By Ghazali Ibrahim 
Leicester City’s brief return to the Premier League ended in heartbreak on Sunday as a late strike from Trent Alexander-Arnold handed Liverpool a 1-0 victory at the King Power Stadium.
The match sealed the Foxes’ relegation and moving the Reds towards achieving the league title.
Alexander-Arnold, returning from a five-week injury layoff, scored the decisive goal just 14 minutes from time, sending the travelling Liverpool fans into raptures and taking Arne Slot’s men to the brink of Premier League glory.
Liverpool now sits atop the table with a chance to secure the title as early as Wednesday if Arsenal falters at home against Crystal Palace. If not, they will have the opportunity to clinch the championship next Sunday when Tottenham visit Anfield.
For Leicester, the loss confirmed a disastrous end to their season.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men have now lost nine straight games at home without scoring a single goal since December, an alarming run that saw the 2016 Premier League champions drop back into the Championship after just one season in the top flight.
The tone was set early in the match when Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah struck both posts within the first two minutes, hinting at the dominance to come.
But despite their bright start, the Reds struggled to break through Leicester’s deep defensive lines for much of the game.
Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi came closest to ending the club’s goal drought, hitting the post in a rare first-half opportunity.
Meanwhile, Ibrahima Konaté had a powerful header cleared off the line by Ndidi, keeping the scores level at the break.
Liverpool turned up the pressure in the second half, with Kostas Tsimikas firing straight at Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen and Alexander-Arnold entering the fray in the 70th minute.
Moments later, the England international capitalized on a chaotic goalmouth scramble after Salah and Diogo Jota both hit the woodwork.
The ball eventually fell to Alexander-Arnold, whose shot slipped through Hermansen’s hands and into the net his 23rd goal and potentially his last for the club amid reports of a free transfer move to Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold celebrated wildly, ripping off his shirt in what might have been a farewell to the Liverpool faithful.
Leicester thought they had equalized when Connor Coady headed into the net, but the goal was ruled out for a foul on Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker by Patson Daka.
Facundo Buonanotte later squandered a golden opportunity to level, sending a shot wide with only Alisson to beat.
The defeat sends Leicester down alongside Southampton and likely Ipswich, marking the second consecutive season where all three promoted clubs have failed to survive in the top division.
Once champions of England just nine years ago, the Foxes now face another painful rebuild after a season that promised hope but ended in despair.
