‘Sterling’ Liverpool one step closer to EPL title; Everton beat Man Utd.

A first English championship in 24 years is within Liverpool's grasp after a 3-2 victory over Norwich that was inspired by Raheem Sterling's double and a 30th goal of the campaign by Luis Suarez on Sunday. An 11th straight league win secured the Reds a return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2009-10 season but they have more lofty ambitions after moving five points clear with three matches left. Sterling crashed home a brilliant long-range strike in the fourth minute before setting up Suarez in the 11th minute for his 12th goal against Norwich in their last five meetings. After Gary Hooper cut the deficit in the 54th, Sterling re-established Liverpool's two-goal lead with his second that saw him intercept a pass inside his own half, weave his way through Norwich's defense before taking aim with a shot that looped over goalkeeper John Ruddy thanks to a deflection. Sterling crashed home a brilliant long-range strike in the fourth minute before setting up Suarez in the 11th minute. AP Robert Snodgrass' 77th-minute header set up a nervy finish but Liverpool held on to put clear distance to Chelsea, which lost 2-1 to Sunderland on Saturday, and nine points ahead of third-placed Manchester City, which has two games in hand. Hull City 0-3 Arsenal Lukas Podolski scored two goals for the second straight match as Arsenal beat Hull 3-0 on Sunday to move a step closer to securing the final Champions League place. Arsenal's finishing was clinical at the KC Stadium, with Aaron Ramsey setting the visitors on their way in the 31st minute before Podolski picked up where he left off in the 3-1 win over West Ham on Tuesday. The Germany international ran onto Ramsey's chest-down and rifled a low shot into the corner on the stroke of halftime and sealed victory in the 54th when Hull goalkeeper Steve Harper deflected a close-range shot from Ramsey into Podolski's path. After a winless run of six games that knocked Arsenal out of title contention, Arsene Wenger's side appears to be back in form just in time to clinch a 17th straight campaign in the Champions League. Ramsey is back fit and Mesut Ozil returned to the starting lineup against Hull, giving Arsenal attacks more fizz and precision. Podolski is also getting a run in the starting team and he is rewarding Wenger with goals. Everton 2-0 Man Utd Everton ensured a miserable return to Goodison Park for former manager David Moyes by overwhelming Manchester United in a 2-0 win to keep pace with Arsenal in the race for Champions League qualification on Sunday. First-half goals by Leighton Baines — from the penalty spot — and Kevin Mirallas kept Everton one point behind fourth-place Arsenal with three games left, and guaranteed United won't be playing in Europe's top competition next season. Languishing in seventh position, six points behind sixth-place Tottenham, United may not even qualify for the Europa League — an indication of the deposed champions' decline since winning the Premier League last year by 11 points. Moyes left Everton after 11 years to take charge of United. But while his first season at Old Trafford has been extremely disappointing, Moyes' replacement at Everton — Roberto Martinez — has been widely praised for guiding the Merseyside team to its best haul of points in Premier League history already. Everton, which has achieved the double over United for the first time since the 1969-70 season, played much the better football here and still has a great chance to qualify for the Champions League's qualification round — something Moyes achieved only once.
AP