Liverpool settled with Watford on Saturday afternoon at their own Anfield. The Reds didn’t play great, but still managed to get the points fairly easily: 2-0. Liverpool catapult themselves to the top of the Premier League with the win, two points ahead of pursuers Manchester City. The Citizens will still be in action later in the day, visiting Wout Weghorst’s Burnley. Watford is pushed even deeper into relegation worries with the defeat. The team has three points less than the virtually safe Everton and has played no fewer than three more games.
Jürgen Klopp opted for the usual names in defense, except for Joe Gomez. The Englishman played as regular right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has only just returned from injury. In midfield, Curtis Jones got the chance from Klopp alongside captain Henderson and Thiago. The attacking trio consisted of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota. Sadio Mane therefore started on the bench, which Klopp attributed to the international matches.
The decision in the match ?????
Fabinho blasts into the 2-0 from 11 yards after Diogo Jota is most obviously knocked down??#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #LIVWAT pic.twitter.com/8wSYeDjbNv— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Apr 2, 2022
Liverpool got off to a rough start, made many passing errors and took little initiative. It was therefore Watford with the first big chance. Juraj Kucka was sent for Alisson Becker by João Pedro, but the midfielder produced a slide that was nicely parried by the Brazilian. Half a minute later it was on the other side. Joe Gomez was played on the wing by Henderson and passed the ball with precision to the head of Diogo Jota, who headed in the opening goal. Fifteen minutes later, Liverpool seemed to make it 2-0 when a long shot from Andy Robertson after a deflected corner ended up at Diogo Jota via a Liverpool leg. The Portuguese saw his chance to score a second goal, but ran into an alert Ben Foster.
In the second half, Liverpool scored almost immediately after Gomez had another flawless cross in his legs. However, the ball was headed away at the last minute by Christian Kabasele, which prevented Robertson from getting a cross. Ten minutes later Watford had a huge chance to equalize. Hernandez was passed by Sarr and tried to curl the ball around Alisson. However, his shot went millimeters wide. Five minutes before the end, the redemption for Liverpool came in the form of a penalty. Kucka brought Jota to the ground on a corner kick from Henderson with a kind of rugby tackle. The match continued until VAR referee Stuart Atwell came over to watch the moment. Atwell didn’t hesitate for a moment and pointed to the dot. The allocated penalty was impeccably shot in by Fabinho, who secured the victory for Liverpool.