Arsenal stroll makes Liverpool wait for title as Ipswich Town face relegation
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Arsenal's Leandro Trossard celebrates scoring their third goal and his second during a 4-0 English Premier League win over Ipswich Town at Portman Road on April 20.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LONDON – Arsenal made Liverpool wait to be crowned English Premier League champions as Leandro Trossard inspired a 4-0 win that pushed Ipswich Town to the brink of relegation on April 20.
Mikel Arteta’s side cruised to their first victory in three league games thanks to Trossard’s double and goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri at Portman Road.
Trossard told Sky Sports: “I think it was a great game overall. We had a lot of chances and in the end scored four.
“It is important for ourselves. We don’t need to look at them (Liverpool), we just have to keep going like this and take it game by game.
“We are there for a reason, we have been doing very well in the Champions League. We have to keep believing.”
Ipswich played more than half the match with 10 men after Leif Davis was sent off for a crude lunge on Bukayo Saka on 32 minutes.
Said Arteta: “The first 35 minutes were exceptional. We scored two and could have scored three or four. After the sending off, the game changed.”
Second-placed Arsenal are 10 points behind leaders Liverpool, who need six points from their remaining six games to be crowned English champions for a record-equalling 20th time.
Liverpool could have won the title at Leicester City on April 20 in a match that ended after press time, if Arsenal had lost to Ipswich, but while it is only a matter of time before Arne Slot’s men lift the trophy, the Gunners have their own holy grail to chase.
Arsenal have reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009, booking a clash with Paris Saint-Germain after eliminating holders Real Madrid in the Bernabeu on April 16. Their 5-1 aggregate triumph against the most successful club in Champions League history was a significant statement as they look to win the tournament for the first time.
The Londoners, whose only Champions League final appearance ended in defeat against Barcelona in 2006, are bidding to win their first trophy since the 2020 FA Cup.
After finishing as runners-up to Manchester City for the last two seasons, Arteta’s team are likely to end in second place once again.
They effectively gifted the title to Liverpool with a dismal run of two wins from their previous seven league games before arriving at Portman Road.
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna had acknowledged that relegation was already inevitable, just 12 months after their unexpected promotion to the top flight for the first time in 22 years.
Third-bottom Ipswich are now all but down, sitting 15 points from safety with only five games left and a vastly inferior goal difference to fourth-bottom West Ham United.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea fought back to beat neighbours Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage thanks to Pedro Neto’s stoppage-time winner as they breathed life into their quest to secure a spot in next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea moved up to fifth in the Premier League standings with 57 points, level with Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, who travel to Tottenham Hotspur on April 21. Fulham remained ninth with 48 points.
Asked if Chelsea could go on to finish in the top five, Neto said: “I think it could be a big part of the season for us. We showed character. To be honest, I have no words.
“It is not easy to spend all season in the top four and we were out before this game. The character the team showed, we now need to think about Everton... The belief has always been there, even in the bad moments.”
Alex Iwobi had given Fulham a 20th-minute lead but the Blues equalised via Tyrique George seven minutes from time before Neto bagged the winner in the third minute of added time.
Fulham manager Marco Silva told the BBC: “I really believe the result is very harsh for us but the second half was not our level and we lost the game.”
Elsewhere, Manchester United slumped to a 15th Premier League loss of the season as Wolverhampton Wanderers snatched a 1-0 win at Old Trafford thanks to Pablo Sarabia’s late free kick.
United boss Ruben Amorim took some positives in the performances of debutant Tyler Fredricson, 20, and youngster Harry Amass, 18 – both of whom are defenders.
He said: “I think they played really well. We need to score goals so that the kids have better memories. These days are really disappointing. We were better than the opponents but if you don’t score goals, you don’t win games.” AFP, REUTERS
