Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claimed his team isn’t breathing down Manchester City’s neck just yet, but the Reds are still in the fight for the Premier League crown after Diogo Jota’s double helped them beat Leicester 2-0 at Anfield. “I don’t think they’ve smelled our breath yet,” Klopp added. “But all we want to do is win football games.” With Mohamed Salah on the bench from the start due to his efforts at the Africa Cup of Nations and Sadio Mane still celebrating his win with Senegal, Jota took centre stage to continue his outstanding season.
The Portuguese striker produced two predatory finishes, slamming home a loose ball from close range to open the score in the first half and then shooting into the far corner three minutes from time to bring his season record to 17 goals. Arsenal climbed into fourth place in next season’s Champions League, closing to within a point of fourth-placed West Ham with two games in hand, courtesy to a 1-0 win against Wolves. In a game plagued by contentious rulings, the Gunners had fate on their side. For the fourth time in six games, Arsenal finished with 10 men when Oliver sent Gabriel Martinelli two yellow cards at the same time for attempting to block Wolves from collecting a throw in and then bundling over Chiquinho. Granit Xhaka’s own goal from the subsequent free-kick was ruled out for offside against Raul Jimenez, and Wolves failed to make the extra man count in the closing 20 minutes, putting an end to their own top-four dreams.
