Crystal Palace took another dig at its North London rival Arsenal following the side's dramatic 2-2 draw at the Emirates on Wednesday.

A late Jean-Philippe Mateta equalizer deemed "world class" by Jamie Carragher — the Frenchman's 14th in the Premier League this campaign — wasn't enough for the Reds to win the title, as Arne Slot and company needed an Eagles victory to clinch the side's 20th domestic championship.

Now, Liverpool can win the league with a draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday at Anfield. Crystal Palace sent a three-word message on social media for its troubles: "You're welcome Liverpool," the club's account tweeted.

The Reds didn't clinch the 2019/20 league title at Anfield after Christian Pulisic scored a late winner at Stamford Bridge to beat then title-chasing Manchester City.

Even if Liverpool could have sealed the title at home, there would have been no fans in attendance to celebrate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Is this what the Reds wanted? It's unclear; after all, the most important thing is clinching the title. At least the Palace result makes the chance of a Liverpool title win even more certain.

"It was not our goal to decide the title, it was our goal to win the game," Palace coach Oliver Glasner said. "I think a draw is a very good result. More important is the performance. We are back on track. That's what we need."

You're welcome Liverpool...#CPFC

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 23, 2025

Mateta took the ball off Arsenal defender William Saliba in the 83rd minute before deftly looking up at the position of goalkeeper David Raya.

The Frenchman, while looking at the ball, impressively dinked the ball over the Spanish star between the sticks with a lovely shot that looked like it came from a pitching wedge and not someone's right foot.

"When I started on the bench, I could see he [David Raya] was very high up the pitch," Mateta explained. "So I knew if I won the ball I could try, so I did and scored. It is one of the best goals of my career. I thought it hit the crossbar but thankfully it was in!"

Liverpool will face a Tottenham side on Sunday in ice-cold form in the Premier League, having lost four of its last five games (with the only victory over last-place Southampton).

However, Spurs are in much stronger form in Europe, having knocked off Eintracht Frankfurt in a fiercely competitive Europa League quarterfinal.

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Virgil van Dijk posted an inspiring message to Liverpool fans just minutes after Arsenal failed to beat Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

Liverpool is just one point away from winning the Premier League title thanks to Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Palace. The Gunners twice took the lead on Wednesday trough Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard, but both Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta scored equalizers at the Emirates.

The result leaves Arsenal 12 points behind Liverpool with only four games remaining. The Reds, who have five games at left, will become champions if they can get at least a draw against Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday. That means Liverpool can win the title in front of its own fans.

And Van Dijk is aware of this. The Liverpool captain shared a post by Liverpool's official account that read "back at Anfield on Sunday" to his Instagram Stories. He didn't add a caption to the post, but it was obvious what he was getting at: the title is now Liverpool's to be won.

Speaking after Wednesday's game, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told BBC Sport: "We are disappointed with the result and performance. We didn't find enough consistency in actions to dominate the game. It's part of football and cost us two points.

"It can be difficult. In many aspects of the game we should have done better today. We require the consistency. Today they were very organised and deserved credit. We have to do much better."

Arsenal failed to beat Crystal Palace on Wednesday (Image: Getty Images)

Arsenal defender William Saliba was at fault for Mateta's goal, giving the ball away in a dangerous position with his goalkeeper David Raya off his line. Arteta added: "For sure (mistakes are costly). Cost you points. It's part of football. We have the most important game of the season in six games. We need to get our energy back."

Arsenal still has a chance to win the Champions League, having reached the semifinals. The Gunners will face Paris Saint-Germain in the last four, with Barcelona and Inter Milan taking part in the other semifinal.

Trossard told BBC Sport: "The quality today wasn’t there compared to our last game. We were nowhere near that and we got punished. We need to raise the level with our big game coming up. We want to win every game, in any competition. Especially after the last game, we had a good feeling. We just need to be better."

