Both Arsenal and Liverpool lost on Sunday, severely denting their chances of taking home the Premier League title this year. Arsenal were beaten by Aston Villa at Emirate Stadium 2-0, while Liverpool fell to Crystal Palace 1-0 at Anfield Park.
The surprise losses put Man City in the pole position to win the EPL Championship after they secured a 5-1 win against Luton City earlier in the week. Man City currently sits on 73 points through 32 matches, while Liverpool and Arsenal have 71 each.
With only 6 matches left in the competition, Manchester City now has control of their destiny and can lift the trophy by winning out their season. Arsenal and Liverpool on the other hand will require Man City to falter in an upcoming fixture to have a shot at the title.
Crystal Palace Hold On To Early Lead To Stun Arsenal
Liverpool went into their matchup against 14th place Crystal Palace as massive favourites looking to stay atop the EPL leaderboard. Palace were the first to get on the scoreboard however, as Eberechi Eze converted from a Tyrick Mitchell pass to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
There wasn’t much going on for Liverpool on the offensive end in the first half and the score remained unchanged going into the break. Liverpool came out and pressed hard in the second half, but their finishing let them down, as they were unable to take advantage of a number of opportunities.
Wataru Endo struck the goal post after Palace failed to deal with a corner. Shortly after, Dean Henderson made a great save to deny Luis Diaz and keep Liverpool scoreless. Later in the match, Henderson made another superb stop on Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota’s close-range shot was blocked by Nathaniel Clyne with a wide open net.
Unable to get one past the line, Liverpool were forced into a 1-0 loss and continued their downward trend. In the past 7 days, they tied against Manchester United at Old Trafford and then lost against Atalanta in their Champions League quarter-final first leg.
If Liverpool wants any chance of taking home a title this year they will need to get back to form quickly. The second leg of their battle against Atalanta in the Champions League quarters will continue on Thursday. Down 3-0, they will need to blowout their opponents to have any chance of advancing.
Arsenal Lose 2-0 To Aston Villa
With Liverpool’s loss to Crystal Palace, Arsenal had a clear path to the top position on the EPL table. All they needed to do was take care of Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium. Unfortunately for them, Aston Villa came to play, producing one their best performances of the season in their 2-0 victory.
After dominating the first half, the only surprise was that it took Aston Villa until the 84th minute to score their first goal. Leon Bailey finally broke the deadlock with a low finish at the far post to start the late onslaught by Aston Villa. The goal was followed by another just three minutes later, as Ollie Watkins doubled the lead by lofting one over David Raya.
Arsenal had a great chance late in the first half when Trossard got in close-range and let loose an accurate shot but Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez was able to make a diving save.
Arsenal will now likely need to be perfect to end the EPL season to have a chance at winning the championship. With 6 games to go, even winning all their games wouldn’t guarantee the title though.
Man City are two points clear of both Arsenal and Liverpool and show no signs of slowing down. With both de Bruyne and Haaland healthy and ready to go, it seems very likely that City have a huge advantage heading into the final stretch of the season. That being said, anything can happen in these last six weeks and Man City will be on their guard to make sure they don’t make any mistakes.
