Leicester City 0 – 1 Liverpool

Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to claim a late winner and move Liverpool within three points of the Premier League title and relegate Leicester City.

The full-back, who has yet to sign a new contract and been heavily linked with a free transfer move to Real Madrid at the end of the season, struck 14 minutes from time at King Power Stadium after the leaders had been frustrated by the doomed Foxes.

Alexander-Arnold enjoyed a dream return, since an ankle injury in early March, by scoring with an angled effort, following efforts by Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota against the woodwork in a goalmouth scramble.

And the 26-year-old showed what the moment meant by ripping off his shirt, then celebrating wildly with the joyous Liverpool fans before hanging it from the corner flag.

Arne Slot’s side are now set for a title party at Anfield against Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday – although the celebrations could start sooner depending on the result of Arsenal’s home game against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

Alexander-Arnold’s finish came as a relief after Salah almost opened the scoring in the opening seconds, only to see his low drive hit both posts, while Wilfred Ndidi also hit the woodwork for Leicester early on.

The stage is now set for Liverpool’s coronation as champions, while the Foxes – who became the first side in top-flight history to go nine consecutive home games without scoring – will return to the Championship after a disappointing season back in the top flight.

Alexander-Arnold takes acclaim for resilient Reds

The script was written for Alexander-Arnold to make the decisive contribution after his contract impasse provided an intriguing sub-plot to Liverpool’s relentless march to the title.

While Salah and captain Virgil van Dijk signed new deals in recent days, Alexander-Arnold’s situation remains unresolved amid confidence in Spain that he will join Real Madrid in the summer on a free transfer.

This drama was all put to one side as the England defender provided a memorable picture of elation in front of Liverpool’s support gathered in one corner of King Power Stadium.

He provided the image of the day by hanging his Liverpool shirt on the corner flag after ripping it off in a celebratory run towards the travelling fans.

Alexander-Arnold was then pushed towards them again by his team-mates after the final whistle with victory secured.

Whether these scenes make any difference to the decision on his future remains to be seen, but any suggestion that Liverpool followers had fallen out of love with the player they call “The Scouser In Our Team” were not in evidence here.

This was a performance that was a trademark of much of Liverpool’s season – dominant without being spectacular, but getting the job done against resilient opponents.

In others words, the sort of display that makes champions.

Foxes’ fate sealed with unwanted record

One damning statistic stands out as a painful illustration of why Leicester are on their way back to the Championship.

Having failed to breach the Liverpool backline, they set an unwanted all-time top-flight record with their ninth home Premier League game in a row without scoring. The last time they hit the target here in the league was on 8 December against Brighton.

In a season of turmoil off the pitch, which sparked demonstrations before kick-off when a light aircraft flew over the stadium trailing a banner reading “King Power Clueless. Sack The Board”, the Foxes have been on course for the drop for months.

It was confirmed here after a performance that was game, but lacked quality, although Ndidi came close to ending his side’s terrible goal drought when he slid a low effort against the post in the opening exchanges.

Many Leicester fans left well before the end, rather than wait for their fate to be officially sealed. Now a decision must be made on the future of manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has had no impact since succeeding sacked Steve Cooper in November.

The Foxes have earned just eight points from 20 matches under the Dutchman, whose job must be in doubt as the troubled club faces another summer of upheaval and uncertainty before life in the Championship again.