BEVERLY HILLS, October 24, (THEWILL) – English Premier League champions Liverpool returned to winning ways as new man Diogo Jota’s second-half goal secured a 2-1 win over Sheffield United at Anfield on Saturday.
A controversial draw with Everton, where they lost imposing Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk to injury, last time out followed a 7-2 humiliation at the hands of Aston Villa prior to the international break were beginning to cause worry for the men from Anfield.
They started the game on Saturday night with a determined stance to get all three points on offer. And they almost went ahead inside the opening five minutes with an audacious Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick from 45 yards but Sheffield’s keeper Aaron Ramsdale backtracked well to tip it over.
Klopp’s charges then conceded their first penalty at Anfield in the Premier League since October 2018 in the 11th minute. Brazilian central midfielder Fabinho was deemed to have brought down Oliver McBurnie Sheffield’s Scottish centre forward just inside the area. Sander Berge, Norwegian midfielder, stepped up to coolly slot past Alisson Becker in goal for Liverpool.
Becker kept the score the same by attending to Ben Osborn’s powerful volley soon after as Wilder’s side threatened to double their advantage quickly.
Yet, it was the hosts who scored next. Firmino added his name to the scorer’s sheet when he sloted home four minutes before the break after Ramsdale parried but did not completely clear Sadio Mane’s header.
Sheffield’s English winger George Baldock and Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah exchanged half-chances at the start of the second period before the latter disappointingly saw a fine effort correctly ruled out for offside by VAR shortly after the hour mark.
The disappointment did not last long, however. Jota, the Portuguese left winger, made sure of that by superbly heading home Mane’s left-wing cross to put the hosts ahead in the 64th minute.
Salah later clipped an effort against the post with 10 minutes left but it mattered little as Klopp’s men ultimately held on to extend their unbeaten Premier League run at home in Anfield to a whopping 62 games.
For their next matches, Liverpool have a UEFA Champions League tie against Midtjylland on Tuesday, October 27 at home while Sheffield will face struggling Man City in the Premiership at home too but on Saturday, October 31st.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