When pressed on the quality of the team, Trossard added: "It was just the basics sometimes. Not passing on the right foot or taking a touch too much. It was myself as well, I just wasn’t good enough and we need to raise this in the next few days. It will be good to have six days now and prepare for this (PSG) game with 100 percent focus. It will be a difference performance."

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Liverpool needs only a point against Tottenham on Sunday to clinch the Premier League title.

The Reds would've secured the championship on Wednesday had Arsenal lost to Crystal Palace at the Emirates, but the game finished 2-2. The result leaves Arsenal 12 points behind Liverpool. As the Gunners have only four games remaining, Arne Slot's players will win the title if they can pick up a point from their remaining five games.

The first of those games is at Anfield on Sunday, against Arsenal's bitter rival Tottenham. Speaking before Wednesday's game, Jamie Carragher wanted a draw to give Liverpool two ways of clinching the title at Anfield - by either winning or drawing Sunday's game.

Carragher told Sky Sports: "I think in an ideal world the game would be a draw from a Liverpool point of view. I think Liverpool supporters want to win the title at Anfield. I think the players are getting together tonight in case Crystal Palace can pull off a shock.

"People keep talking about Arsenal winning tonight, but if Arsenal draw it means Liverpool have two options; they can draw the game and win the game (against Tottenham) and lift the league title tonight. I’m sitting on the fence tonight."

Liverpool now has the chance to win a record-equaling 20th English championship in front of its fans. Arsenal took the lead on Wednesday in the third minute through Jakub Kiwior's bullet header. Eberechi Eze's stunner brought Palace level before Leandro Trossard restored Arsenal's advantage just before the interval.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a fabulous equalizer on Wednesday (Image: Getty Images)

Palace's second equalizer came in the 83rd minute, when Jean-Philippe Mateta benefitted from William Saliba's mistake to score from distance. The goal stunned everyone inside the Emirates, including legendary Arsenal striker Alan Smith. "That was simply sublime," Smith said on commentary for Sky Sports. "It is world-class. Mateta has never been in better form but even he must have been delighted with that.

"William Saliba has barely put a foot wrong but this was lack of concentration, trying to be too clever and Mateta knew that David Raya was clearly off his line. That is one of the best finishes you will see this season."

Speaking to BBC Sport after Wednesday's game, Mateta said: "When I started on the bench I could see he (David Raya) was very high up the pitch. So I knew if I won the ball I could try, so I did and scored. It is one of the best goals of my career. I thought it hit the crossbar but thankfully it was in!"

The result leaves Palace 12th in the Premier League table, 12 points behind Aston Villa in seventh and seven ahead of Everton in 13th. Mateta added: "We have struggled for the last three games, but we just listened to the gaffer and today was a good game for us."

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Former Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp couldn't help but dedicate their first Premier League title to club legend Steven Gerrard back in 2020, as he struggled to hold back tears during an emotional interview as the Reds ended their 30-year wait for domestic domination.

On Wednesday, Liverpool could be crowned Premier League champions for the second time if Arsenal loses at home to Crystal Palace. Just like they did five years ago, the Liverpool players will watch the game together knowing that their status as champions could be confirmed.

On June 25, 2020, Klopp and the Liverpool players celebrated as Chelsea's 2-1 win over Manchester City ended the title race and meant that the Reds were league champions for the first time since the 1989-90 season. History could repeat itself with another midweek upset, marking a stunning first season in charge for new head coach Arne Slot.

Under Klopp's tenure, Liverpool won every trophy on offer with a memorable Champions League victory in Madrid and two League Cup successes. The Premier League remained the elusive trophy for Liverpool, something that local legends Gerrard and Jamie Carragher attempted to win for their entire careers.

Both players had retired by the time that Klopp led Liverpool to the league title in 2020, but the former head coach didn't forget about Gerrard when celebrating his first Premier League trophy. When speaking to Sky Sports moments after Liverpool won the league, Klopp said to club legends Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness: "I have no words, it is unbelievable.

