Watford Stuns Liverpool with 3-0 Win
Updated: 18/11/2024
Watford stun Liverpool 3-0 to End season's unbeaten run for the Reds
It was a reality check for Liverpool as Nigel Pearson's Hornets consigned a practically invincible Liverpool to their very first Premier League defeat of the season.
Jurgen Klopp's Reds' last PL defeat was to Manchester City way back in January 3, 2019 which is more than a year ago.
Having notched up 18 Premier League wins, another one at Vicarage Road for the Reds would have made history as the longest winning streak in the English top-flight football.
But with Saturday's 0-3 defeat at Vicarage, Liverpool fell short of the 49 league games unbeaten record of Arsenal's Invincibles.
Liverpool's own unbeaten run ended here on 44 games. Watford thoroughly deserved their win, which moved them out of the danger zone on goal difference.
The Hornets were great right from the beginning and had more opportunities to score before half-time. It was only down to some superb heroics from Alisson in between the posts that prevented striker Troy Deeney from putting the hosts 1-0 ahead prior to period.
But the Hornets did not have to wait too much for all their efforts as they were rewarded 9 minutes into the 2nd half when Abdoulaye Doucoure squeezed in a cross from the left for the extremely impressive Ismaila Sarr to complete.
Liverpool had actually fallen behind to West Ham last week however still managed to grind out a 3-2 win, however in some way this time it seemed different as the Reds were careless in defending and had no bite in their attacks. So, it didn't come as a surprise when the Hornets got their 2nd score. It was Sarr once again as he was executed on goal by Will Hughes and the winger coolly chipped the ball over Alisson into the net.
It was 2-0 for Watford in the 60th minute of play. The writing was on the wall for Liverpool now. Captain Deeney finished a popular win for the Hornets, curling one into the back of the net from the edge of the line in the 72nd minute.
The Hammers in their 2-3 defeat showed that if teams assaulted the Liverpool defense then they stand a better possibility of upsetting them which was the case on Saturday as the Reds back line struggled to deal with the Hornets' high pressing.
The protective pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren looked vulnerable, compared to the relatively impenetrable Van Dijk-Joe Gomez partnership with Gomez out because of a fitness concern.
Current efficiencies have not been rather at the level Liverpool have been normally efficient in, losing to a resistant Atletico Madrid in the Champions League prior to scraping past West Ham last week.
When it comes to the Hornets, winger Sarr was a menace from the start, taking advantage of the surprising quantity of space he was paid for on the flank to deliver a number of harmful crosses.
His pace was too much the Reds, who were not able to handle him and both his scores came as a result of these qualities.
For Liverpool the defeat was cosmetic and will hardly stop them from winning the Premier League for the first time after 30 years. But it was a jolt, nonetheless.
In the middle of all the fanfare, the Hornets were dealt a severe blow entering into future trips with an injury sustained by one of the key forwards, Gerard Deulofeu.
Deulofeu needed to be carried off on a stretcher in the 32nd minute when he twisted his knee while trying a challenge on Virgil van Dijk.
There were scenes of delirious delight at the Vicarage Road stadium as loudspeakers roared the track ‘I simply can't get enough,' by Depeche Mode. Yes, the Watford faithful will desire more of this.
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