Everton did local rival Liverpool a big favor in the Premier League title race by taking points off second-place Arsenal on Saturday.
A 1-1 draw at Goodison Park left Arsenal 11 points behind Liverpool with seven games to play in what is looking like an increasingly forlorn task to catch the leaders.
Iliman Ndiaye converted a penalty in the 49th minute to earn Everton a point after Leandro Trossard gave the lead in the 34th to Arsenal, which left key players — like Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka — out of its starting team ahead of hosting Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Liverpool’s game in hand is at Fulham on Sunday, with the Reds’ task having gotten much easier as they look to secure a record-tying 20th English top-flight title.
Saka came on as a halftime substitute for Arsenal, four days after making a goalscoring return to action against Fulham after 3 1/2 months out.
Arsenal is five points ahead of Nottingham Forest, which visits Aston Villa later Saturday.
___
Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
