Premier League Picks Of The Week 15

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 15

The 15th week of the Premier League action saw:

27 goals - most by Liverpool = 5
257 shots - most by Arsenal = 33
91 on target - most by Arsenal = 16
106 corners - most by Arsenal = 12
189 fouls - most by Watford = 16
30 yellow cards - most by Watford = 4
2 red cards - Sanchez for Tottenham, Pogba for United
2 penalties - 2 scored (Hazard for Chelsea, Murray for Brighton)

What a game! Arsenal suffered their first home defeat at the Emirates since January, losing 1-3 against 10-man Manchester United. The Gunners fell two goals behind after 11 minutes and couldn't recover after those errors, no matter what they threw at the Red Devils. The defeat sees Arsène Wenger's men drop out of the Champions League qualification places to fifth. More to the fiery encounter below.
Watford were unlucky just to get a point against Tottenham, referee Martin Atkinson not making (m)any friends at Vicarage Road. Less than a minute after the home side felt Richarlison was fouled, but nothing was given, Son Heung-min levelled the score from the counter. Christian Kabasele had headed the Hornets ahead from a corner and the home side fought hard to stay in the match. Too hard and physical according to some, but the officials ignored all appeals and calls on both sides. Mauricio Pochettino felt it was long overdue for some decisions to go his side's way, avoiding any further word about Davinson Sánchez's red card for an elbow. Spurs have now gone four league matches without a win, unable to deal with Marco Silva's side's fighting spirit.

What a team! Man City are still topping the lot with an eight-point cushion - next weekend's derby is going to be interesting! The odds on an 8-0 win to the league leaders against West Ham were lower than the visitors nicking a 0-1 win at the Etihad, which said it all!!! But the Hammers started so well and worked so hard though and got a surprise lead in the first half thanks to Angelo Ogbonna's header. However, it was no surprise they got knackered and leaked the goals in the end, Nicolás Otamendi (57') and David Silva (83') handing the Citizens their record-equalling 13th PL win in a row in Pep time.
Crystal Palace have moved off the bottom of the table for the first time this season and have been replaced by Swansea after the Welsh side's 2-1 defeat at Stoke. Mark Hughes was a very relieved man seeing his side showing much more "courage and character" as he put it after the Potters recorded their first win since October, first home win since September. The pressure is up and going more and more against Paul Clement. Despite failing to score for the 10th away game in a row for the first time since Manchester City in 1950, the Eagles were happy with the point at West Brom, Alan Pardew full of praise for his side too.
Huddersfield are sliding down the table, Everton making it two wins and six goals in two games and Big Sam very happy after his first match in charge beating the Tigers 2-0 at Goodison Park.

What a man! Man of the match at the Emirates David de Gea made the most saves in a single match in Premier League history = 14, including a breathtaking double-save against Alexandre Lacazette and Alexis Sánchez. 33 attempts made by the home side, 16 on target, but just one goal to show for on the scoreboard. José Mourinho's side produced just 8 shots, 4 on target, but 3 goals meant 3 points. It was a thriller and a very harsh lesson to the London side, despite having the extra man for the last 15ish minutes after Paul Pogba was sent off for a dangerous tackle.
Man of the Match at Stamford Bridge Eden Hazard made a big difference for Chelsea as the Blues came back from a goal down to beat Newcastle 3-1 at Stamford Bridge. The former Premier League Player of the Year levelled the score with an angled strike and sealed the win from the spot after striker Álvaro Morata had given the Blues the lead. This result made it ten wins for Antonio Conte's side in the league, whilst Rafael Benítez's Magpies have seen no wins in the last six and been dragged down to 15th, 5 points from the drop zone.

