Chelsea failed to take advantage of another Liverpool stumble in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League on Saturday, thumped 3-0 by Everton to remain outside the top five.
Champions Liverpool had slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Brighton in the early kick-off — their 10th loss of a dismal Premier League title defence.
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But Chelsea’s thumping reverse at the Hill Dickinson Stadium gives renewed hope to a clutch of clubs below them, including Everton themselves, Brentford and Fulham.
The top five teams in the Premier League are almost guaranteed to play Champions League football next season due to the strong showing of English clubs in Europe.
Arsenal are hot favourites to land the Premier League title for the first time since 2004, with second-placed Manchester City well clear of city rivals Manchester United in third.
United, who drew 2-2 at Bournemouth on Friday, are four points clear of fourth-placed Aston Villa, who host struggling West Ham on Sunday.
Liverpool arrived on the sunny south coast after a morale-boosting 4-1 aggregate win over Galatasaray at Anfield in midweek to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
But they were well beaten by Fabian Hurzeler’s hungry Brighton, for whom evergreen forward Danny Welbeck scored twice, either side of Milos Kerkez’s well-taken goal for the visitors.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot pointed to key injury absentees and a swift turnaround from Champions League commitments to explain the damaging defeat.
The Dutchman was without goalkeeper Alisson Becker and forward Mohamed Salah at the Amex Stadium, while top-scorer Hugo Ekitike limped off early.
Defeat left the reigning champions with only one point from the past nine after they conceded late goals in a 2-1 loss at bottom club Wolves and last weekend’s 1-1 draw at home to relegation-threatened Tottenham.
“Brighton away, that’s a difficult game for any team, especially if you miss out on a few very influential players,” said Slot.
“Of course now, looking at the league table, this loss hurts a lot and it should hurt us a lot.”
Brighton’s Welbeck, who made his Premier League debut for Manchester United in 2008, is enjoying his highest-scoring season in the league, though was not included in Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad.
Liverpool are still alive in the Champions League and the FA Cup but face the real prospect of ending the season trophyless, with daunting quarter-finals to come against Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
– Chelsea slump –
Chelsea collapsed to their fourth straight defeat in all competitions against Everton, giving new coach Liam Rosenior a major headache as he tries to salvage their season.
With United drawing and Liverpool losing, Chelsea had the chance to go fourth, four points behind the Red Devils, but they blew it in spectacular style.
Everton’s win, courtesy of two goals from Beto and a curler from Iliman Ndiaye, lifted them within three points of neighbours Liverpool with a home Merseyside derby to come next month.
Rosenior, who replaced Enzo Maresca in January, must now find a way to lift his expensively assembled squad, who won the Club World Cup and the UEFA Conference League last season.
Chelsea are still in the FA Cup but were humiliated 8-2 on aggregate by PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Fulham leapfrogged Brighton, moving to within five points of Liverpool, after coming from behind to beat relegation-bound Burnley 3-1.
Zian Flemming gave the Clarets a shock lead at Craven Cottage, but Fulham hit back through Joshua King, Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez.
Burnley are nine points adrift of safety with just seven games remaining.