"To become champions with this club, knowing how much Kenny supported us, this is for you as well, Kenny. You had to wait another 30 years so your club could win it. This is for Stevie (Gerrard), who had to wait a long time and now it is for all.

"It is easy for me to motivate the team because of our great history and it's just unbelievable. It was really tense, the 90 minutes of the Manchester City game you can imagine. I didn't want to be involved really. But when you watch it and you are involved then you hope and then the big chances Chelsea had with a penalty situation and all that stuff it was quite intense.

"But it is quite the achievement of my players, what they have done over the last two years is exceptional. A pure joy for me to coach them. Honestly, I haven't waited 30 years, I've been here three and a half and we didn't have a chance really, before last year.

"It was the first time we had the chance so it is the second year. So it is quite the achievement. But it is anyway a relief because of the three-month interruption. Nobody knew how it would go on and then you don't know 100 per cent how you will come back.

"Each game in the Premier League is difficult. So I am really happy. With the game last night, it gave me a feeling 100 per cent we would be fine. It gave our supporters the feeling but for tonight, I can only tell you it is for you out there. It is for you. Incredible.

"I hope you stay at home and go in front of your house if you want. But not more. Celebrate it, it is all here [in your heart] and all here [in your mind] and it's a joy to do it for you, I can tell you. What can I say, it is an incredible moment. My coaching staff, I couldn't be more proud of what they did in the last years.

Steven Gerrard only played once under Jurgen Klopp, but spent his whole career trying to win the Premier League (Image: WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

"Since we are here, it is just an exciting ride from when I arrived to this day and it is not over yet, that is the good thing. So the team is downstairs [in a hotel], we obviously watched the game together, for tonight, we will enjoy this moment and it is the best thing I can imagine. It is more than I ever dreamed of.

"This is a safe place and that is what we wanted from tonight to let the boys have this together. I know it is still difficult out there but we couldn't go back, we had to come together. We were together at the game already and we had to come back to a hotel for recovery and stuff like this.

"It is very important. We need pictures for them and we have a lot of pictures from the season and now we have pictures tonight from the celebration and we will create pictures from the celebration for all our supporters. Then we will be together and enjoy this properly the way we can, but tonight, we made the best of our situation I would say.

"We all do that together, it is a mix of the history you have created and it is what we are compared with, rightly so. I think we found a nice way to get rid of it a little bit because we had to write our own story. But anyway, that gives us a lot of power. It is the atmosphere in and around the club, the intensity level, how everyone lives football at this club.

Liverpool celebrated a league title for the first time in 30 years back in 2020 (Image: Laurence Griffiths/NMC Pool/PA Wire.)

"And then it is 100 per ent a really good hand in choosing the players we kept and brought in. It is a wonderful mix. They are all winners without doing it 15 times in the past. But now they are here together, we can start winning together.

"It is so incredibly difficult but it is possible with consistency and that drives us. We knew, three years ago, we played a really good season and I think we finished fourth and it was clear that we lack consistency.

"But you cannot ask for that and the boys create it, you have to work on that and you have to convince everyone and that is what we all did, together. But of course, from time to time you have to help them a little bit with a few words.

"It is a big moment and I have no real words to be honest. It is such a big moment, I am completely overwhelmed. I never would have thought it would feel like this and it's just big. Sorry, gentleman, all the best."

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Arsenal could be faced with the task of giving Liverpool a guard of honor as the Reds edge closer to securing the Premier League title. This long-standing tradition, which sees the champions-elect being shown due respect, has been upheld by figures such as Sir Alex Ferguson in the past.

Despite another strong season, Arsenal looks set to finish in second place, having failed to mount a serious challenge this term. A loss for Mikel Arteta's team against Crystal Palace on Wednesday could see the trophy heading to Anfield. However, a win for Arne Slot's side against Tottenham at the weekend would also confirm Liverpool as champions.