What a goal! All FIVE Liverpool goals just over-rolled Brighton... Great team play, counter attacking, running, passing, smashing. Mohamed Salah wasn't on the scoreboard for a change but was more than involved. The Egyptian has played part in 15 goals in the first 15 PL games for Liverpool, more than any other player for the club (12 goals, 3 assists). Man of the match Philippe Coutinho's cheeky low free kick that went under the wall made it four and settled any nerves and fears of a comeback like Sevilla in the Champions League. And unlucky Lewis Dunk put the ball into his own net it sealed the deal 1-5 at the Amex Stadium. The Brighton defender is only one away from Martin Škrtel's record for the season (= 4 in 2013/14). The Reds meanwhile have moved into the top four of the Premier League for the first time since August after scoring 15 goals in their past four away games in all competitions. BOOM!

What the hell?! There were lots of questionable refereeing decisions once again, as (some) mentioned above... Penalties... Bookings... Red cards... The inconsistencies are just mad! I could fill books with all the errors (and arguments FOR video reviews and WHY THE HELL they still haven't been introduced)! Bournemouth defender Adam Smith said in the post-match interview referee Jonathan Moss admitted his booking for diving was a mistake instead of a giving a penalty - too little too late as the game against Southampton ended 1-1!!! And as it is Cherry's fifth yellow card of the season he will be suspended for the next game. It's ridiculous that it cannot be retracted. It is rare an official so openly concedes a mistake, so, something should be done!!!
And a little LOL to cheer up and finish things off: I loved Gary Lineker's MOTD running order prank on Twitter, LMAO!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Chelsea 4:1 Newcastle - 3:1
Brighton 1:3 Liverpool - 1:5
Everton 3:0 Huddersfield - 2:0
Leicester 1:1 Burnley - 1:0
Stoke City 2:1 Swansea - 2:1
Watford 2:1 Tottenham - 1:1
West Brom 0:0 Crystal Palace - 0:0
Arsenal 2:1 Man United - 1:3
Bournemouth 2:1 Southampton - 1:1
Man City 6:0 West Ham - 2:1

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and SFR live match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 14

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 14

The 14th week of the Premier League action saw:

32 goals - most by Arsenal = 5
237 shots - most by Man City = 26
91 on target - most by Man City = 12
113 corners - most by Chelsea = 15
207 fouls - most by Everton = 16
22 yellow cards - most by Liverpool = 5
0 red cards
3 penalties - 1 scored (Troy Deeney for Watford, Wayne Rooney for Everton denied by Joe Hart, Manuel Lanzini for West Ham denied by Jordan Pickford)

What a game! Leicester condemned Tottenham to their fourth defeat of the season already. Jamie Vardy's cheeky opener, his 100th league goal, and Riyad Mahrez's curling beauty from the edge of the box were enough for the home side to grab the three points. Harry Kane pulled one back, too little too late though. It's the first time since 2001/02 the Foxes beat Spurs at home, their final game at Filbert Street.
What a comeback it was by Newcastle at the Hawthorns from two goals down, set pieces costing managerless West Brom two goals and two points, seeing them miss the chance of a first league win since August thanks to Ciaran Clark pulling one back and Jonny Evans' late own goal. No such comeback by Watford... José Mourinho's men led 3-0 thanks to Ashley Young's double and Anthony Martial's cool finish, until the 77th minute, when the Hornets hit two back in quick succession, Troy Deeney from the spot and Abdoulaye Doucouré from close range. But too many too good too strong goals, especially Jesse Lingard's stunning fourth, and display by Manchester United meant it ended 2-4 at Vicarage Road keeping the Red Devils in the race, ish, 8 points behind the Citizens. More to them below...

What a team! Arsenal downed Huddersfield, dancing all over and through the visitors again and again, scoring three goals in 3:58 second-half minutes, bringing the total thrash to 5-0 at full time at the Emirates. Olivier Giroud's double and Mesut Özil scoring one and providing two were just a couple of their shining stars. The win and rivals Spurs' defeat takes the Gunners up to fourth, one point behind Chelsea in third, Arsène Wenger doing his best and very well at the moment to keep a big smile against his doubters and local rivals.
And Manchester City just look unbeatable, more to their win below, equalling the top flight record for points after 14 games = 40 points, level with Spurs of 1960-61 (with 3 points for a win), EIGHT POINTS ahead of rivals Manchester United in second, as mentioned above. It will take more than a miracle/disaster to see anyone knock them off the top!

