Watford 0-3 Liverpool - The Reds maintain their unbeaten record 13 games into the season - Match Review
Liverpool overcame Watford with a 0-3 victory to extend their unbeaten run making it 10 victories and 3 draws, the 8th best record in Premier League history. The clean sheet also saw them break a club record for fewest goals conceded at this stage of a league campaign. Despite the impressive run of games, they remain 2nd behind Manchester City who defeated West Ham 4-0 to remain 2 points ahead. Hot on their heels are Tottenham just 3 points behind after they ended Chelsea's unbeaten start with a 3-1 victory at Wembley that saw The Blues drop down to 4th.
There were suggestions that Klopp would rotate some of his star players ahead of the Champions League game on Wednesday but other than Lovren coming in for Gomez who'd picked up an injury ahead of the game there were no surprises as Klopp gave Watford complete respect and went with as strong of a lineup as he could. Watford had the ball in the back of the net after 2 minutes but Deulofeu was clearly offside and it was rightfully disallowed. About 5 minutes later they had another chance after a rare blooper from Alisson passing the ball out to Firmino who wasn't expecting gave Deulofeu another chance but the Spaniard didn't take it. Liverpool did settle down after that and took control of the game, although there was little end product with neither team managing a shot on target until 40 minutes into the game. Firmino fired off the first shot on target with a tame effort that was never worrying Foster before Watford responded by taking the ball up to the opposite end and forcing Alisson to make a great save from Pereyra. Just before the end of the half, Mo Salah had the best chance to open the scoring when he ghosted towards the back post unmarked from a Liverpool corner but while he connected well with the header, Ben Foster reacted brilliantly and managed to save it meaning both teams would go in for the half-time break with the game goalless.
It was not a great half and was even more disheartening to check the other games scorelines to see City 3-0 up in their game and reports that it could have easily have been more. But there were plenty of hopeful signs towards the end of the half that Liverpool was capable of scoring goals and the win would come. After 10 minutes of more control from Liverpool, they gave the ball away to Watford who instantly went on the attack with Hughes breaking into the box. He then went down following a challenge from Robertson and the home fans cried out for a penalty. But the referee had a decent view of the incident and waved it off. My initial reaction was that Liverpool dodged a bullet but having seen the replay I believe the referee made the correct decision.
Finally after 67 minutes of player Liverpool finally broke through the Watford backline and were able to finish the move off. Roberto Firmino played an excellent through ball to Mane who'd made a run down the left side of the penalty area and away from his marker. He then pulled it back to the feet of Mo Salah who made no mistake and tucked the ball into the net giving Liverpool the lead. Klopp brought on Milner for Shaqiri on the 75th minute and then just moments later Liverpool were awarded a free-kick 25 yards from goal that would have perfectly suited the Swiss international. However, there was little need to worry as Trent Alexander Arnold took responsibility and curled it beautifully around the wall and into the net with such pace that Foster could do nothing but watch it fly by. It was an excellently struck free-kick and Liverpool and within the space of 10 minutes Liverpool was ahead 0-2 and was much more comfortable.
After the 2nd goal, there was a moment of madness from Liverpool's captain Jordan Henderson. Henderson had not been having the best of games up to this point as it was, he had been booked on the 60th minute and then had committed another foul just minutes later and could be seen yelling at the ref throughout the game. On the 80th minute, he committed another foul and further engaged in what seemed like a heated exchange with the referee that went on for a couple of minutes. As the match resumed the play had switched to the opposite side of the field and Watford had possession around the halfway line, Henderson then dived into a challenge and brought down the player. It wasn't the worst tackle in history but it was a bookable offence and Henderson knew what was coming as he proceeded to leave the pitch immediately, even before the referee had a chance to show the red card. I cannot really explain what came over him but it left Liverpool to defend for the remaining 6 minutes + injury time with 10 men and suddenly the 0-2 lead seemed less safe.
Watford seemed fired up with the extra man and began to put Liverpool under pressure and had a good opportunity to pull a goal back but Pereyra's effort went wide. Watford throwing more men forward did leave them open for a counter attack and that is just what happened. Following a corner, Wijnaldum battled hard to regain possession and played the ball forward for Andy Robertson to chase. The Scotsman, never one to turn down the opportunity to sprint forward did just that managing to get to the ball just before Capoue's challenge put it out of play. He stormed into the box and played the ball back to Sadio Mane in the centre, he struck it well but his shot was saved by Foster. The threat wasn't over though as the ball fell to Firmino inside the 6-yard box and the Brazil striker nodded it in past the keeper to extend the lead to 0-3 and really seal the deal for Liverpool.
It turned into a really exciting game in the 2nd half and with 3 superb goals, Liverpool kept the pressure on the leaders who seem to be destroying everyone that crosses their path at the moment. Liverpool's forwards are slowly getting better as they grow more used to the new system and the back 5 lead by Virgil van Dijk are keeping things locked down tight at the back and I am convinced that they can maintain this run of form right through the season and have a great chance at lifting the title. However, they turn their attention to the Champions League for their next match as they visit PSG in their Group C game.
easy win for Pool