FootyDream

Liverpool cut Manchester City’s lead at the top of the English Premier League to just a point table with a 2-0 win over in-form Arsenal in an entertaining clash played at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

The match carried significance in the title race as well as the battle for the top four, and it lived up to the billing.

The Gunners matched Liverpool for long periods but were eventually undone in the second half as goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino gave Jurgen Klopp’s men the maximum points to catch up with the defending champions.

Liverpool had the first chance of the match after just three minutes when Virgil van Dijk rose highest from a corner and headed at goal, but his effort towards the bottom right corner was saved by Aaron Ramsdale.

Despite the entertaining show at the Emirates, the two sides could not carve out clear-cut chances in the opening half.

The match however roared to life in the second, with Sadio Mane scoring two minutes after the restart, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside.

Almost immediately on the other end, Martin Odegaard got time and space inside the box after picking up a neat pass, but his shot towards the left side of the goal was brilliantly saved by Alisson.

With 55 minutes on the clock, the Reds finally got the breakthrough as Jota received a delightful pass inside the box and smashed a low shot into the bottom left corner.

Less than 10 minutes later, Andrew Robertson provided Firmino with a nice pass inside the box, and the Brazilian fished with a precise effort into the bottom right corner.

Martinelli got a chance to grab a consolation for the hosts five minutes from time when he met a cross in the box and found some space for a shot, but his effort went inches wide.

This was Liverpool’s ninth win in a row, and it moved them to within just a point of Manchester City at the top.

In the other match, Tottenham boosted their hopes of playing in Europe next season with a comfortable 2-0 win away at Brighton.

Antonio Conte’s team went into the match in search of a response, having suffered a 3-2 loss at Old Trafford last time out.

They however had to wait until the 37th minute for the opening goal, and it came from an unlikely source – Cristian Romero.

The defender deflected his teammate’s shot, which was heading in the opposite direction, using his body. The goalkeeper reacted to the earlier shot and the deflection confused him.

Harry Kane then wrapped up the win with a second just before the hour mark with a wonderful piece of finishing to give his side the much-needed cushion.

Spurs started the match on the right foot, coming close to taking the lead in the fifth minute when a mistake gifted Kane a chance inside the box, but his effort curled just around the right post.

Brighton too created a chance of their own just before the half-hour mark when Alexis Mac Allister found some space inside the box and got in a strike, but the shot was brilliantly blocked by one of the defending players sliding in.

The second half was however uncharacteristically quiet as Spurs kept their lines and limited the hots to a few clear chances.

In the end, Spurs held on to win their fourth match from their last six, moving seventh on the standings on 48 points, two off fifth-placed Man United.

Chelsea booked a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after a 2-1 second-leg win against LOSC Lille on Wednesday night.

The defending champions held a 2-0 advantage from the first leg played at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago, but had to work extra against the French champions.

Just like it was in London, the hosts started the match brightly, pressing the Blues and forcing them to guard their box in the opening minutes.

Despite both sides enjoying periodic possession, there were no clear chances in the opening half-hour, with the Blues happy to keep the hosts at arm’s length.

It quickly changed though as Lille got a penalty in the 36th minute when Jorginho handled the ball inside the box.

Burak Yilmaz stepped up and put the ball into the top right corner past the outstretched arm of Edouard Mendy to give the hosts the lead.

It however lasted a few minutes as Chelsea worked their way back into the match and Christian Puulisic pulled them level with a clever finish on the stroke of half-time.

The French club came back for the second half with real intent and carved out a number of chances.

The best fell to Xeka in the 63rd minute when he latched onto a superb cross into the box but his effort hit the left post.

It didn’t take long for Lille to pay for the missed chance as Cezar Azpilicueta finished a good team move to put them in the driving seat.

Despite their best efforts, Lille could not find a way past the London club as they booked a place in the last eight with a 4-1 aggregate win.

In another match, Villarreal knocked out Italian giants Juventus with a hard-fought 3-0 win.

The tie was evenly balanced at 1-1 from the first leg played in Spain two weeks ago, with the Italian club having the advantage of playing the second leg at home.

It was not to be though as Gerrard Moreno gave Villarreal the lead in the 78th minute, before Pau Torres scored what seemed like the winner five minutes later.

There was time though for Arnaut Danjuma to score a third deep in injury time to add icing on the cake for the Spanish club.