Klopp-Salah spat mars Liverpool's latest setback in EPL. Sheffield United is first team relegated

Liverpool fell further out of contention for the English Premier League title on Saturday.

That's perhaps the least of Jurgen Klopp's problems.

Just as upsetting for the outgoing Liverpool manager in a 2-2 draw with West Ham might be a touchline confrontation with his star forward, Mohamed Salah, that Klopp tried to downplay after the match.

Salah, not so much.

“There’s going to be a fire today if I speak,” the Egypt winger was heard telling journalists as he left the Olympic Stadium.

The incident happened as Salah was preparing to enter as a substitute soon after Michail Antonio's 77th-minute equalizer. It was the second time in Liverpool's last three games that Salah has been benched, an unusual position for one of the club's greatest scorers who has rarely been dropped in his time at Anfield.

Whether Salah remains at Liverpool beyond this season remains to be seen — he was linked heavily with a move to Saudi Arabia last year — but Klopp is sure to be going.

With three games left in the league, his successful Liverpool tenure might be ending on a sour note.

This latest setback came after recent losses to Crystal Palace and Everton, and left the team in third place — two points behind Arsenal and one off Manchester City. They both have games in hand over Liverpool.

“Do they look like they will lose two or three games?” Klopp said of Arsenal and City. “No, I don’t think so but honestly I am not angry or whatever. I don’t think about it.”

FIRST RELEGATED TEAM

While Liverpool's title dreams are looking remote, Sheffield United's faint chances of staying up are officially done.

A 5-1 loss at Newcastle confirmed Sheffield United as the first team to be relegated from the top flight this season. The Blades are 10 points from safety with three matches remaining, ensuring they will be going straight back to the Championship.

“We have not been good enough," said manager Chris Wilder, who took over in December for a second spell in charge after Paul Heckingbottom was fired. "The league has been too powerful for us right the way through the season.

“It’s an incredibly young side and there is a complete lack of leadership out there."

Newcastle, which is in seventh place, closed the gap to Manchester United to one point and looks increasingly like securing qualification for a European competition next season.

Alexander Isak scored two of Newcastle's goals and has 19 for the campaign, one behind joint leaders Cole Palmer of Chelsea and Erling Haaland of Man City.

BOOS FOR UNITED

There were more jeers for Manchester United and under-pressure manager Erik ten Hag in a 1-1 draw at home to relegation-threatened Burnley.

Substitute Zeki Amdouni’s 87th-minute penalty — earned after he was bundled over by United goalkeeper Andre Onana — canceled out Antony's goal in the 79th and secured a point for next-to-last Burnley, which is two points from safety.

Boos greeted the final whistle at Old Trafford, having earlier echoed even louder around the stadium when youngsters Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Hojlund were substituted midway through the second half.

“Those players have to adjust and that takes time,” Ten Hag said. “I'm sorry for everyone. I'm very impatient but we need patience. And the fans, they need patience."

VILLA HELD

Aston Villa's push for Champions League qualification was dented by squandering a two-goal lead over Chelsea and drawing 2-2 at home.

Villa, which is fourth, moved seven points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham and has three games left.

Spurs have three games in hand, starting with Arsenal in the north London derby on Sunday. They also must play City and Liverpool in a tough run-in, so Villa remains the favorite to claim the fourth and final Champions League place.

Villa has never qualified for the Champions League. The team has twice played in Europe’s top competition but not since 1982-83, when the team reached the quarterfinals of what was then the European Cup. Villa won it the season before.

Second-half goals by Noni Madueke and Conor Gallagher earned a point for Chelsea, which had a stoppage-time header from Axel Disasi overturned after a VAR review. Morgan Rogers added to an own-goal by Marc Cucurella as the hosts built a 2-0 halftime lead.

EVERTON SAFE

Everton ensured a 71st straight year in England's top division by beating Brentford 1-0.

That moved Everton 11 points above third-to-last Luton with three games remaining for each.

Everton has survived despite getting docked a total of eight points for two breaches of the Premier League financial rules.

Luton lost at Wolverhampton 2-1 to stay in the relegation zone and one point adrift of Nottingham Forest, which plays Man City on Sunday.

Fulham and Crystal Palace drew 1-1.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Manchester United's Antony, left, celebrates scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Burnley at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, left, celebrates with teammates scoring their side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Sheffield United at St. James' Park, Newcastle, England, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Sheffield United players look dejected as Newcastle score their side's fourth goal of the game via an own goal by Sheffield United's Ben Osborn, not in the picture, during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Sheffield United at St. James' Park, Newcastle, England, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

West Ham's Michail Antonio, right, celebrates with teammate Mohammed Kudus after scoring his side's 2nd goalduring the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London stadium in London, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah sits on the substitute bench ahead of the English Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool, at London stadium, in London, Saturday April 27, 2024. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London stadium in London, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

SEATTLE (AP) — President Joe Biden is running for reelection on a record and an agenda -- often Donald Trump’s.

In a hotel ballroom in Seattle, at fancy homes in California and at stops in Illinois and Wisconsin over the past week, Biden has been betting that reminding voters about Trump's presidency and highlighting his Republican opponent's latest campaign statements will work to the Democrat's advantage.

