EPL: Arsenal thrash Ipswich 4-0 to delay Liverpool’s title hopes
Arsenal ensured that Liverpool could not secure the Premier League title on Sunday by cruising to a 4–0 victory over 10-man Ipswich, while Chelsea beat Fulham 2–1 to climb into the Champions League places.
Manchester United suffered a hangover from their Europa League heroics against Lyon, as Wolves won 1–0 at Old Trafford to secure survival.
Liverpool needed both an Arsenal defeat and a win over Leicester later on Sunday to seal a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
Defeat all but ends Ipswich’s hopes of maintaining their Premier League status, as they sit 15 points adrift of safety with five games remaining and possess a significantly worse goal difference than West Ham.
Fresh from a famous victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009, Arsenal coasted towards securing a return to European football’s elite competition again next season.
Mikel Arteta made only three changes from the 2–1 win in the Spanish capital on Wednesday and was rewarded with a dominant display that killed the game off inside half an hour.
Leandro Trossard, one of the players recalled by Arteta, prodded in his eighth goal of the season to open the scoring.
A flowing move saw Bukayo Saka’s cross flicked by Mikel Merino into the path of Gabriel Martinelli, who finished to double the Gunners’ lead.
Moments later, Saka was chopped down by an awful challenge from Leif Davis, which saw the Ipswich left-back shown a straight red card.
Saka escaped serious injury, to the relief of the Arsenal support, and should have extended the visitors’ lead with two big chances before the break.
However, the England international — who only recently returned from a four-month absence due to a hamstring injury — was substituted early in the second half to avoid any further risk.
Trossard fired in his second following a well-worked corner, before Ethan Nwaneri’s deflected effort rounded off the scoring.
