everton’s stubborn resistance in a fractious Merseyside derby at Anfield.
They couldn’t muster a shot on target until Scotland defender Andrew Robertson scored with a second- half header.
Divock Origi’s late strike ensured Liverpool kept the pressure on champions City, who had crushed Watford 5- 1 on Saturday to move four points clear at the top.
With five games left for both Liverpool and Manchester City, the title race looks destined to go down to the wire.
Liverpool, trying to become the first English club to win all four major trophies in one season, now turn their attention to Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg against Villarreal.
“A football game has two halves; thank god. In the first half, we didn’t pass quick enough. At halftime, I told the players it was easy to improve. We had to work hard for it, but all good,” Klopp said.
“There are not a lot of points we can drop, the next one is always waiting around the corner. That is the situation we are in.”
Everton have lost eight successive away games for the first time since 1948 and are in grave danger of relegation to the Championship.
Frank Lampard’s men were dumped into the relegation zone by Burnley’s 1- 0 win against Wolves earlier in the day.
They sit two points behind Burnley with a game in hand as they try to avoid playing in the second tier for the first time since 1954.
“The gameplan was understanding they are one of the best teams in the world. We wanted to be disciplined. If we get the first goal, the game feels different,” Lampard said.
“We have to take that spirit forward to the final games. We’ll give everything until the end.”
In the 62nd minute, Origi combined with Mohamed Salah, who crossed to the far post for Robertson to head his second goal this season.
Origi, a regular scorer against Everton, grabbed the second goal with a close- range header in the 85th minute as Liverpool made it 12 wins from their last 13 league matches.
Pulisic to the rescue
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea looked set for more angst on home turf when Jorginho’s penalty was saved by Lukasz Fabianski.
But Christian Pulisic came off the bench to inspire third- placed Chelsea, lifting them seven points clear of fifth- placed Tottenham in the fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish.
A 4- 2 defeat against Arsenal on Wednesday had condemned Chelsea to three successive losses at the Bridge for the first time since 1993, sparking fears they could fall out of the top four.
In the 87th minute, Thiago Silva flicked a header toward Romelu Lukaku, prompting Craig Dawson to concede a penalty with a pull on the substitute.
Dawson was initially booked before being sent off after a VAR check, but West Ham avoided further punishment as Jorginho’s weak spot kick was easily saved by Fabianski.
Pulisic spared Jorginho’s blushes in the 90th minute as the US forward met Marcos Alonso’s cross with a clinical low finish from 10 yards.
“It feels like a giant step. We have some games in hand. It was necessary and I’m glad,” Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said.
Burnley boosted their bid for a remarkable escape act as they moved into 17th place thanks to Matej Vydra’s 62nd- minute strike from a Wout Weghorst cross at Turf Moor.
Since Sean Dyche’s surprise sacking after 10 years in charge, Burnley’s caretaker boss Mike Jackson has taken seven points from three games to revive their hopes of beating the drop.
James Ward- Prowse scored twice as Southampton came from two goals down to draw 2- 2 at Brighton.
Leeds held on for a 0- 0 draw at Crystal Palace that did little to ease their fears of being dragged deeper into the Premier League relegation battle.
Jesse Marsch’s side survived a second half barrage from a Palace team inspired by Wilfried Zaha after he was accused of diving by the visitors.
Leeds are five points clear of the relegation zone, but third bottom Everton have a game in hand to close the gap to two points.
With Leeds’ next three games coming against Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, there could yet be a nerve- jangling conclusion to the season for the Yorkshire club.
Leeds have taken 11 points from seven games since hiring American boss Marsch to replace the sacked Marcelo Bielsa.
But despite that solid run, Burnley’s second successive win, against Wolves on Sunday, has lifted them out of the relegation zone above Everton, in the process dragging Leeds into the scrap for survival.
“It wasn’t our best night, but it’s a recipe of not losing and finding a way to pick up points. We will take the positives,” Marsch said.
“We need to find ways of being a bit more dangerous, but a clean sheet and a draw is a big positive.
“The [ relegation] pressure was always going to be big no matter what.”
Marsch and Palace boss Patrick Vieira met nine times in the United States during their spells in charge of New York Red Bulls and New York City FC respectively.
None of those previous encounters can have been quite so crucial to Marsch as this one as Leeds tried to climb away from the relegation dogfight.
Andy Robertson ( right) of Liverpool celebrates scoring against Everton at Anfield on April 24, 2022 in Liverpool, England.
Luka Doncic scored 33 and grabbed 13 rebounds to ignite the host Dallas Mavericks to a 3- 2 Western Conference first- round playoff series lead with a dominant 102- 77 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
The Mavericks, who never trailed and led by as many as 33, have a chance to close out the series in Salt Lake City in Game 6 on Thursday.
Jalen Brunson added 24 points for the Mavericks. Dorian Finney- Smith was the only other Dallas player in double figures with 13 points, but that was more than enough offense against Utah on this night.
The Mavericks held the Jazz to just 55 points through the first three quarters, blowing the game wide open in the third thanks to Doncic’s 19- point third period.
Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points and Rudy Gobert compiled 17 points with 11 rebounds, but the Jazz looked nothing like the energetic squad that tied the series up at two apiece at home Saturday.
Donovan Mitchell only scored nine points on four- of- 15 shooting, 17 below his regular- season average. He left the game in the fourth quarter due to an apparent left hamstring injury.
Mike Conley, who has struggled all series, had just four points for Utah. Even Bojan Bogdanovic, the Jazz’s most consistent offensive player this series, missed all five of his three- point attempts and was zero- for- nine from the field. He managed just two points.
Dallas limited Utah to an almost unbelievable three- for- 30 from 3- point range and 37.7 percent shooting overall.
Danuel House Jr and Juancho Hernangomez hit back- to- back three- pointers for the Jazz, bringing the visitors to within 30- 28 early in the second quarter, but it was all Dallas after that.
The Mavericks scored seven straight, and then after a couple of Clarkson baskets, held Utah scoreless for nearly six minutes. The score went from 40- 32 at the 6: 19 mark to 52- 32 during the Jazz’s drought.
Dallas led 52- 36 at the break, shutting down the Jazz, who averaged 113.6 points a game during the regular season. Clarkson was the only Jazz player to score in the final nine minutes of the half.
Doncic then did his thing in the third quarter, hitting six of nine from the field as the lead grew.
Memphis Grizzlies standout Ja Morant won the NBA Most Improved Player award on Monday.
Morant, 22, is the first player in Grizzlies franchise history to win the award. The NBA created it in 1985- 86 to recognize the player who made the most drastic improvement from the previous season or seasons.
The third- year Morant earned 38 firstplace votes and finished with 221 points from a voting panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray finished in second place with 20 first- place votes and 183 points, and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland grabbed third place with 11 first- place votes and 178 points.
Morant averaged career highs in points and rebounds while earning his first NBA All- Star selection this season. He finished with 27.4 points per game, which was an increase of 8.3 points from last season. He added 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the field.
Julius Randle of the New York Knicks won the award in 2020- 21. Previous winners include Brandon Ingram ( 2019- 20), Pascal Siakam ( 2018- 19), Victor Oladipo ( 2017- 18) and Giannis Antetokounmpo ( 2016- 17).