Liverpool’s rare loss delays title march, Southampton relegated
[LONDON] Liverpool slumped to just their second 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 (Apr 6).
Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday left Liverpool needing just 11 points to secure a record-equalling 20th English top-flight championship.
Arne Slot’s men were unbeaten in 26 league games and looked set to take another step towards the title when Alexis Mac Allister’s stunning strike opened the scoring at Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium.
But poor defending by the Reds allowed the trio of Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz to turn the game around for Fulham.
Liverpool appear to be running out of steam after challenging in four competitions for most of Slot’s largely impressive first season since replacing Jurgen Klopp.
But Liverpool are still almost certain to win their first title since 2020 with only seven games remaining for second-placed Arsenal to catch them.
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After a Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain and a League Cup final defeat to Newcastle, Liverpool edged Everton 1-0 in a feisty Merseyside derby on Wednesday to get back to winning ways.
However, their lethargic effort against Fulham might delay their title party for a little while longer.
“In general we are not making many of these errors, let alone three in one game,” said Slot. “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.”
Over in north London, Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson struck twice in the first half and Mateus Fernandes’ late goal was too late to stop bottom-of-the-table Southampton crashing back to the second-tier English 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 the 1994-95 and 2007-08 season respectively.
Ivan Juric’s side are also still one shy of matching Derby’s 2007-08 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 the Saints 22 points from safety.
Saints demise
Their slide down to the second tier was confirmed 315 days after they clinched promotion by beating Leeds 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.
But under-fire boss Ange Postecoglou, who was jeered by Tottenham fans during last Thursday’s defeat at Chelsea, earned a little breathing space at Southampton’s expense.
Trying to avoid their lowest finish since 1993-94 – when they came 15th – Tottenham’s first win in five league games lifted them to 13th place.
It was a much-needed boost before their Europa League quarter-final first leg against German club Eintracht Frankfurt this Thursday.
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, but Maresca’s priorities were questioned following the Blues’ insipid display.
Chelsea remained in fourth position after fifth-placed Manchester City’s 0-0 draw at Manchester United in Sunday’s late game. AFP
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