Reds avoid Chelsea slip-up
No repeat of agonising defeat as Liverpool return to top spot aided by Salah wonder-goal
Liverpool didn’t slip up this time. A 2-0 win over Chelsea — sealed by a stunning longrange goal by Mohamed Salah — preserved Liverpool’s twopoint lead in the Premier League over Manchester City, who beat Crystal Palace 3-1 yesterday.
The victory also meant the Reds partially avenged a memorable 2-0 loss to Chelsea at Anfield near the end of the 2013-14 season that ultimately cost them the title. That defeat was sparked by a slip by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard that let in Demba Ba to score the first goal, and Chelsea’s visiting fans reminded the home supporters about that moment throughout yesterday’s game.
“We knew everything was going to be different [yesterday],” Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk said.
Liverpool’s goals came in a 142-second spell at the start of the second half. Sadio Mane’s header put the home team ahead in the 51st minute, before Salah cut in from the right and arrowed in a 25m shot into the far corner.
City, who have a game in hand on Liverpool, had put the pressure on earlier in the day with a dominant display at Selhurst Park against a team that had caused the champions problems in recent meetings.
Raheem Sterling recovered from a glaring early miss to score twice and put City 2-0 ahead, Luka Milivojevic responded for Palace in the 81st, before Gabriel Jesus sealed a ninth straight league win for City with a 90th-minute goal.
City have the harder run-in but will retain the title with five straight
victories to close the season. Liverpool’s remaining games are against Cardiff, Huddersfield, Newcastle and Wolverhampton.
“We expect them to win all their games so we just need to get as many points as possible,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said, “and if we’re champions, then great, but if not, it is still a really good football team.”
Salah won the Fifa Puskas Award for the goal of the 2017-18 season, courtesy of his solo strike in the Merseyside derby at Anfield. He might end up keeping the title.
With one of the great goals seen at Anfield, Salah received van Dijk’s long ball from the back, cut inside off the right wing, and sent a diagonal shot into the top corner from 25m. He celebrated in front of the Kop by standing on one foot in a yoga pose. “I’m a yoga man,” Salah smiled. Klopp described the goal as “world class” because of “the control, the first touch, going inside, the movement to give him a little bit of space, and then I was 100 per cent convinced . . . a fantastic goal”.
Chelsea had chances at 2-0 down, with Eden Hazard hitting the post, then mis-hitting a shot from close range straight at keeper Alisson.