On Sunday, two more matches of the 36th round of the English Premier League were played.
At the Liberty Stadium, Swansea City faced off against UEFA Europa League semi-finalists Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp gave some rest to a few key players, but the youngsters did not live up to expectations - the "Swans" were defeated 3-1.
The hosts gained the advantage after a goal scored by Andre Ayew in the 20th minute. In the 33rd minute, Swansea extended their lead with a goal from Jack Cork.
From the beginning of the second half, J. Klopp sent Christian Benteke and Lucas onto the field. The substitution paid off - in the 65th minute, Belgian international C. Benteke reduced the deficit. However, just two minutes later, A. Ayew scored again in the meeting, securing the hosts' victory. Furthermore, from the 76th minute, Liverpool played with ten men, as 22-year-old defender Bradley Smith received his second yellow card.
In other matches, preparing for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Manchester City also suffered a defeat. Led by Sadio Mane, Southampton defeated the visitors from Manchester 4-2.
In the 25th minute, the hosts took the lead through Shane Long, but just three minutes later, Southampton could celebrate a two-goal lead when S. Mane scored. At the end of the first half, young City forward Kelechi Iheanacho managed to reduce the deficit.
In the second half, the hosts once again started threatening and in the 68th minute, the score became 4-1. S. Mane, who had scored a hat-trick in the previous matches, scored two goals. In the 78th minute, K. Iheanacho scored another great goal, but City could not recover from the loss.
After Manchester City's loss, the race for fourth place will become even more intense. The Manchester United club has played one fewer match, so a victory would reduce their gap from City to just one point.
Results:
Swansea 3 - 1 Liverpool
20' [1 - 0] A. Ayew
33' [2 - 0] J. Cork
65' [2 - 1] C. Benteke
67' [3 - 1] A. Ayew
76' B. Smith (Liverpool) sent off
Southampton 4 - 2 Man City
25' [1 - 0] S. Long
28' [2 - 0] S. Mane
44' [2 - 1] K. Iheanacho
57' [3 - 1] S. Mane
68' [4 - 1] S. Mane
78' [4 - 2] K. Iheanacho
League Table:
