<p>LEICESTER, England — Without all the injuries, perhaps Liverpool would not be surrendering the Premier League title so easily to Manchester City.</p>
<p>Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Arsenal on Saturday was a reminder of the quality that saw the champions still leading the standings in December before imploding. Now it is City 17 points in front of Manchester United after winning 2-0 at Leicester.</p>
<p>It means the win at the Emirates Stadium, secured by Diogo Jota’s double and Mohamed Salah’s strike, only pushed Liverpool up to fifth place. </p>
<p>Catching Chelsea to qualify for the Champions League became more attainable in the final eight games of the season thanks to Thomas Tuchel’s 14-match unbeaten start as manager surprisingly ending. Chelsea’s 5-2 loss to relegation-threatened West Bromwich enabled Liverpool to close the gap on fourth to two points.</p>
<p>First place is far out of sight with Liverpool 25 points behind City after winning the title by 18 points last season.</p>
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