Liverpool dispatch Newcastle as title moves into sight after Arsenal stalemate

NEW DELHI: With a brutal 2-0 victory over Newcastle, Liverpool took a huge step closer to winning the Premier League, but Arsenal's hopes of winning the league were dashed on Wednesday after a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister's goals gave Liverpool a commanding 13-point lead over second-place Arsenal, while suspended manager Arne Slot watched from the stands at Anfield.
Manchester City defeated Tottenham 1-0 in Wednesday's other match, while 10-man Manchester United managed to defeat Ipswich 3-2.

But as an almost faultless season draws to a spectacular conclusion, Liverpool continues to dominate the Premier League spotlight.
The Reds are expected to win the Premier League for the first time since 2020, tying Manchester United for the most English titles with 20.
24 hours after Arsenal's defeat by West Ham, Slot's team maintained their momentum to convert the title battle into a procession on Sunday, winning 2-0 over fading champions City.
Mac Allister's brilliant goal in the 63rd minute and Szoboszlai's precision finish in the 11th minute gave them 20 victories and only one loss in their 28 league games this season.
Slot has had an incredible impact in his first season since taking over for Jurgen Klopp, and he still has a chance to win the League Cup and the Champions League.
Next week, the Reds will play Paris Saint-Germain in the opening leg of the Champions League last 16. On March 16, they will meet Newcastle again at Wembley in the League Cup final.
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, had declared that his team would give up the title "over my dead body".

Although the Gunners still have a match against Liverpool, Arteta could have to concede that the City Ground draw was the last straw for Arsenal's hopes of winning a first championship since 2004.
At the City Ground, the toothless Gunners, who were without a known striker, only mustered one effort on goal, with Riccardo Calafiori striking the post in the first half.
With just one victory in their previous five games, third-place Forest's unexpected bid for Champions League qualifying has also faltered.
After recovering from an injury, Erling Haaland helped Manchester City defeat Tottenham and move into fourth place.
Due to a knee injury sustained on February 15 against Newcastle, Haaland had missed City's previous two losses against Real Madrid and Liverpool.
With the first-half victory in north London, the Norway star showed no signs of rust as City moved up one point above Chelsea, who were in fifth position.

After a lackluster start to the season, Haaland silenced the doubters with his 28th goal in all competitions, 10 of which came in his past 11 games.
This was a much-needed win for City, who had lost four of their previous six games in all competitions. They had a solid start but were fortunate to see Tottenham squander many second-half opportunities.
After being sent off in the first half for his role in a disastrous Ipswich opener, Patrick Dorgu's humiliation was lessened when Harry Maguire's header gave Manchester United a hard-fought victory at Old Trafford.
Maguire's header in the second half put a stop to United's three-game league losing streak and provided some respite following the club's announcement of a second round of layoffs on Monday.
Even though Dorgu and goalkeeper Andre Onana made a terrible mistake that gave Jaden Philogene an early goal, Ruben Amorim managed to record just his fifth league victory as United's manager.
Prior to Dorgu's night becoming worse, United had taken the lead through an own goal and an effort from Matthijs de Ligt. A VAR review later, the 20-year-old was sent out for a high challenge on Omari Hutchinson.
Third-bottom Ipswich's hopes of surviving were dashed when Maguire headed in from a Bruno Fernandes corner after Philogene's cross crept in first-half stoppage time.
After a 1-1 draw at Brentford, Jake O'Brien's debut goal for Everton extended their winning streak to seven league games.
Brentford took the lead in first-half stoppage time thanks to Yoane Wissa's 13th goal of the season, but O'Brien tied the score in the 77th minute.