Liverpool’s supervisor Jurgen Klopp, left, and Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister rejoice on the finish of the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at City floor in Nottingham, England on March 2, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Exhausted, injury-hit and counting on a bunch of academy prospects, Liverpool continues to drag off victories within the business finish of Jurgen Klopp’s ultimate season in cost.
No English Premier League win by the Reds has been sealed as late because the one at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez got here off the bench and glanced dwelling a header within the ninth minute of stoppage time to sink Forest 1-0 and transfer Liverpool 4 factors clear.
It was a sixth straight win in all competitions for Liverpool — and a fourth in an 11-day span that included an extra-time victory over Chelsea within the English League Cup ultimate.
“If you’d told me 12 days ago we would win all four games, I would have said no chance — it was impossible,” stated Klopp, who can be leaving Liverpool on the finish of the season after practically 9 years.
“In the circumstances, winning the games is ridiculous.”
Second-placed Manchester City will look to revive the hole to Liverpool to 1 level by beating Manchester United at dwelling within the derby on Sunday. Then, subsequent for Liverpool and City within the league: A seismic assembly at Anfield on March 10.
Even although Liverpool’s accidents are relenting considerably, the likes of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones are nonetheless lacking. Klopp began 19-year-old Bobby Clark in midfield alongside redeployed defender Joe Gomez. Jayden Danns, an 18-year-old ahead, got here on as a second-half substitute for his league debut.
“What the boys have squeezed out was particular,” Klopp stated.
“This game didn’t go easy for us. We didn’t have a great rhythm and the boys felt the intensity for the first time.” There were angry scenes among Forest players and coaching staff after the final whistle, with even club owner Evangelos Marinakis coming down to the touchline to express his unhappiness and later approach referee Paul Tierney.
Eight minutes of time added on was officially awarded by the referee, which was perhaps the cause of Forest’s complaints along with unhappiness that the hosts did not get the ball back when play was stopped after Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate sustained a knock to the head at a Forest corner just before the goal.
Tierney blew with Forest in possession on the edge of Liverpool’s area. After Konate quickly recovered, Tierney dropped the ball to Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who then started the attack that eventually led to the goal.
“The law states that, if the referee is going to stop the game — which he is entitled to for a head injury — the ball has to go back to the team that has possession,” said Mark Clattenburg, a former Premier League referee who has become a referee analyst at Forest.
Arsenal, a point behind City in third, visits last-placed Sheffield United on Monday.
No love for Pochettino
Chelsea couldn’t give Mauricio Pochettino a victory on his 52nd birthday. Instead, the Argentine manager found himself at the receiving end of the ire of the fans in a 2-2 draw at Brentford.
When Yoane Wissa put Brentford 2-1 ahead with a spectacular overhead kick in the 69th, Chelsea’s away contingent began singing the name of former manager Jose Mourinho as well as calling for Pochettino to go.
“I was asked before if I feel the love from the fans — no,” Pochettino stated after the sport. “I’m not worried. We need to accept this relationship. You win your relationship through winning games.
“I will continue to work and try to change this perception. We need to manage some reality. We are working really hard to try to win games, the team is fighting.” The Blues rescued some extent via Axel Disasi’s header from Cole Palmer’s cross within the 83rd however there was little for them to rejoice, with the workforce languishing in eleventh place.
Battle for fourth
Aston Villa responded to Tottenham’s come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace by scoring an 89th-minute winner at Luton to stay in charge of the race for fourth place.
Lucas Digne headed in the clinching goal for Villa in a 3-2 win at Kenilworth Road after the visitors squandered a 2-0 lead.
Villa is in fourth place, five points above Tottenham but having played one game more.
Fifth spot could yet earn a Champions League qualification berth for next season, depending on English clubs’ record in European competitions in the upcoming months. Spurs are six points ahead of Man United in sixth.
Tottenham produced a dazzling spell of three goals in 11 second-half minutes against Palace after falling behind to Eberechi Eze’s curling free kick in the 59th.
Timo Werner — with his first goal for Tottenham — Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min netted for the hosts.
Ollie Watkins scored in the 24th and 38th minutes for Villa to move onto 16 goals in the league, behind only Man City’s Erling Haaland on 17. Third-from-last Luton replied with goals by Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris.
Other outcomes
There have been 3-0 dwelling wins for Newcastle and Fulham towards Wolverhampton and Brighton, respectively, whereas West Ham gained at Everton 3-1 thanks to 2 stoppage-time objectives.
Source: www.thehindu.com
