Reds Drop 2 Points In PL Opener

Sports - Football - Premier League - WFC 3:3 LFC

Liverpool's all too familiar defensive frailties showed as they dropped two points in an entertaining 3-3 draw at Watford in the early kick-off on Saturday.

Manager Marco Silva will have been very happy seeing his side fight out a draw with some great stamina and character in his debut match at Vicarage Road.

The home side took an early lead after eight minutes thanks to Italian striker Stefano Okaka's header and the Reds' non-existent defence.

Red forward Sadio Mané levelled the score with just under half an hour gone, a moment of brilliance, a fantastic diagonal finish from inside the box into the top right corner of the net.

But not even three minutes later, youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold was unable to clear and French midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré put the Hornets ahead again ruthlessly.

Man of the match Roberto Firmino's penalty kick levelled the score again shortly after the break, sending the keeper the wrong way to make it 2-2.

And it was debutant Mohamed Salah again, minutes after winning the penalty, who pounced and tapped one in to give Jürgen Klopp's men the lead for the first time, 2-3.

The visitors pushed and dominated from there, Joel Matip hit the bar and Dejan Lovren forced a good save out of Heurelho Gomes, before Simon Mignolet made a crucial save, conceding a corner late on.

And it was that set piece that broke Liverpool once again, headed over the line by Uruguayan defender Miguel Britos after the Red keeper had gloved it, making it 3-3 in the 93rd minute.

Thoughts: Clumsy, cringy goals, but they all count!

Some argued the latter two Watford goals should have been flagged and disallowed offside.

I feel it still doesn't cover how Liverpool were torn to bits at the back, Mignolet just left picking up the pieces.

The Reds have a great, hungry, dangerous attack at the front, but are all worthless and cracked to bits with the defence unable to do their job.

No one covered the opposition players, they were left free to roam.

By the time any one even just thought of intervening, it was too late.

Familiar failings by the Reds, even Klopp didn't show any reaction at the late enqualiser.

And of course Philippe Coutinho was the hot topic after his transfer request was rejected on Friday, not even 24 hours before kick-off.

Will he stay? Will he go? Yes or no, before or after, the Reds knew before and know after which positions need filling and strengthening... And the transfer window is open till end of the month... So... A lot can still happen...!!!

Anyhow, anyway, this was a faire result for Silva and Co, who worked hard and didn't deserve to lose, denying the Reds their fifth consecutive season opening win!

And there is not much rest for the Reds, as they face Hoffenheim in their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday.

Watford Goals: Okaka 8', Doucouré 32', Britos 90'+3.

Liverpool Goals: Mané 29', Firmino pen 55', Salah 57'.

Watford Team: 1 Gomes, 2 Janmaat (21 Femenía Far 18'), 4 Kaboul, 3 Britos, 25 Holebas, 8 Cleverley, 16 Doucouré, 14 Chalobah, 7 Amrabat, 33 Okaka (18 Gray 63'), 37 Pereyra (11 de Andrade 49').
Subs not used: 5 Prödl, 23 Watson, 29 Capoue, 30 Pantilimon.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet (booked 88'), 66 Alexander-Arnold (booked 61') (12 Gomez 90+1'), 32 Matip, 6 Lovren, 18 Moreno, 23 Can, 14 Henderson, 5 Wijnaldum, 11 Salah (7 Milner 86'), 9 Firmino (27 Origi 81'), 19 Mané (booked 37').
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 16 Grujic, 17 Klavan, 29 Solanke.

Match Stats: WFC 3-3 LFC
Possession: 46%-54%
Shots: 9-14
On target: 4-5
Corners: 3-3
Fouls: 14-8
Yellow cards: 0-3

Referee: Anthony Taylor
Man of the match: Roberto Firmino
Ground: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 20,407

Click here to read my previous LFC match report.

Pictures, facts and stats taken from the MOTD coverage and BBC match report.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 35

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 35

The 35th week of the Premier League action saw:
264 shots - most by Man City = 22
16 goals - most by Chelsea = 3
212 fouls - most by Arsenal = 15
42 bookings - most by Chelsea, Boro & Man City = 4 each
0 red cards
4 penalties - 3 scored (Rooney for United, Agüero for Man City, Kane for Tottenham)

What a game! Sunday's action awoke everyone out of their Saturday trance. The four games saw eleven goals, whilst the five matches the day before recorded a dire four goals! The two Super Sunday 14:05 kick-offs served cracking second halves, seemingly synchronising some of the action and goals, it was difficult to keep up. Chelsea took Everton apart 0-3 at Goodison Park, whilst Man City left Middlesbrough furious fighting out a 2-2 draw at the Riverside.

What a team! The last Super Sunday fixture was the London derby which saw Tottenham beat Arsenal 2-0 at White Hart Lane, proving they deserve to be where they are, way above their bitter rivals. It will be the first time in 22 years Spurs will finish above the Gunners, or shall I say Goners! I loved the Lane's signs and chants... "Please mind the gap"... "Wenger, we want you to stay"... Lol! It could have been a much worse thrash if it weren't for a certain Czech keeper...

What a man! ... Petr Čech! Arsenal were down and out of the game and race to compete with Tottenham, bad enough as it was, but their stopper spared them from a much worse thrashing! The 34-year-old made some superb saves, blocks and stops, denying Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen. Jamie Vardy made it 9 in 13 for Leicester, his clinical right foot seeing the Foxes leave the Hawthorns 0-1 victors. Simon Mignolet is another keeper worth mentioning, keeping a clean sheet...

What a goal! ... After Emre Can's acrobatic cracker of a goal put Liverpool ahead against Watford. The German midfielder stunned everyone at Vicarage Road, meeting Lucas Leiva's cross with a beautiful right-footed overhead-kick into the left corner, giving goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes no chance. It's his fifth goal of the season, which lit up an otherwise ordinary game and kept his side in control of their Champions League qualification. Click here for my full LFC match report.

What the hell?! The referees were useless again this weekend! Burnley had a second goal disallowed at Crystal Palace, and rightly so as replays showed Ashley Barnes handled the ball in. But the officials didn't present or explain themselves very well. Video evidence would have cleared up things much better and quicker. Even worse at Old Trafford and the Riverside, both Manchester sides winning questionable soft penalties, Spurs too at the Emirates, where replays showed their players were diving and whining and making the most out of nothing! And they call themselves men! I've said it before and I will say it again, why oh why can replays not be used to name and shame and caution if not even suspend the right people! Oh, and the referees should be rated and penalised for their poor shows as well!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Southampton 2:1 Hull City - 0:0
Stoke City 2:1 West Ham - 0:0
Sunderland 0:0 Bournemouth - 0:1
West Brom 1:2 Leicester - 0:1
Crystal Palace 1:0 Burnley - 0:2
Man United 2:1 Swansea - 1:1
Everton 2:1 Chelsea - 0:3
Middlesbrough 0:2 Man City - 2:2
Tottenham 3:1 Arsenal - 2:0
Watford 2:1 Liverpool - 0:1 or click here for my full LFC match report

Games in hand played before the weekend (not predicted):
Arsenal 1:0 Leicester (thanks to Huth OG, lucky Gunners!)
Crystal Palace 0:1 Tottenham (their 8th win in a row!)
Middlesbrough 1:0 Sunderland (de Roon's 1st goal in 2017!)
Man City 0:0 Man United (Fellaini sent off for a head butt!)

Not much missed, just 3 goals in the 4 games, 81 shots, 92 fouls, 20 bookings and one sending off! You know it's been a bad display when fouls outnumber shots!

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks Of The Week.

All pictures and stats taken from the BBC match reports and MOTD.