What a man! Wayne Rooney’s hat-trick came 2,272 days after his last (10th September 2011) – the longest gap between two hat-tricks by a player in Premier League history. The Evertonian bossed the show against his former boss David Moyes netting a hat-trick despite getting denied from the spot, penny for either man's thoughts... The third one was a one-touch smacker from the halfway line beating Joe Hart off his line after an attempted clearance. Wow! Ashley Williams made it 4-0 to complete the first perfect match David Unsworth hasn't conceded two or more goals, taking the Toffees up to 13th. Sam Allardyce will be more than happy to take over from here after watching that from the stands at Goodison Park. Moyes' record against his former side looks more than miserable: Played 5, lost 5, scored 0, conceded 12.
Mohamed Salah came off the bench to net two adding to Sadio Mané's opener and make it 0-3 for Liverpool at Stoke and 17 goals for him so far this season. Double wow. The win took the Reds up to 5th. More to that match below...

What a goal! There were so many crackers, as already listed and described above! Burnley impressed once again producing beauty after beauty, a tap in by Chris Wood after lovely team play and slasher into the right corner by Robbie Brady, to overtake Tottenham and go 6th in the table!!! Joshua King did pull one back for Bournemouth, but Sean Dyche's men held on 1-2 at the King Power Stadium making Eddie Howe the 25th different manager to lose a Premier League game on his birthday.
Southampton's leveller at the Etihad was boom bang whack off a corner, Sofiane Boufal from the left to Oriol Romeu, that's how it's done, 1-1 at league leaders City. But Raheem Sterling topped that in the 95:03 minute of five minutes added on, right-footed curler from the edge of the box to make it 2-1 and three points for the Citizens. That means the former Liverpool man has scored a match winner in the 84th minute or later for the third time in a row for Pep Guardiola's men. Triple wow! It's Pep Time.

What the hell?! Just a booking was a lucky escape for Simon Mignolet after his late tackle on last man Mame Biram Diouf who was ahead of Joe Gomez which made it an open goal scoring opportunity. But was he last? Jürgen Klopp didn't think so... I'm sure the crazy German would have gone mental if it would have happened on the other side! It's all going against Stoke City at the moment, Mark Hughes feeling hard done-by, harsh decisions and scorelines, the defeat dragging the Potters down to 16th, 3 points away from the drop zone.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte apologised to referee Neil Swarbrick after being sent to the stands for protesting to the officials who denied his side a corner. Ridiculous. It wasn't a major decision, like a goal or penalty or sending off (like Mignolet's), just a corner! His side dominated, 10-0 shots on target, and ended up beating Swansea, just about, 1-0 thanks to defender Antonio Rüdiger's header. Not a game to brag or rant about really...

My Predictions - Actual Results
Brighton 1:0 Crystal Palace - 0:0
Leicester 1:2 Tottenham - 2:1
Watford 1:3 Man United - 2:4
West Brom 1:2 Newcastle - 2:2
Arsenal 2:0 Huddersfield - 5:0
Bournemouth 1:2 Burnley - 1:2
Chelsea 4:1 Swansea - 1:0
Everton 2:2 West Ham - 4:0
Man City 3:0 Southampton - 2:1
Stoke City 1:1 Liverpool - 0:3

Click here for last weekend's Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and SFR coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 13

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 13

The 13th week of the Premier League action saw:

22 goals - most by Southampton = 4
221 shots - most by Tottenham = 24
62 on target - most by Palace, Bournemouth, Tottenham, Man City & Everton = 5 each
92 corners - most by Tottenham & Chelsea = 8 each
199 fouls - most by Swansea = 18
27 yellow cards - Swansea & West Brom = 4 each
1 red card - van La Parra for Huddersfield
2 penalties - 2 scored (Sánchez for Arsenal, Agüero for Man City)

