Liverpool shows true grit as United unravels again
Liverpool’s players overcame an unexpected test of their Premier League title credentials against last-place Sheffield United on Thursday. Manchester United, meanwhile, went into meltdown at Chelsea.
This was the latest reminder of the gulf that separates English soccer’s fiercest rivals ahead of their clash at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Liverpool is back on top after a 3-1 win against Sheffield United, while Manchester United conceded two goals in stoppage time in a stunning 4-3 loss at Chelsea.
Liverpool’s win further demonstrated the resolve of Jurgen Klopp’s team and the growing influence of Alexis Mac Allister, whose stunning second-half strike set up victory.
Anfield erupted as the Argentina international unleashed an unstoppable drive from the edge of the box that crashed into the top corner in the 76th minute.
The atmosphere had been getting increasingly tense before that with the game locked at 1-1. Substitute Cody Gakpo added a third for Liverpool in the 90th to make the win look more routine than it was.
“We had to dig very deep, but that is normal. Our attitude was good, the football was not great in a lot of moments,” Klopp said.
While Liverpool could be knocked off the top again by the time it heads to United on Sunday, the Merseyside club keeps on coming up with the answers as it stares down the challenge of Arsenal and Manchester City.
Liverpool’s win moved it two points clear of second-place Arsenal and three ahead of City in third, but Sheffield United had threatened to spring a surprise in the race for the title.
Up until Mac Allister’s strike, it had looked like being a potentially frustrating night at Anfield after Conor Bradley’s own goal had evened the game at 1-1 — canceling out Darwin Nunez’s opener.
Mac Allister’s long-range strike restored the lead and lifted the mood before Gakpo made it 3-1 with a header.
“Patience is the most important thing. You can get frustrated or in a bad mood, but we stayed calm and focused,” Gakpo said.
By contrast, United’s season descended deeper into crisis after losing in dramatic circumstances at Chelsea.
It doesn’t get any easier for Erik ten Hag’s team, which has to pick itself up for the challenge of facing a Liverpool side that is growing in confidence in its pursuit of the title.
We made individual errors that cost us the game. The players know their jobs and they didn’t make the right decisions. We have to read when to keep the ball, to pass, move and switch the play when we are winning.”
Erik ten Hag, after United’s stunning loss to Chelsea
‘Unacceptable’ errors
United’s 12th league defeat of the campaign was played out in front of new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe at Stamford Bridge and came after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
The pressure on Ten Hag is growing.
“In five days we dropped five points. That is unacceptable,” he said. “We should have a high standard if we want to compete for Champions League football.”
Ten Hag expressed frustration and blamed costly mistakes and poor decision-making for his side conceding two stoppage-time goals against Chelsea to lose 4-3 on Thursday.
Individual errors, however, led United to defeat just a few days after his team conceded a last-gasp equalizer to Brentford in a 1-1 draw to move further away from a topfour Premier League finish. United now sits in sixth place with 48 points.
“I had the feeling we were dominating the game, got ourselves into a winning position, scoring great goals,” Ten Hag told reporters.
“Then, in stoppage time, we didn’t manage to win. Of course it’s frustrating.
“We made individual errors that cost us the game. The players know their jobs and they didn’t make the right decisions. We have to read when to keep the ball, to pass, move and switch the play when we are winning.
“In five days we dropped five points. That is unacceptable. We gave away a game we should have won.”
The Dutch manager said injury absences of key players have dampened his team’s performances, but he is confident his players will step up on Sunday when they host leader Liverpool.
“(Raphael) Varane, (Jonny) Evans, also Casemiro we have to take off. That doesn’t help. You need these types to show leadership and what to do,” he said.
“I don’t know if they will play on Sunday. The team will be there on Sunday. They have character. They showed it today, fighting ourselves into the game.”