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Arsenal win puts Everton into Champions League
Arsenal defeated Liverpool 3-1 at Highbury to send Everton into the Champions League and end the Anfield giants' hopes of clinching fourth place in the Premiership which would have meant automatic qualification for the European showpiece.
Now Liverpool, who face AC Milan in this season's Champions League final in Istanbul on May 25, must win the title and then hope UEFA have a change of heart and allow them to defend their crown. "We will try to win the Champions League and then we will see," said Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez. "We need to win the game first but I am an optimist. The year after Real Madrid finished fifth in the league, they won the title and I believe we will compete for it next season. "We have played 14 games after playing in Europe but we have only won two of them and we haven't played well away from home. "But how many times do you reach the final of the Champions League and the final of the League Cup? It has not been a bad season in that sense." Meanwhile, Arsenal need just a point from their last two games to be sure of finishing second in the Premiership which would give them automatic entry into the group stage. That would leave Manchester United in third place and having to qualify for the later stages of the tournament. "Finishing second will give us a better holiday," said Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. "If you have a chance of going out in the qualifying rounds it gives you sleepless nights but we still have to finish the job on Wednesday (against Everton) to be sure. "It means that the players who have been involved in internationals can also have longer off and that is important at the start of the season." The Gunners had gone down to a last-minute defeat against Liverpool in November when Neil Mellor's long-range drive deep into injury time put a further dent in their hopes of retaining the championship. But on Sunday, goals from Robert Pires, Jose Antonio Reyes and Cesc Fabregas wrapped up what turned into a torid battle between two of England's heavyweights. After the elation of their midweek Champions League semi-final victory over Chelsea, Liverpool's travelling fans must have been wondering which incarnation of their side was going to turn up. While their form in Europe has been impressive, Liverpool's chances of finishing in the top four looked remote even before the match, thanks to a record of just one victory in their previous seven league matches. The tone was set when Reyes put the ball in the net after just ten minutes. A dreadful error by Sami Hyypia gifted the ball to Fabregas who in turn found on-form Dutch striker Robin Van Persie. His shot was well saved by Jerzy Dudek but Reyes' follow-up was ruled out for offside. That stung the visitors into life and a clever ball from Dietmar Hamann played in John Arne Riise, who had time and space to place his shot, only for Jens Lehmann to divert the ball wide. After Fabregas had fired just wide from 25 yards, Milan Baros was cautioned for handling the ball before slotting it past Lehmann and the effort was rightly ruled out. Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez must have been concerned at how poorly his team slumped after that, taken apart by a combination of some dazzling Arsenal football and their own ineptitude. Pires was denied at the far post after fine work by Van Persie, who then missed a chance of his own after trying to finish off Lauren's miscued shot that hit the bar. Hamman was booked after scything down Patrick Vieira on the edge of the penalty area and Liverpool paid heavily for it when Pires fired a wonderful free kick into the top corner of Dudek's goal in the 25th minute. Before they could settle, Liverpool were two down. Reyes burst into the area before firing low into the far corner as opposing defenders stood and watched. But whatever Benitez said at half-time certainly stirred his charges. With Djibril Cisse and Harry Kewell brought on to add some threat, the visitors looked a different side. Arsenal were not given the time or space they had been afforded before the interval, and within six minutes, Liverpool were back in the game. Reyes gave away a cheap free kick after tussling with Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard fired home courtesy of a deflection off Cesc. After a largely anonymous first half, Gerrard started to dictate the play, threading one ball perfectly between the Arsenal defence to Luis Garcia, who looked certain to level before Ashley Cole got back to block. With Kewell keeping Lauren busy and preventing the Cameroon international from pushing forward, Arsenal started to struggle, especially when Pires had to be withdrawn after injury. Gerrard forced Lehmann into a fine save with a 30 yard shot and Garcia then fired over after Cisse had played him in but with Lehmann flapping at a couple of crosses, Liverpool sensed they could get something from the game. Fabregas had a 'goal' ruled out for offside and Reyes thought he had won a penalty after clashing with Djimi Traore before substitute Dennis Bergkamp played in Fabregas, who made the game safe in the dying seconds.
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