What a game! David Moyes claimed his first point as Hammers boss thanks to Cheikhou Kouyaté's headed equaliser off a corner after Marc Albrighton's early opener for the Foxes. Claude Puel has a win, two draws and one defeat in his four City games. The Friday night draw showed both sides' weaknesses, West Ham staying in the bottom three whilst Leicester remain in the bottom half. More below.
Jürgen Klopp surprised everyone with the Liverpool line-up against Chelsea in the late kick-off on Saturday. But it was less of a surprise seeing the full-time scoreboard, Mohamed Salah giving the Reds the lead with his 15th goal of the season and Willian grabbing a late equaliser that was definitely an intended cross that fluked its way in over Simon Mignolet and nicked a point for the Blues. Both sides created and gave away a lot of chances. Deja vue for the home side to throw away a lead, click here to read my full LFC match report. But with this draw, Liverpool have only lost two of their last 34 home games in the Premier League. Boom.

What a team! Huddersfield and Burnley were up for it on Sunday, unlucky to lose against Manchester City and Arsenal respectively. Sergio Agüero and Raheem Sterling completed the comeback for the league leaders after the Terriers were ahead thanks to a Nicolás Otamendi own goal to make it eleven consecutive wins for Pep Guardiola's men and take them eight points clear at the top. Clarets boss Sean Dyche was left fuming after Alexis Sánchez netted a very soft injury-time penalty at Turf Moor. It was the third consecutive time the Gunners had grabbed a stoppage time winner against Burnley, this one taking them back into the top four.
At the other end of the table, Everton continued their poor form after being taken apart 4-1 at Southampton. Caretaker manager David Unsworth took responsibility saying "things have to change quickly", the Toffees having won just once in seven under him, staying stuck in 16th, just two points clear of the relegation zone.

What a man! Former Derby midfielder Will Hughes has scored in back-to-back league games for the first time in his career giving Watford the lead at Newcastle with a lovely finish. B(l)oom! DeAndre Yedlin diverted the ball into his own net to add to the Magpies' misery before the break. And Andre Gray sealed the deal making it 0-3 with just under half an hour to go. It could have been 5 or 6 or 7 by then. Rafael Benítez's men were well and truly beaten, broken, too open at the back, suffering their fourth successive defeat. No discrediting Marco Silva's side, just wow! They have won more away league points in their seven matches this season (13) than they did in all 19 games on the road last season (12). Impressive.
A great double-save by Brighton keeper Mathew Ryan at Old Trafford denied Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku just before the break and kept his side in the game and United disappointed and frustrated. The Seagulls impressed at the back and front, fighting and surprising the Red Devils. It took an evil deflection off Lewis Dunk to see Ashley Young's powerful shot from just outside the box into the top right corner to break the stubborn deadlock. Lucky. Harsh on Brighton who did so well, even José Mourinho conceded that much in the post-match interview. But that's football. It takes United's unbeaten run at home to 39 games in all competitions, the last defeat being against Man City in September 2017, 441 days ago!!!

What a goal! Swansea's Wilfried Bony was not a happy man seeing his low curler into the bottom corner disallowed just before the break as referee Stuart Attwell felt Jordan Ayew fouled Bournemouth defender Nathan Aké in the build-up. Harsh. Softer than soft. It stayed goalless and luckless for the Swans. More to that match below.
West Brom's opener at Tottenham was an odd one, Salomón Rondón taking advantage rolling the ball into the far corner, beating a sleepy defence early on in the game (4'). The managerless side defended well, keeping Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen oh so quiet in the first half. A penny for Tony Pulis' thoughts at half time... Kane spoilt the upset equalising with a simple touch through Ben Foster's legs. With that leveller, the striker has scored 40 goals for Spurs in 2017 and been involved in 100 Premier League goals in his 128 league games - 87 goals, 13 assists. Wow. Still, a point is a point, not bad for the visitors at Wembley, Mauricio Pochettino going as far as saying the draw took his side out of the title race. Ouch.
And Crystal Palace were made to rue Christian Benteke's miss, Xherdan Shaqiri powering past three defenders before firing the ball in to give Stoke the lead at Selhurst Park. But not for long as 2:31 minutes later, Ruben Loftus-Cheek tapped in the equaliser at the far post as the Potters forgot how to defend. An action-packed couple of minutes in not the most entertaining nor top-quality game... Mamadou Sakho nicked a last-minute winner for Roy Hodgson's hard-working men, only their second win of the season, closing the gap from the bottom to safety. It's Palace's first 90th minute winner at home in the PL since Clinton Morrison against Sheffield Wednesday in May 1998. Rare. But deserved.

