Wasteful Liverpool pay heavy price
● Newcastle United substitute Joe Willock equalised in the dying seconds of stoppage time to earn his side a precious point in a 1-1 draw away at Liverpool yesterday that dented the home side’s Champions League qualification hopes.
Liverpool had opened the scoring at Anfield inside three minutes when Newcastle defender Ciaran Clark failed to clear a cross, allowing forward Mohamed Salah to control the ball and fire a left-footed halfvolley into the roof of the net.
But despite dominating the ball possession and making 22 attempts on goal, Liverpool failed to extend their advantage.
Newcastle forward Callum Wilson had a strike ruled out for offside in the 90th minute but Steve Bruce’s side continued to pile on the pressure. They were rewarded in the 95th minute when Willock found the net for the third league match in a row with virtually the last kick of the match.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp rued his side’s failure to take their chances.
“We kept them alive and they deserved the goal,” Klopp told BT Sport. “They scored the one before, unlucky for Wilson but it is [disallowed for] handball and we don’t even take this present. It’s really tough to take.
“In a specific way we don’t fight enough. We had 70% of the ball, we should have 80%. We created a lot of chances, didn’t score with them, so we have to create more. That is how it is. We don’t do that well at the moment.”
Two more points dropped is a blow to Liverpool’s Champions League qualification hopes, after their owners Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) plans of joining a Super League and securing European football without having to earn it collapsed this week.
Chelsea down West Ham
Banners saying “Enough is enough, FSG out” and “Our game, our club: thanks but no Yanks” were unfurled by fans outside Anfield ahead of the match, despite club owner John Henry issuing an apology for their involvement in the ill-fated project.
When asked about Liverpool’s Champions League prospects at the end of the tumultuous week, Klopp said: “If you deserve, you deserve it. I didn’t see us deserve it today playing Champions League next year. In another five games? We’ll see what we can do.”
“We pushed hard in the second half. Apart from the sloppy goal we gave away, I thought the boys did really well,” Willock, who is on loan from Arsenal, told BT Sport.
“Hopefully, it is more the performance we need to keep up. I don’t feel like we were showing what we can earlier. What we are showing now is brilliant, and if we continue like that we will be safe for sure.”
Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara said the team must show hunger to deserve a place in next season’s Champions League: “We have no words to explain the disappointment we have.”
● Chelsea remained in fourth spot on the log, one point behind Leicester City who play Crystal Palace tomorrow, after their 1-0 victory over West Ham, who remain fifth, three points behind with the Reds four points adrift of fourth spot.