PREMIER LEAGUE GAMBLER KOPS THE
Reds’ boss plays winning hand after swapping skipper Henderson
SHEFF UTD
LUCKY Liverpool? Maybe. But sometimes when you roll the dice you hit the jackpot.
And Jurgen Klopp showed he’s ready to gamble it all after losing his shirt to Pep Guardiola last season.
Gini Wijnaldum’s winning strike owed much to good fortune and the kind of error that will haunt Sheffield United’s young England keeper Dean Henderson for the rest of his career.
But it was also down to Klopp’s decision to send on striker Divock Origi for midfield enforcer Jordan Henderson when his team were under the cosh.
Liverpool reaped the benefit of seeing opposition goalkeepers drop clangers on a regular basis last season. But in the final analysis too many draws – seven of them – cost them the title. With Chris Wilder’s side de showing with every passing minute nute that they are a much-welcome me addition to the top-flight, p-flight,
Liverpool’s boss went for broke rather than look to limit t his losses.
I t was f r om
Origi’s 70th0thminute cross oss t hat t he decisive moment came.
Wijnaldum
(below with
Firmino) connected sweetly enough with his volley from the edge of the box, but it was still a routine save for Henderson until he allowed the ball to squirm from his grasp.
So Liverpool maintain their perfect s start to t he campaign campaign.
T Tha h a t ’s seven victories victori from seven – on the th back of eight successive succ wins when whe finishing a point po behind G u a rd i o l a ’s Manchester M City in May.
Four more wins and they will break the record set by City’s Centurions two years ago. But Liverpool were nowhere near their best. Mo Salah had the first touch of a man wearing hobnail boots, Sadio Mane was wasteful and Roberto Firmino’s energy levels seemed low.
Credit
But much of the credit for that goes to Wilder’s razor-sharp Blades.
United don’t have any big-names, but they have hearts the size of the nearby Meadowhall shopping centre.
Organised and bang at it, the home side had impressive performers throughout their team – including the unfortunate Henderson.
Their fans also demonstrated that there is more than one Kop in English football – and the vast expanse behind