Arsenal’s faint hopes of catching Premier League leaders Liverpool are almost over after their 1-1 draw at Everton, while Aston Villa bolstered their bid for Champions League qualification with a 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Leandro Trossard’s opener for the Gunners was cancelled out by Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty to leave Arsenal trailing 11 points behind Liverpool, who travel to Fulham on Sunday.
Liverpool need just 11 points from their remaining eight games to secure a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title and first since 2020.
With just two wins in their last six league matches, Arsenal have tamely surrendered in the title race and are destined to go another year without their first English crown since 2004.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had said the best preparation for his side’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid would be to win at Goodison Park.
But the Spaniard showed he had one eye on the visit of the European champions with his team selection.
Bukayo Saka was forced to wait for his first start since December as the England international was left on the bench alongside Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey.
“This is a very tough place to come, a team who is very physical and direct. If you don’t deal with it, it’s hard to get momentum. The start of the second half was very poor,” Arteta said.
Arsenal’s weakened line-up struck first in the 34th minute when Raheem Sterling picked out Trossard and his low shot took Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford by surprise as it squirmed into the net.
Everton were unable to stop Liverpool’s march to the title in midweek when they lost 1-0 in the Merseyside derby at Anfield.
David Moyes’ men did their arch rivals another favour as they drew level in the 49th minute.
Myles Lewis-Skelly fouled Jack Harrison and Ndiaye stroked home from the penalty spot four minutes into the second period to put Liverpool within touching distance of the title.
Ipswich facing relegation
At Villa Park, Unai Emery’s side climbed into sixth as early goals from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen saw off third-placed Forest, who got one back through Jota Silva.
Villa’s seventh consecutive victory in all competitions was the ideal preparation for Wednesday’s trip to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
A top-five Premier League finish will almost certainly be enough for Villa to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Villa sit below fifth-placed Manchester City on goal difference and within one point of Chelsea in fourth.
Wolves effectively sealed their survival and left Ipswich on the brink of relegation with a 2-1 win at Portman Road.
Vitor Pereira’s side trailed to Liam Delap’s 16th-minute goal as the striker swept in Dara O’Shea’s knockdown.
But Pablo Sarabia drilled into the bottom corner to haul Wolves level in the 72nd minute, before Jorgen Strand Larsen prodded home on 84 minutes for his fourth goal in his last three games.
Fourth-bottom Wolves are 12 points clear of third-bottom Ipswich with just seven games left, leaving Kieran McKenna’s side almost certain to return to the Championship after just one season.
Wolves’ victory also means bottom of the table Southampton will be relegated if they lose at Tottenham on Sunday.
Crystal Palace beat Brighton 2-1 despite finishing with nine men in a bruising battle featuring three red cards at Selhurst Park.
FA Cup semi-finalists Palace went ahead thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta’s third minute curler, before Danny Welbeck’s close-range effort in the 31st minute dragged Brighton level.
Daniel Munoz blasted Palace’s winner in the 55th minute, but the Eagles had to dig deep for the win.
Palace striker Eddie Nketiah was sent off for two bookings in the space of nine minutes, then team-mate Marc Guehi was dismissed for picking up a second yellow card in the 90th minute.
In a frantic finale, Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke was shown a red card for his foul on Daichi Kamada.
Evanilson scored twice as Bournemouth drew 2-2 with West Ham at the London Stadium.
