Deulofeu fast show breathes life into Hornets
THE BATTLE OF THE MAGNIFICENT FRONT THREES... BUT HOW WILL KLOPP’S FULL BACKS RESPOND?
SEVENTY- SIX seconds was all it took to inject some positivity into what has been a troubled start to Quique Sanchez Flores’ second spell at Watford.
No doubt this was better than what has gone before, but more wins and points are needed before he can get comfortable.
Players haven’t bought into his ideas as much as he would like and that has caused difficulties. Thankfully Gerard Deulofeu has the ability to influence a match even when others around him can’t. His clever strike in the opening stages was followed up with a delicate chip that Andre Gray converted with his heel.
Agony for Norwich boss Daniel Farke, who must wonder how he will rediscover the formula that gave them all the answers in the Championship last season.
Both sides had expected to be faring better by now. Norwich’s stunning victory here over Manchester City demonstrated their potency, but losing five of their last six before this with 14 goals conceded told the story of a side struggling to cope defensively. Most alarming is their home form. Nine matches had passed without a clean sheet at Carrow Road and Watford wasted no time in making that 10.
Inside two minutes, Emiliano Buendia dawdled on the ball, Deulofeu nicked it off him and made his way into the Norwich penalty area. Unchallenged, he continued and placed a shot into the far corner.
The opener left Norwich dazed. They tried to up the tempo but that led to misplaced passes. Last season Watford would have punished such mistakes, but this is a side taking an average of 23 shots before scoring. Daryl Janmaat and Deulofeu both lacked composure with chances.
But five at the back doesn’t guarantee stability as Watford showed when Onel Hernandez ran through and picked out Teemu Pukki only for Craig Cathcart to clear. Two home penalty appeals also came and went. Kenny McLean went down too easily, but there was a case when Christian Kabasele impeded Hernandez.
The trouble Norwich have is they seem to have lost the intensity that beat Pep Guardiola’s champions. Deulofeu can’t be allowed room to roam yet that’s what continued to happen. He should not have been able to get his cross in at the second attempt for Gray to flick past Krul courtesy of Jamal Lewis’ deflection. A little bit of insurance Flores so desperately craved.
He will thank Ben Foster who pulled off two fine stops to deny Lewis and McLean. He won’t, however, thank Kabasele who was sent off for a second yellow when he bundled over Josip Drmic.
TOMORROW afternoon at Anfield we will witness a battle between two devastatingly good front threes that operate differently under Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. For Liverpool, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane act as ‘inside forwards’, occupying the space between the full backs and centre backs. The man in between, Roberto Firmino, is then often seen dropping deep and connecting attacks. For Manchester City, whose 52 goals in all competitions this season means they have scored more than any other European club, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva will remain wide. They will hug their respective touchlines and cut inside on to their preferred feet when
possible. They will make runs off the ball, using their intelligent movement to get on the end of precise passes from Kevin De Bruyne and, if he is fit, David Silva. Sergio Aguero, City’s brilliant marksman with 173 Premier League goals to his name, will then look to position himself high up the pitch. Naturally, both defences are bound to be busy and it will be a challenge for Liverpool if their full backs are to bomb forward like usual. How will Trent AlexanderArnold and Andrew Robertson respond? Will they sit back to look after Sterling and Bernardo Silva (or Riyad Mahrez if he starts on the right wing instead)? Or will they be able to add to Liverpool’s attack? Alexander-Arnold has produced the most crosses in the Premier League this season — 130, with Everton’s Lucas Digne the next nearest on 100. No one has created more chances than Liverpool’s right back, either, as he is tied with De Bruyne on 40. Robertson is lethal on the left side, too, having scored the crucial equaliser in their late
comeback against Aston Villa last weekend by bursting into the six-yard box. Liverpool like to attack with seven men, leaving their central defenders and Fabinho to tidy up. Yet City will want to test this. As important as tactics are, it is just as vital that Klopp’s players walk out at Anfield with the swagger of English champions in waiting, which was what they did not do when they faced Manchester United at Old Trafford previously. They have to act as if they are the title favourites, even if they don’t like that. You are the ones unbeaten this season, not City, so carry that aura of invincibility into this clash. Embrace and enjoy it, rather than letting it hold you back.