Liverpool, April 14
A spectacular strike from Mohamed Salah helped Liverpool maintain their two-point lead over Manchester City in the Premier League title race with a crucial 2-0 win over Chelsea at Anfield today.
City won 3-1 at Crystal Palace earlier on Sunday meaning Liverpool have 85 points with four games to go and City are on 83 with an additional match to play.
But with Pep Guardiola’s side having to face Tottenham and Manchester United in the next 10 days and Liverpool having no more matches against top-six teams, Juergen Klopp’s side have a glorious chance to end their club’s 29-year wait for a domestic league title.
After a fascinatingly even first half, Liverpool turned on the style after the break with a 51st minute header from Sadio Mane and then a long-range screamer from Salah two minutes later, blowing Chelsea away. The Egyptian received the ball on the right flank and cut inside before unleashing an unstoppable drive from 25 metres out into the far, top corner.
Although the brilliant Eden Hazard hit the post for the visitors, there was a real determination about the way Liverpool approached the second half — closing down across the field and yet still pushing forward in search of a third to totally kill the game. That did not come but with only lowly Cardiff City, relegated Huddersfield Town, Newcastle United and Wolves remaining as hurdles, this was the biggest obstacle in Liverpool’s run-in, cleared with some margin to spare. “It’s really big,” said Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson.
“It’s another big game we have won. We have to concentrate on ourselves, work hard on training pitch and the focus is on the next game. But we are enjoying it and that’s the main thing,” said the England international.
Sterling show
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling struck twice as the Premier League champions beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park today. The victory was the ninth straight win for City in the Premier League.
Having missed an easy chance early on, Sterling put City ahead in the 15th minute when he ran on to Kevin De Bruyne’s inch-perfect pass from behind the halfway line and fired past goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
The England international added a second for his 17th league goal of the season after the break, meeting Leroy Sane’s first-time cross into the box with a calm left-footed finish that wrong-footed Guaita as it rolled in.
Palace ensured an entertaining finish to the contest when Luka Milivojevic scored from a free-kick with nine minutes to go after midfielder James McArthur was brought down on the edge of the penalty area.
City, however, sealed the deal with their third of the match as De Bruyne latched on to a poor pass from defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka before feeding substitute Gabriel Jesus who finished emphatically. — Reuters
Bayern reclaim top spot
Berlin: Champions Bayern Munich eased past hosts Fortuna Duesseldorf 4-1 today with winger Kingsley Coman scoring twice, to go a point clear at the top of the Bundesliga. The Bavarians are on 67 points, with Borussia Dortmund on 66 after their 2-1 win over Mainz 05 on Saturday, and five games left in the title race. RB Leipzig are in third place on 58. Reuters
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from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2ZcdCvL
via Today’s News Headlines
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