Jurgen’s lucky day
Late flourish flatters Liverpool after Watford are denied clear penalty
IT is not often that Liverpool flatter to deceive these days but this was one of those rare matches in this season of enormous promise when the pretty numbers concealed something a little more grubby.
That is not a criticism or anything even approaching one — great virtue in the uglier wins and all that logic.
But for a long time, around 67 minutes to be precise, this was hard and scrappy work for Jurgen Klopp’s side. So much so that Watford have the right to wonder.
What of the game-turning call by Jonathan Moss 10 minutes into the second half?
Watford had been second best for just about the entirety of the match by that point, but at 0-0 Andrew Robertson appeared to foul Will Hughes in the area and nothing was given. It looked rather a lot like a refereeing error and it must have felt like a kick in the teeth when Watford were subsequently pummelled by three goals of sublime quality in the final 23 minutes.
The first, finished by Mo Salah, was a tribute to stunning team play. But it is worth considering the current worth of the individual, who now has nine goals in all competitions this season and whose campaign is not quite as underwhelming as we sometimes believe it to be.
The second goal was all about the confidence and quality of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who whipped a brilliant free-kick past Ben Foster from 25 yards before Roberto Firmino finished it off with a late header after a rapid counter.
All in all, it was a comfortable win, and yet it was also a shakier performance than we have grown accustomed to from Klopp’s unbeaten class of 2018-19.
They struggled badly in midfield in the first half and by extension of that Jordan Henderson was sent off for two yellow cards in the second — he will miss next week’s Merseyside derby.
The defence also rode its luck a little early on barring Virgil Van Dijk who produced another near faultless performance against a team with five wins in their seven home games before this one.
That is an important context for this win. Watford are a good side. Beating them here hasn’t been easy for anyone and yet Liverpool did them for three after only one day of preparation following the end of the international break.
Perhaps most impressively they did not concede and the easy point to make on their progress this season is that in the opener of the last campaign they let three in at this ground.
These days it is so different — 12 clean sheets in their last 18 league games, and if ever proof were needed that great teams are built on firm foundations it is that Liverpool have 33 points from 13 games, their highest-ever tally in the Premier League era.
It’s deeply impressive even if this was not the best showcase of what they do. The first half was distinctly mediocre, save for the final five minutes when Liverpool produced three decent chances in a concentrated flurry.
The midfield, with the exception of Xherdan Shaqiri, was guilty of sloppy play in both attack and defence and it was obvious even before his sending off that Henderson was someway off the pace in his first start for a month after hamstring difficulties.
Together with Georginio Wijnaldum they offered a less-thaneffective screen for the defence.
In the opening two minutes Gerard Deulofeu had a goal rightly disallowed for offside after Watford built a strong position and a moment later the same player almost found a way through after a risky ball from Alisson put Firmino in trouble. Towards the end of the half Dejan Lovren slipped and after a rotation of passes, Roberto Pereyra had a shot saved. Not exactly alarming and yet hardly the kind of vulnerabilities you’d expect in Klopp’s team this season.
At the other end Salah, Sadio Mane and Firmino had chances and Ben Foster did well in response, but nothing there implied the landslide win that was to come.
The pivotal moment came with the penalty incident and the refusal of Moss to give it and from there Liverpool made the most of their second life.
The opening goal was delightful in its creation, with Robertson, Firmino and Mane involved before Salah’s seventh league goal of the season. Alexander-Arnold got the brilliant second nine minutes later and the third was rated by Klopp ‘one of the best counter-attacks I’ve ever seen’.