Liverpool beaten at last
LIVERPOOL’S dreams of an unbeaten Premier League season were dashed at the weekend by the unlikely source of lowly Watford who were comfortable 3-0 winners at Vicarage Road. Watford are probably not the prettiest side in the division, but their physicality and heart are never in doubt and this proved the case against a nervous looking Liverpool. Although things were level at half time the Hornets had looked the livelier team and three second half goals in quarter of an hour, two from Sarr and one from captain Troy Deeney, resulted in Liverpool’s first top-flight defeat in an astonishing 423 days.
Despite this setback, even the most pessimistic fans cannot see The Reds surrendering a 22 point lead over nearest rivals Manchester City, who added to their silverware on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup. Villa gave a good account of themselves at Wembley but will have been concerned that all their closest relegation rivals took points, three each for Norwich, Watford and West Ham with Bournemouth drawing. Brighton however have been dragged back into things with a home loss to Crystal Palace and there are probably only six teams now realistically in danger of the drop. In the fight for European places Wolves leapfrogged Spurs with a 3-2 win at their rival’s ground while Leicester will be looking over their shoulders after their defeat by Norwich. Chelsea and Manchester United both drew and now occupy fourth and fifth place respectively, with fifth possibly being good enough for a Champions League spot depending on the result of the Man City appeal against their Euro ban.
