Category: Football (Soccer)

Ipswich’s hopes of retaining their Premier League status took a huge knock as they lost 2-1 at home to Wolves. The visitors came from behind to extend the gap between the two clubs to 12 points with seven games remaining. Ipswich took the lead through Liam Delap after 16 minutes but Pablo Sarabia equalised in the 72nd minute and Jørgen Strand Larsen completed the turnaround with six minutes remaining.

Kieran McKenna said of his team’s defeat: “I think it was a really competitive first half, the players gave absolutely everything to the first half and second half. If you don’t manage to get a second goal then they [Wolves] are going to go and put some pressure on and we probably weren’t able to maintain our energy levels.”

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Liverpool do not require favours to secure the Premier League title but their neighbours gave them one anyway. Everton denied Arsenal the victory they needed to maintain extremely thin hopes of challenging the league leaders courtesy of Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty.

Leandro Trossard put Mikel Arteta’s visitors on course for a win their overall display just about deserved but a soft second-half spot-kick, awarded for a fall by Myles Lewis-Skelly into Jack Harrison, enabled Everton to secure a fifth draw in six Premier League matches. The upshot is that Arne Slot’s side need only 11 points from their final eight games to seal Liverpool’s 20th league championship. Arsenal can have no complaints over the destiny of this season’s title.

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Arsenal lost further ground in the Premier League title race after dropping points against Everton in a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.

1 min: Everton win a free kick on the right. They try to send it into the penalty area, but miss.

1 min: Peeeeep! Everton start the game, and Trossard is indeed playing at centre forward.

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Saints are on the brink of relegation and a points nadir – an experience that still haunts the former Derby manager

For Southampton, there was the initial pain of conceding a stoppage-time equaliser at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday. Then came the niggling knot in the stomach as they faced up to keeping alive another shot at unwanted history: the possibility of becoming, statistically at least, the worst team in Premier League history.

For now that mantle belongs to Derby County, who were relegated with 11 points in 2007-08, a campaign in which they recorded a solitary win and were officially down before the clocks went forward at the end of March.

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Ipswich welcome Wolves in a must-win relegation tussle while City travel to United in the Manchester derby

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue Goodison Park

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Curtis Jones is not a long-term fix at right-back for Liverpool, Tyler Dibling is a wanted man and Arsenal are depleted

When Arsenal next visit Merseyside on 11 May their first act may be to form a guard of honour for Liverpool, who could by then be newly crowned Premier League champions. The title appears destined for Anfield – Arsenal have been unable to sustain a consistent challenge for it all season – but Mikel Arteta will feel duty-bound to delay the seemingly inevitable for as long as possible on his return to Everton. Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid may be the priority for Arsenal but rotating is hardly an option for Arteta at Goodison Park given he has four defenders available. A makeshift unit would benefit from a demanding afternoon together before welcoming Real to the Emirates. Arne Slot claimed it is unfair on Everton to have an early Saturday kick-off after Wednesday’s Merseyside derby. Depleted or not, Arteta’s team should take advantage. Andy Hunter

Everton v Arsenal, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Crystal Palace v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

Ipswich v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

West Ham v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm

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• Manager targeted by angry Spurs fans at Chelsea
• Postecoglou rails at VAR after Sarr strike disallowed

Ange Postecoglou insisted his ear-cup gesture at Tottenham fans had been misinterpreted as he raged at a VAR intervention that denied his team a goal in their 1-0 defeat by Chelsea.

Spurs were poor but they looked to have fashioned a lifeline when Pape Sarr, on as a substitute, beat Robert Sánchez from long range in the 70th minute. Postecoglou’s decision to introduce Sarr for Lucas Bergvall had been met with chants from the travelling support that he did not know what he was doing.

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It was a typically incident-filled meeting between these sworn enemies but, really, there was only one place to start. Ange Postecoglou, the remorselessly under-fire Tottenham manager, had been barracked by his own supporters when he replaced Lucas Bergvall with Pape Sarr in the 64th minute. Like every other Spurs player, Bergvall had struggled to impose himself but the fans do like him.

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” they informed Postecoglou. So just imagine how the fiercely proud Australian must have felt shortly afterwards when Sarr won the ball off Moisés Caicedo and unloaded a low shot from distance, which the Chelsea goalkeeper, Robert Sánchez, inexplicably allowed to beat him.

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• Everton defender booked for challenge on Mac Allister
• VAR should have recommended review of tackle

The referees’ body, Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), has acknowledged that Everton’s James Tarkowski should have been sent off in defeat at Liverpool on Wednesday. The defender was only cautioned for an early reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister, described as a “Merseyside derby tackle of old”.

The referee, Sam Barrott, gave Tarkowski a yellow card and David Moyes conceded the defender was fortunate to stay on the pitch. PGMOL believes the video assistant referee, Paul Tierney, should have recommended a review.

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A superb goal from Sandro Tonali lit up the night, while Manchester City’s fans turned up late and their opponents didn’t turn up at all

Danny Mills, watching the Manchester City game, says he is “confused” by a Leicester side that is “almost waving a white flag”.

Ten minutes into the Manchester City game, and a load of fans are just coming in. The protest seems to have had decent numbers, even if the majority of supporters – certainly in the stand that runs along the side of the pitch opposite the TV cameras – were in their seats before kick-off.

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If Newcastle’s rivals for a Champions League place had hoped Eddie Howe’s players might be partied out after ending that 70-year domestic trophy drought, they were destined for disappointment.

Howe’s team were not at their very best but, thanks to the most eye-catching of winning goals from Sandro Tonali they found a way to defuse Brentford’s ever-present threat.

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Jack Grealish scored a first Premier League goal in 16 months then dedicated it to his brother Keelan on the 25th anniversary of his passing in an emotional post-victory tribute.

The forward’s strike came only 70 seconds in as Leicester were shredded by a Savinho dart down the right; the Brazilian found Grealish who beat Mads Hermansen to the goalkeeper’s right. Afterwards on Instagram, Grealish said: “With me always, especially this day – that was for you Keelan.”

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Forest completed their first league double over United since 1992 thanks to Anthony Elanga’s glorious nine-second 93-yard dash

2 min: Gibbs-White chases a long pass down the left. He can’t get past De Ligt, who initially looked out of position and did well to get back to stop the Forest man nipping away.

Manchester United get the ball rolling. Nuno looks relaxed in the dugout, Amorim smiling as he prowls the touchline. Here we go, then.

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