EPL: Arsenal, Liverpool drop points as Newcastle hammer Leicester

Arsenal’s hopes of finally winning the Premier League title became slimmer, following their 0-0 draw with Everton on Saturday.

The Gunners dominated both halves of the game at the Emirates but failed to put the ball in the net.

Martin Odegaard had most of the chances for the hosts, in what was a dull and wasteful outing.

Mikel Arteta’s men remain in third place with 30 points, six behind leaders Liverpool.

The Reds also dropped points, as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Fulham at Anfield.

Andreas Pereira opened the scoring for the visitors before Cody Gakpo levelled for Liverpool.

Fulham took the lead again through Rodrigo Muniz, but Diogo Jota ensured the points were shared.

Chelsea and Manchester City, who both take on Brentford and Manchester United respectively, will have the chance to close the gap in the title race on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Newcastle handed Ruud van Nistelrooy his first defeat as Leicester boss with a 4-0 rout at St James’ Park.

Former Manchester United striker Nistelrooy had taken four points from his first two games since replacing the sacked Steve Cooper.

But Newcastle ended that encouraging start as Jacob Murphy drilled a clinical finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the area in the 30th minute.

Bruno Guimaraes nodded in Newcastle’s second goal in the 47th minute after Lewis Hall headed Anthony Gordon’s free-kick toward the Brazilian.

Alexander Isak bagged the Magpies’ third two minutes later with a close-range finish and Murphy struck again on the hour to leave Leicester two points above the relegation zone.

Jack Taylor’s stoppage-time goal gave Ipswich a priceless 2-1 win over relegation rivals Wolves at Molineux.

Kieran McKenna’s team went ahead through Matt Doherty’s 15th minute own goal after Wolves made a hash of clearing Liam Delap’s cross.

Just as Wolves fans were calling for chairman Jeff Shi and owners Fosun to sell the club, Matheus Cunha grabbed a 72nd minute equaliser as his shot beat Arijanet Muric’s weak attempted save.

But Taylor headed home from a 94th minute corner to seal Ipswich’s second league win since their promotion to the top tier.

Third-bottom Ipswich are just one point adrift of safety, while second-bottom Wolves are three points behind them after an 11th loss in 16 league games piled further pressure on boss Gary O’Neil.

Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa in a battle of top four contenders in Saturday’s late game.

BBC