At a Seattle fundraiser Friday night, Biden brought up Trump's recent interview with Time magazine in which Trump said states should be left to determine whether to prosecute women for abortions or to monitor their pregnancies.

“I really urge you to read it,” Biden said.

Biden, who headlined another Seattle fundraiser Saturday before returning to the East Coast, has plenty of other Trump material to draw from, too.

The president highlights how Trump has promised, if elected, to be “a dictator on Day 1”, how he has suggested the United States would not necessarily defend allies from aggression and how he has pledged to “totally obliterate the deep state” in the federal bureaucracy, which he blames for blocking his first-term agenda.

“And he said a whole lot more,” Biden said during a Chicago appearance. “But the bad news is he means what he says. He means what he says. Unless you think I’m kidding, just think back to the 6th of January. This guy means what he says,” referring to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Biden wants the 2024 election to be a referendum on Trump's record and plans, but he also wants voters to look favorably on his own policies and actions.

Biden and his allies think the country needs reminding about Trump's tenure and his outlandish and often concerning statements, particularly because the Republican is no longer ubiquitous on X, formerly Twitter, nor is he in front of television cameras as often as he once was.

“Chaos is nothing new for Trump,” Biden said in Chicago. “His presidency was chaos. Trump is trying to make the -- the country forget about the dark and unsettling things that he did when he was president. Well, we’re going to not let them forget.”

Biden frequently highlights Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and how he stood by when supporters violently stormed the Capitol as Congress met to certify his loss to Biden. He also points to Trump separating children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border, tax cuts the Republican pushed through that benefited corporations and the wealthy and his repeated efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

Biden's barbs have been getting sharper of late.

He opened his Seattle fundraiser on Friday night by telling donors, “Thank you for the warm welcome. Please keep it down, because Donald Trump is sleeping. Sleepy Don.” That was a riff off of news reports that the former president has dozed off during his criminal trial in a New York courtroom. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges in a hush money scheme to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election.

Biden also talks about Trump’s admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his self-described “love letters” with Kim Jong Un, the authoritarian leader of North Korea.

Biden frequently jabs at Trump for wondering aloud during the COVID-19 pandemic whether disinfectants could be injected or ingested to fight the virus. “That bleach he didn’t inject in his body; he just put it in his hair,” Biden says to laughter every time. “But, look, he’s got more hair than I do.”

Trump's campaign said in a statement that “their records speak for themselves. President Trump created the most secure border in history and peace in the world. President Trump was the first president in modern history not to enter the U.S. in any new wars. Joe Biden’s weakness has led to wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, an immigrant invasion of our border, anti-Semitic protests on our college campuses, and crime and chaos in every American city.”

Trump doesn't hesitate to criticize Biden and his policies. Trump is spending much of his time lately sitting in court. But before and after the proceedings, he often stands in front of cameras outside the courtroom and goes after Biden.

At a recent Wisconsin rally, Trump mentioned Biden within the first 2½ minutes of his speech and referenced the president or his administration more than 60 times during his remarks.

Trump's criticism often takes a dark turn. Last weekend, he told donors at his Florida resort that Biden was running a “Gestapo administration."

The Gestapo was the secret police force of the Third Reich that squelched political opposition generally and, specifically, targeted Jewish people for arrest during the Holocaust. Trump’s unfounded comparison to Nazi-era tactics is part of his effort to deny and deflect the charges against him, most notably his effort to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory.

Biden's strategy is a gamble. Voters are divided in their views of both men's presidencies.

An April poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that nearly half thought Trump’s presidency hurt the country on voting rights and election security, relations with foreign countries, abortion laws and climate change. But more than half of U.S. adults thought Biden’s presidency hurt the country on cost of living and immigration.

For all his criticism of Trump, Biden does get around to talking about his agenda and accomplishments. He tells supporters about his work to boost the economy and to bring the country out of the pandemic. He discusses his support for abortion rights even as he highlights how Trump has taken credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade in part because of his Supreme Court nominations.

“Folks, the choice is clear,” Biden told supporters recently in the nation's capital. “Donald Trump’s vision of America is one of revenge and retribution.”

“I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s chances,” he went on. “Not because I’m president, because of the state of the moment. The world needs us.”

Long reported from Washington. AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally May 1, 2024, in Waukesha, Wis. Trump told Republican donors Saturday, May 5, at Mar-a-Lago, that President Joe Biden is running a "Gestapo administration," the latest example of the former president employing the language of Nazi Germany in his campaign rhetoric. The remarks were described by people who attended the event and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private session. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

President Joe Biden turns as reporters ask questions as he arrives at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Friday, May 10, 2024, in SeaTac, Wash. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Freeland, Mich., May 1, 2024. President Joe Biden has been betting that reminding voters about Trump's presidency and highlighting his Republican opponent's latest campaign statements will work to the Democratic president's advantage. He wants the 2024 election to be a referendum on Trump's record and plans, but he also wants voters to look favorably on his own policies and actions. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks, May 2, 2024, in Wilmington, N.C. In recent appearances around the country, Biden has been betting that reminding voters about Donald Trump's presidency and highlighting his Republican opponent's latest campaign statements will work to the Democratic president's advantage. He wants the 2024 election to be a referendum on Trump's record and plans, but he also wants voters to look favorably on his own policies and actions. (AP Photo/David Yeazell, File)