Reds pour on the pressure
LIVERPOOL and Manchester City’s shootout for the Premier League title intensified yesterday with wins over Southampton and Cardiff, while Manchester United was held 1-1 by Wolverhampton on the day Alex Ferguson returned to Old Trafford.
Jurgen Klopp handed Xherdan Shaqiri his first Liverpool start in the 3-0 victory at Anfield, Wesley Hoedt turning the Swiss international’s deflected shot in before Joel Matip and Mohamed Salah’s first goal in four games sealed Liverpool’s seventh straight win in all competitions.
City edged ahead of Chelsea, who went to West Ham overnight, into second, two points behind the leader, as it bounced back from a shock Champions League loss to Lyon in midweek by thrashing Cardiff 5-0 in the Welsh capital.
United, though, is now eight points off the top as a run of three straight wins to avert an early season crisis came to an end against an impressive Wolves while Ferguson watched on for the first time since having emergency surgery on a brain haemorrhage in May.
Tottenham moved ahead of United into fifth as Harry Kane ended his five-game goal drought from the penalty spot in a 2-1 win at Brighton to end a run of three straight defeats for Spurs.
Liverpool’s new-found strength in depth was in evidence at Anfield as Klopp made three changes from the side that defeated Paris Saint-Germain in midweek and Shaqiri and Matip made a big impact in their first starts of the season.
The hosts were handed a big helping hand early on by Saints thanks to a comical own goal by Hoedt as he failed to sort his feet out as Shaqiri’s deflected drive trickled across the area.
Matip powered home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner before Salah won the foot race to force the ball over the line after a Shaqiri free-kick came back off the bar.
Liverpool’s afternoon was soured, though, by a rib injury to Virgil van Dijk that forced the world’s most expensive defender off early in the second period ahead of a demanding run of fixtures.
“Winning seven in a row is cool but challenges will get tougher and tougher. The boys are in good shape and that helps,” Klopp said.
Klopp’s men face Chelsea and City in their next two league games, with a Champions League trip to Napoli in between.