Liverpool's upcoming fixtures include matches against Tottenham, Chelsea and then Arsenal. The Gunners are due to visit Anfield on May 11, potentially facing the prospect of providing a guard of honor.

The rivalry between Arsenal and Liverpool would make such a moment particularly poignant for the runners-up. Brendan Rodgers, former Liverpool manager, recalls how Ferguson gave a guard of honor to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side at Old Trafford during their dominant 2005 season.

Rodgers, who was a coach at Chelsea at the time, admits that receiving a guard of honor at Old Trafford left a lasting impression on him. He believes that it was Ferguson who initiated the decision and insists that such an experience can serve as a powerful motivator for the second-placed team moving forward.

Reflecting on a moment from his earlier coaching days, the ex-Reds boss recalled: "I can never forget when I was at Chelsea as a young coach and, in that first season that Jose was in, they won the title. I remember going to Old Trafford to watch the game that evening and I'm sure the Man United players didn't want to do it but I'm sure Fergie insisted they did it.

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"That must have been really, really difficult but it showed you the class of Sir Alex and it showed you the humility of him that another competitor came in and took the title, but it was also sporting that they did that, but also can provide you with great motivation going forward."

Though there's no official requirement, the guard of honor is a cherished football tradition, a mark of respect for the newly-crowned champions. The reluctance sometimes felt by players to partake, especially towards direct rivals or when dethroned themselves, is palpable.

Arsenal could be lining up for their second guard of honor in recent memory if current trends hold, mirroring the occasion when they saluted Liverpool's triumphant side in 2020. It’s a gesture some Arsenal supporters are less than thrilled about as their hopes fall agonisingly short.

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Liverpool is closing in on the Premier League title and it is only a matter of time before Arne Slot and his players secure their status as champions.

Top spot could be wrapped up as early as today, but that would require Crystal Palace to win away to Arsenal, so the more likely scenario is that Liverpool guarantees the title by beating Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday. A win over Spurs would open up an insurmountable lead and ensure a night of celebration on the red side of Merseyside.

When the Reds last won the league, it was not possible for fans to celebrate as they would have wanted, as the title was confirmed during the Covid-19 pandemic, when fans were not allowed in stadiums and social distancing was enforced.

It will be a different story this time around, with a packed Anfield poised to celebrate a title win for the first time in over three decades.

Another thing that Liverpool couldn't do in 2020 was stage a title parade through the streets of the city, but that also won't be an issue this time around, with an on-field title lift following the Reds' final game of the season against Crystal Palace on May 25 set to be followed by an open-top bus parade the following day.

While the club is yet to confirm plans for a parade, a look at the past gives an insight into what could happen. Following the 2021-22 season, Liverpool held a parade after winning the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. Thousands of Liverpool fans lined the streets on May 29, 2022, as the Reds staged their parade the day after the Champions League final, which the Reds lost to Real Madrid in Paris.

The route Liverpool has used for its last two trophy parades (Image: Liverpool FC)

The club is expected follow a similar strategy this year, with a title-winning parade set to be held on May 26. Back in 2022, the parade started at 4pm local time, and followed a nine-mile route. The three buses containing players and staff, as well as the trophies, drove past many of Liverpool's landmarks, with the parade finishing in the city centre. It was soundtracked by DJ and Liverpool fan Calvin Harris, who was on board the bus.

Virgil van Dijk is a big fan of Harris, having partied alongside him with good friend Kevin De Bruyne in Ibiza on several occasions in recent years.

Speaking about when Liverpool could win the league over the weekend, Van Dijk said: "It doesn't matter [when]. I want to be champions of England. I want to let this dream become true. I would love to lift the cup for this club that I love so much. If it doesn't happen on Wednesday, then we have an opportunity on Sunday to do it in front of our own fans, in front of a red Anfield and it will be special, that's for sure."

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