New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) Liverpool suffered their second defeat of the Premier League season with a surprising 3-2 loss at Fulham on Sunday. Chelsea and Brentford battled it out for a goalless draw in the London derby while North London side Tottenham Hotspur registered a 3-1 victory over Southampton which confirmed the Saints’ demotion to the Championship, making it the earliest a team has ever been relegated from the Premier League.
Alexis Mac Allister had given the Reds a promising start with a stunning 20-yard strike in the 12th minute, but Fulham quickly fought back. Ryan Sessegnon’s equaliser in the 23rd minute was followed by goals from Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz, putting the hosts 3-1 ahead before halftime. Although Luis Diaz’s second-half finish gave Liverpool hope, they could not find an equaliser, marking their first away loss of the season.
Despite a strong push, including a near-equaliser from Harvey Elliott that hit the crossbar, Liverpool were unable to recover. Fulham’s defense, led by goalkeeper Bernd Leno, held firm, and the Reds were left to rue missed chances. Liverpool remains top of the table but with only a slim margin of 11 points with seven matches remaining.
Chelsea and Brentford played out a tense goalless draw at the Gtech Community Stadium, a result that saw Chelsea’s away form continue to frustrate. The match was dominated by goalmouth action in the second half, with both teams coming close to breaking the deadlock. Brentford’s goalkeeper Mark Flekken made several key saves to deny Pedro Neto, Reece James, and Sepp van den Berg while Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez also kept his team in the game with vital saves, notably denying Bryan Mbuemo.
Chelsea struggled to finish their chances, with Cole Palmer going close in the final minutes but it wasn’t enough to find a winner.
Tottenham earned a crucial 3-1 victory over Southampton, a result that sealed the Saints’ relegation to the Championship. Brennan Johnson’s first-half brace put Spurs firmly in control, with his 15th goal of the season coming just before the break. Southampton briefly sparked hope with a late strike from Mateus Fernandes, but any chance of a comeback was extinguished when Mathys Tel converted a penalty in stoppage time after Johnson was fouled in the box.
Tottenham dominated possession and created several chances, with Southampton struggling to cope with the attacking threat. The victory, their first in six league matches, lifted Spurs to a much-needed three points and sent Southampton down to the second tier of English football.
–IANS
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