LONDON: Liverpool closed the distance on Premier League leaders Manchester Town to 1 level because the quadruple chasers driven Everton deeper into relegation bother with a 2-0 win, whilst Chelsea beat West Ham 1-0 to ease their best 4 nervousness on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp’s facet needed to paintings onerous to damage Everton’s cussed resistance in a fractious Merseyside derby at Anfield.
They couldn’t muster a shot heading in the right direction till Scotland defender Andrew Robertson scored with a second-half header. Divock Origi’s overdue strike ensured Liverpool saved the force on champions Town, who had beaten Watford 5-1 on Saturday to transport 4 issues transparent on the best. With 5 video games left for each Liverpool and Town, the identify race appears destined to move all the way down to the twine.
Liverpool, looking to turn into the primary English membership to win all 4 primary trophies in a single season, now flip their consideration to Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg in opposition to Villarreal. “A soccer sport has two halves; thank god. Within the first half of, we didn’t go fast sufficient. At half-time, I advised the avid gamers it was once simple to make stronger. We needed to paintings onerous for it, however all excellent,” Klopp mentioned. “There don’t seem to be numerous issues we will drop, the following one is at all times ready across the nook. That’s the state of affairs we’re in.”
Everton have misplaced 8 successive away video games for the primary time since 1948 and are in grave threat of relegation to the Championship. Frank Lampard’s males have been dumped into the relegation zone through Burnley’s 1-0 win in opposition to Wolves previous within the day. They take a seat two issues in the back of Burnley with a sport in hand as they are trying to steer clear of enjoying in the second one tier for the primary time since 1954.
“The gameplan was once working out they’re one of the crucial very best groups on this planet. We would have liked to be disciplined. If we get the primary purpose, the sport feels other,” Lampard mentioned. “We need to take that spirit ahead to the overall video games. We’ll give the whole lot till the top.”
Within the 62nd minute, Origi blended with Mohamed Salah, who crossed to the a long way put up for Robertson to go his moment purpose this season. Origi, a typical scorer in opposition to Everton, grabbed the second one purpose with a close-range header within the eighty fifth minute as Liverpool made it 12 wins from their ultimate 13 league suits.
Pulisic to the rescue
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea seemed set for extra angst on house turf when Jorginho’s penalty was once stored through Lukasz Fabianski. However Christian Pulisic got here off the bench to encourage third-placed Chelsea, lifting them seven issues transparent of fifth-placed Tottenham within the struggle to qualify for subsequent season’s Champions League by the use of a best 4 end. A 4-2 defeat in opposition to Arsenal on Wednesday had condemned Chelsea to a few successive losses on the Bridge for the primary time since 1993, sparking fears they might fall out of the highest 4.
Within the 87th minute, Thiago Silva flicked a header in opposition to Romelu Lukaku, prompting Craig Dawson to concede a penalty with a pull at the exchange. Dawson was once to begin with booked prior to being despatched off after a VAR take a look at, however West Ham have shyed away from additional punishment as Jorginho’s susceptible spot-kick was once simply stored through Fabianski. Pulisic spared Jorginho’s blushes within the ninetieth minute as the USA ahead met Marcos Alonso’s move with a medical low end from 10 yards. “It appears like a large step. We’ve got some video games in hand. It was once important and I’m happy,” Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel mentioned.
Burnley boosted their bid for a outstanding break out act as they moved into seventeenth position due to Matej Vydra’s 62nd-minute strike from a Wout Weghorst move at Turf Moor. Since Sean Dyche’s marvel sacking after 10 years in price, Burnley’s caretaker boss Mike Jackson has taken seven issues from 3 video games to restore their hopes of thrashing the drop. James Ward-Prowse scored two times as Southampton got here from two objectives down to attract 2-2 at Brighton. – AFP