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Liverpool’s lead in the Premier League has grown to a surely unassailable 16 points, while Mohamed Salah’s lead in the Golden Boot race is now up to seven goals.
Both races are turning into a procession after Salah converted two second-half penalties for his 26th and 27th goals of the campaign to clinch a 3-1 win for Liverpool at home to last-placed Southampton on Saturday.
It’s now just a matter of when, not if, Liverpool secure a record-tying 20th English top-flight championship, even if Arsenal — way back in second place — have two games in hand.
Liverpool have nine games left but surely won’t need all of them to seal the title.
A more staggering statistic is that Manchester City, winners of the last four titles, are now 23 points behind Liverpool after a 1-0 loss at third-placed Nottingham Forest, whose late winner came from Callum Hudson-Odoi in the 83rd.
City are fourth, at least for overnight, and have a fight on their hands just to finish in the top five, which should be enough to qualify for the Champions League this season.
Erling Haaland had a quiet match and — stuck on 20 goals — is now struggling to be the league’s top scorer for the third straight season.
Instead, it’s Salah heading for another Golden Boot, which he won outright in 2017-18 and shared in 2018-19 and 2021-22. He’s now up to 184 EPL goals, tied with Man City great Sergio Aguero at No.5 on the all-time list.
“Sergio was a great player — he was a legend here in the league so I am happy about that and happy about the win,” Salah said.
Liverpool’s game against Southampton came in the middle of two matches in a six-day span against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League’s last 16.
Liverpool hold a 1-0 lead after the first leg in Paris on Wednesday and manager Arne Slot opted against mass rotation ahead of the return match on Tuesday. Indeed, Salah played the whole match.
Darwin Nunez started the match after setting up Harvey Elliott’s winner in the French capital and scored himself in the 51st minute, cancelling out Will Smallbone’s shock opener for Southampton in first-half stoppage time.
Nunez then was fouled for the first penalty slotted home by Salah in the 54th, before the Egypt star notched his second in the 88th after a handball.
Southampton stayed 13 points from safety and look destined for an immediate return to the Championship.
Forest’s improbable bid for Champions League qualification was strengthened by the win over City, whose goalkeeper Ederson was beaten at his near post by Hudson-Odoi’s shot in one of the few clear-cut chances in a tight game at the City Ground.
A few minutes earlier, Ederson had tipped a curling strike by Hudson-Odoi onto the post.
Third-placed Forest, who were battling relegation last season, moved four points clear of City and have 10 games remaining as they look to get back into Europe’s top competition, which they famously won in 1979 and ’80 under Brian Clough.
City have steadied after a dreadful end to 2024 but have still lost three of their last five league games, to the current top three of Liverpool, Arsenal and now Forest.
“Every season the Premier League gets better and better,” Guardiola said. “We have 10 finals to go.”
Joao Pedro converted a penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time to earn Brighton a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Fulham and lift his team to sixth place — level on points with fifth-placed Chelsea.
Ismaila Sarr scored a late winner in Crystal Palace’s 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park to deny relegation-battling Ipswich a much-needed point.
© AAP