LIVERPOOL — Long-serving Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard bade an underwhelming farewell to Anfield Saturday as his side lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace in his final home game for the club. After almost 17 years of service, 709 appearances, 185 goals and 10 trophies, the 34-year-old midfielder had hoped to sign off on a winning note before joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in July. But although Adam Lallana put Liverpool ahead, goals from Jason Puncheon and substitutes Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray ruined the script as Palace ended a four-game losing streak and claimed a first league win at Anfield since 1991. The defeat ended Liverpool's slim mathematical hope of Champions League qualification ahead of its final game at Stoke City, but that was of minor concern on a day that belonged to their beloved, home-grown captain. Several former Liverpool greats were among the 44,673 people in attendance, as well as ex-manager Gerard Houllier, who handed an 18-year-old Gerrard his debut as a substitute against Blackburn Rovers in November 1998. Players from both sides formed a guard of honor as Gerrard took to the pitch accompanied by his daughters Lourdes, Lexie and Lilly-Ella, while fans in the Kop and Centenary Stand formed mosaics in his honor. Predictably, with Liverpool realistically unable to qualify for the Champions League and Palace long safe from relegation, the sense of occasion diminished the moment the match began. Palace's fans, meanwhile, seized an opportunity to remind the man of the hour of the only title to have eluded him during his distinguished Anfield career, chanting: “Have you ever seen Gerrard win the league?“ Earlier, Aston Villa, despite being on the receiving end of a 6-1 thrashing at Southampton with Sadio Mane scoring the quickest hat trick in the top flight, joined Leicester City in celebrating their Premier League survival. Leicester, which drew 0-0 at Sunderland, can look forward to another season among English soccer's elite after Steve Bruce's relegation-threatened Hull City lost 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur. Hull will now have to beat Manchester United in its final game to avoid the drop. Northeastern rivals Sunderland and Newcastle United, which took the lead against relegated Queens Park Rangers before falling to a 2-1 defeat, also remain in danger. Hull are 18th with 34 points and must hope that Newcastle, two points ahead in 17th, fail to win at home to West Ham United. Failing that, Hull will need Sunderland — with a game in hand — to lose both of their final two encounters at Arsenal on Wednesday and Chelsea next Sunday. Both Leicester and Villa have 38 points, with one game to play. Leicester's 0-0 draw with Sunderland edged their opponents closer to safety, but there could still be a sting in the tail for Dick Advocaat's team, who face daunting final fixtures and have a worse goal difference than Hull. Elsewhere, Everton came from behind to beat West Ham United 2-1 and Stoke City drew 0-0 with relegated Burnley. Juventus wins 2-1 at Inter Champions League finalist and Serie A champion Juventus came from behind to win 2-1 at Inter Milan in the Italian league Saturday. Alvaro Morata, who scored the goal at Real Madrid which sent Juventus through to the Champions League final on Wednesday, netted a late winner in the Derby d'Italia after a howler from Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic. Claudio Marchisio had leveled from the spot at the end of the first half to cancel out Mauro Icardi's early goal, moments after Inter hit the crossbar and Marcelo Brozovic had his follow-up ruled out for offside. Inter defender Nemanja Vidic was fortunate not to get sent off for fouling Alessandro Matri to concede the penalty. Freiburg beats Bayern Nils Petersen scored late for Freiburg to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 and escape the relegation zone while Stuttgart climbed off the bottom by beating Hamburger SV 2-1 in the Bundesliga's penultimate round Saturday. Petersen scored in the 89th minute for Freiburg to climb to 34 points, level with Hannover, which won 2-1 at Augsburg, and one point above Stuttgart in the relegation playoff spot. Paderborn defender Uwe Huenemeier's 88th-minute own goal was enough for Schalke to secure Europa League football with a 1-0 win and leave his side bottom, one point behind Hamburg, which slipped a point behind Stuttgart with one round remaining. Borussia Dortmund lost 2-1 at Wolfsburg, Borussia Moenchengladbach won 2-0 at Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin is all but safe after drawing 0-0 with Eintracht Frankfurt. — Agencies
