Despite Mateta's STUNNER preventing Arsenal from winning, Liverpool was forced to wait for the championship.

Jean-Philippe Mateta's incredible late goal off the bench gave Crystal Palace a 2-2 draw at the Emirates, but Arsenal forced Liverpool to wait to win the Premier League title.

 Liverpool believed they would win the title without having to play a single ball if Palace won, but even though the Eagles won in North London, the Reds still need to avoid losing to Spurs on Super Sunday in order to earn their 20th Premier League crown.

Arsenal made a valiant effort to postpone their festivities.  Three minutes later, an unmarked Jakub Kiwior met Martin Odegaard's free-kick and made his way home from a considerable distance.

The Eagles responded with a corner goal of their own, but Arsenal's 16th set-piece goal of the Premier League season moved them one spot ahead of Palace at the top of the dead-ball list.

 The Palace midfielder's luscious volley went in off the post after Adam Wharton deceived everyone in the Emirates by pinging a pass out to Eberechi Eze on the outside of the box.

And after Eze's excellent performance, Palace almost gave Liverpool hope of celebrating the title on Wednesday night when Eddie Nketiah turned in the box.  However, the former Arsenal striker's close-range attempt was blocked by Kiwior.

 Instead, Leandro Trossard turned brilliantly in the box and sent a deflected attempt past Dean Henderson, giving Arsenal the lead at halftime.

Palace boss Oliver Glasner benched Eze and Wharton with an eye towards the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa this weekend, but the Eagles were still a threat.

 Ismaila Sarr strangely missed from close range from another dangerous Palace corner, and David Raya had to match Marc Guehi's and Justin Devenny's efforts inside the box.

 Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the impression that they had a third goal, but VAR determined that Jurrien Timber had not kept the ball in play during the build-up.  Mikel Arteta substituted Bukayo Saka for a half-hour, and Henderson made a great stop on his late attempt.

However, Palace would ultimately give Liverpool's players and staff, who were all watching the match from a hotel in Merseyside, some cause for optimism when Mateta pounced on William Saliba's clumsy touch and sensationally lobbed Raya with a wonderful finish.

Like Palace, Arsenal was thankful not to sustain any injuries before their crucial semi-final matchup against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last four on Tuesday.

 However, Liverpool is now even nearer to winning the award.

Arteta: The standards were discarded.

 "I'm disappointed in the performance and the outcome.  The actions lacked sufficient regularity for us to fully control the game.

 "In our defensive habits, we slipped standards and handed balls away.  We can't throw up that goal like we did when we are winning 2-1 despite not playing at our best.  However, we did it, and since it's a part of football, we lost two points.

 "There were numerous areas of the game where we could have performed better.  The opposition had the ability to harm you, and the game was always in the air for them to do so.

"We must be critical of ourselves, but they deserve the credit for being so well-organised.

 "It's damaging but we have to accept that it can happen."

Analysis: Carra predicts Arteta will be incensed

 "I believe Arteta will be incensed.

 "You want to put everything behind you as quickly as possible, but they will be OK if they qualify for the Champions League.  You could write out the Bournemouth match between PSG and rest the entire team if they had won tonight.  Given that Liverpool will follow, I don't think he's in a position to do that right now.

 "They are just behind you and still have to travel to Newcastle if they lose the next two games.  Simply put, you don't want to be watching yourself.

"Mateta is an extremely talented athlete.  He truly achieves his goals.  Is he capable of reaching that next level?  teams vying for a spot in the Champions League.  Crystal Palace, a normal mid-table team, is one level below that.  He is brilliant, in my opinion.

Glasner  Oliver Glasner,

The head coach of Crystal Palace, will require this at Wembley:

 "A superb performance.  When you are 1-0 down have conceded 10 goals in the last two away games and playing at the Emirates, it's a dangerous scenario.

 "But the reaction of our guys was incredible.  It's really tough, but we didn't lose our minds, our faith, or our confidence, and we created a lot of chances against Arsenal.  Extremely pleased.

 "This set of players has demonstrated their abilities on several occasions, so I am aware of what they are capable of.  They did it for 30 to 40 minutes at the Etihad, though perhaps not in the previous two away games.

However, it's not that simple because they are human.  It is difficult to play against us when we are tactically disciplined, follow the strategy, and everyone does their duties.

 "This is what we will need at Wembley on Sunday, at least at the same level."