Liverpool did themselves a good service in the Premier League on Wednesday evening. The Reds when they visited Sheffield United, goals from Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai were enough: 0-2. Van Dijk scored from a corner kick by Trent Alexander-Arnold. With the victory, Liverpool reduces the gap with Arsenal, who won at Luton Town on Tuesday, to two points (36 to 34).
Jürgen Klopp decided to change his team in several places in contrast to last weekend's 4-3 home win against Fulham. For example, Ryan Gravenberch lost his starting place and Darwin Núñez also had to sit on the bench.
For the home team, Chris Wilder did the honors, who took over from the dismissed Paul Heckingbottom this week. The latter had the dubious honor of being the first Premier League coach to be fired this season.
Wilder watched from the bench as his team started the match brutally and scored the first big chance. After a fumble by Joe Gomez, James McAtee was given the opportunity to open the scoring. However, his left-footed effort was saved by goalkeeper CaoimhÃn Kelleher.
In the remainder of the first half, most of the danger came from the visitors, with Alexander-Arnold always at the starting line with sharply cut corner kicks. The recipe provided ten minutes before half time until Van Dijk's opening goal.
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The Liverpool captain opens the scoring in the match against Sheffield United! ????#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball #PremierLeague #Liverpool #VirgilVanDijk pic.twitter.com/GntnOy9eC7— Viaplay Sport Nederland (@viaplaysportnl) December 6, 2023
The central defender freed himself from his direct opponent and then enjoyed complete freedom to shoot the 0-1 against the ropes. A few minutes later, the Dutch international was found again by Alexander-Arnold, but this time he headed just over. The last achievement of the first half, a shot from Alexis Mac Allister, was tapped over the goal.
In the second act the entertainment value was significantly lower and both teams became only marginally dangerous to the enemy goal. The highlight came from goalkeeper Wesley Foderingham, who catlikely tapped Mohamed Salah's effort over the goal.
Klopp decided five minutes before the end to bring Gravenberch in for Gakpo. The former Ajax player almost saw teammate Ibrahima Konaté make a mistake with a push in the back at McAtee, but referee Simon Hooper thought it was not enough for a penalty.
When the game then seemed to be heading for a minimal victory for Klopp's team, Szoboszlai doubled the score in the final minutes. The Hungarian was served by Núñez and played devastatingly in the short corner: 0-2.
| No. | Team | M | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 36 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 34 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 32 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 30 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 27 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 26 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 25 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 21 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 19 |
| 11 | Brentford | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 19 |
| 12 | Fulham | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | -5 | 18 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton W. | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | -5 | 18 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | -7 | 16 |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | -12 | 16 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -11 | 13 |
| 17 | Luton Town | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | -14 | 9 |
| 18 | Everton | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 7 |
| 19 | Burnley | 15 | 2 | 1 | 12 | -18 | 7 |
| 20 | Sheffield United | 15 | 1 | 2 | 12 | -30 | 5 |