Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 10:04 PM• Chris Meijer

After four league defeats in a row, Liverpool have once again managed to win. The reigning champion of England won with Georginio Wijnaldum in the starting eleven at Bramall Lane 0-2 against Sheffield United, with goals from Curtis Jones and Roberto Firmino. Liverpool now occupies sixth place in the Premier League, although close pursuers Everton and Tottenham Hotspur still have matches to play.

Prior to the visit to the Premier League back-to-back, Liverpool had lost six of the last nine Premier League games, as many as in the previous 100 league matches. The first big chances of the game were for Liverpool, via Firmino, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah. Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, however, kept Sheffield United going and saved five times in the first half, which is his highest number of saves in a half of a Premier League game.

At the same time, Liverpool were lucky that there was no deficit on the scoreboard after the first half, as Ozan Kabak’s own goal was canceled due to Oliver McBurnie’s offside. After the break, Liverpool quickly managed to put things in order. With 48 minutes left on the clock Curtis Jones managed to open the score. A cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold was poorly cleared, so that the ball fell at the feet of the young midfielder and from that position he made no mistake. At 20 years and 29 days old, Jones is the youngest player since Raheem Sterling (20 years, 18 days) to score a Premier League goal for Liverpool in an away game.

Just under ten minutes later, Firmino closed the game. After several over several discs in the small space managed to find the shot within the penalty area, he saw his attempt hit the ropes through the leg of a Sheffield United defender. It was Liverpool’s seven-thousandth goal at the highest level and the Reds know as the second club – after city rivals Everton – to demolish that special milestone. In the final phase, Liverpool had an opportunity to run further through Salah, among others, but in the 0-2 score there was no change anymore.