Watford the Reds slayer

LIVERPOOL manager Juergen Klopp has congratulated Watford after it became the first team in the Premier League this season to beat the Reds.

The lowly Hornets won 3-0 at Vicarage Road in an impressive performance from Nigel Pearson’s side.

A second-half brace from Ismaila Sarr put the hosts in control before the Senegal attacker set up Troy Deeney 18 minutes from time to provide the cherry on top.

It ended the Reds unbeaten run of 44 league games, meaning they fall short of matching Arsenal’s Invincibles from the 2003-04 campaign, who had gone the season and overall 49 matches without defeat.

The first Premier League loss for Liverpool in more than a year does little to its hopes of winning the title but it missed out on equalling Manchester City’s run of 19 straight top flight wins.

“I am not surprised by the performance because that would mean I never saw something like that before. I saw it a lot of times,” Klopp said.

“What I can say and I think is 3-0 is a bit harsh but we had a big hand in that so we don’t have to think about that.

“The most important thing is congratulations Watford, well deserved. That is what should be the headline.

“We didn’t perform like we should have and Watford performed exactly like they wanted.”

After losing at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last week, Liverpool has now suffered two defeats in three games in all competitions. When quizzed on missing out on joining Arsenal as invincibles, Klopp again reiterated he was not focused on that achievement.