Liverpool has booked a big victory on Saturday afternoon at Brighton & Hove Albion. It became 1-5 against the team of Davy Pröpper and that meant the biggest victory for the Reds since February 2016, when Aston Villa was beaten with 0-6. Tottenham Hotspur spilled ten points at Watford (1-1), while Sam Allardyce had a successful debut as a trainer for Everton against Huddersfield Town: 2-0.
Brighton & Hove Albion – Liverpool 1-5 In a short space of time, Liverpool put an end to Brighton’s dreams. After both teams had created little for half an hour, and Liverpool had most of the ball possession, it suddenly stood 0-2 through Emre Can and Roberto Firmino goals. Emre nodded after a turning out corner kick from Philippe Coutinho and the Brazilian also gave the assistance at the second goal. A measured pass after a lightning speed counter enabled Roberto Firmino to work into the second pole.
After rest, Firmino struck again. Liverpool was out soon after a crucial rescue of Simon Mignolet and Mohamed Salah found the Brazilian, for whom it was a breeze to decide the match apparently. However, Brighton was given a chance from nowhere to do something back, after a bizarre decision by arbitrator Graham Scott. There was hardly any contact between Jordan Henderson and Shane Duffy, but Glenn Murray was allowed to make 1-3 of them from the spot. A skillful, low free kick from Coutinho meant the 1-4 and the Brazilian also led to Lewis Dunk’s own goal.
Watford – Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Watford – Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Winning Vicarage Road was necessary to prevent Tottenham from dropping out even further. Yet it was Watford, incidentally with Daryl Janmaat on the bank, who was in charge. Tom Cleverley provided a corner on the head of Christian Kabasele, who retreated his guards and hit head in the far corner. Tottenham responded well to the counterpoint and soon came back alongside again. After a flawless assistance from Christian Eriksen from the right flank, the Asiatic Footballer of the Year Heung-Min Son touched him up close.
A red card for Davinson Sánchez made the assignment a lot more difficult for the visitors. Referee Martin Atkinson saw the defender handing out an elbow bout to Richarlison and sent Sánchez off the field. Watford wanted to take advantage of the numerical dominance and put pressure on Tottenham. For example, a fire arrow by Abdoulaye Doucouré splashed up on the pole. The home team, with Marvin Zeegelaar within the lines, couldn’t make things difficult enough for the visitors and therefore it stayed 1-1.
Everton – Huddersfield Town 2-0 Davy Klaassen undoubtedly hoped for a new chance under the new trainer Allardyce, but that did not happen. The midfielder was not part of Everton’s competition selection, which, via his compatriot Cuco Martina, made the first shot at goal after 24 minutes. Goalkeeper Jonas Lössl reversed the stakes. It was not a spectacular first half, but after rest, Everton was able to make a difference. Gylfi Sigurdsson found the lower corner after a helipad of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and the assistant himself determined the final position according to Wayne Rooney’s instructions.
Leicester City – Burnley 1-0 Leicester quickly took the initiative and after a good rescue of Nick Pope for a commitment by Riyad Mahrez, Demarai Gray was able to achieve the opening success in the rebound. Burnley then went into the chase and through Chris Wood and Johann Gudmundsson got nice chances on the equalizer, while Mahrez met Pope again just before resting. After the break, the game continued to wavy up and down and Gudmundsson had another good chance to equalize the stand. On the other side, Pope Marc Albrighton held off the scoring, while the pole stood in the way of the second hit for Gray.
Stoke City – Swansea City 2-1 Wilfried Bony didn’t score in the Premier League for Saturday, but didn’t need much time to hurt his old team. After three minutes, the former Vitessenaar was in the right place to promote a cross by Martin Olsson as a goal. Stubborn re-packed, however, and thanks to Xherdan Shaqiri and Mame Diouf, it took a lead in quietness. After the break, Swansea didn’t succeed any more in making it really difficult for the home team and the best chance was still for Stoke. Because Diouf targeted a header just next to it, however, he was no longer scored.
West Bromwich Albion – Crystal Palace 0-0, where Jairo Riedewald was once again allowed to sit on the bench, could get the same level as the Baggies in a win at West Bromwich Albion but had to leave the first chances to the home team. Hal Robson-Kanu and Ahmed Hegazy, however, did not have a sharp eye and on the other side, Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha were not very happy either. After a break, Sam Field and Jay Rodriguez West Brom still thought they could help at the three points, but because their shots didn’t hit a goal, they shot at a spectacle stand.
Is Liverpool ending at the top three?