What the hell?! How did Ryan Shawcross miss that sitter to make it 1-2 for Stoke, a yard or two away from the goal-line?! His defending was just as miserable as his side ended up losing 2-1 to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, as mentioned above.
Swan Ki Sung-yueng got a lucky to escape with just a yellow card after some daft pushing and fighting, including the referee!!! Manager Paul Clement was more than right to criticise the referee as mentioned above, but his side benefited from the bad refereeing in this incident, evening out the errors going for and against them.
And André Ayew's penalty appeal was an absolute waste for West Ham, if he would have stayed up he would have had a golden chance to get the Hammers ahead. But no, dive and whine instead. Waste. I hope the FA will have a look at it and punish him.

My Predictions - Actual Results
West Ham 1:2 Leicester - 1:1
Crystal Palace 1:1 Stoke City - 2:1
Man United 2:1 Brighton - 1:0
Newcastle 1:2 Watford - 0:3
Swansea 0:1 Bournemouth - 0:0
Tottenham 3:1 West Brom - 1:1
Liverpool 1:1 Chelsea - 1:1
Southampton 2:0 Everton - 4:1
Burnley 0:0 Arsenal - 0:1
Huddersfield 0:4 Man City - 1:2

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

All pictures, stats and facts were taken from the BBC match reports, Twitter and SFR match coverage.

Willian Nicks A Late Point For Chelsea At Anfield

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 1:1 CFC

Substitute Willian grabbed a point for Chelsea late on, Liverpool failing to hang on to a lead once again after Mohamed Salah put them ahead, the much anticipated Premier League clash ending 1-1 at Anfield.

Liverpool started strong, dominant in possession, in control but didn't produce much danger, not giving Thibaut Courtois much to do.

Halfway through the half saw a block by Simon Mignolet one-on-one against a dangerous Eden Hazard and then seconds later the Belgian keeper put Davide Zappacosta's attempt out for a corner, followed by ping pong in and around the box, tense, tense, tense, first real chances and pressure by the Blues, or either side actually.

Chelsea were all over the Reds in those crazy ten-ish minutes, Marcos Alonso's 25-yard free kick going over the wall but bending just about a yard wide. And breath.

A threatening Salah created most for the home side, putting a left-footed shot just wide a few minutes before the break, still no shots on target for the Reds though, Courtois looked beaten but remained unthreatened.

The referee Michael Oliver ignored a penalty shout against Hazard bringing down Philippe Coutinho in the box as an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain threat was cleared. It would have been harsh.

It stayed goalless at the break, Liverpool with more of the ball, but Chelsea with more chances and closer to breaking the deadlock.

Chelsea were on top after the interval, Hazard tumbling into the box a bit too over-dramatic, nothing given.

Seconds later Courtois spilled Daniel Sturridge's cross/shot, the ball squirming under the keeper and out for a corner, Liverpool's first of the match. The second followed shortly after, both were cleared.

A daft kick out by Tiemoué Bakayoko against Coutinho conceded a free kick, which the Brazilian took and saw blocked out for a corner. Joel Matip wasted that set piece out for a goal kick.

The first attempt on target for the Reds came in the 55th minute, skipper Jordan Henderson with a shot, easily collected by Courtois.

Another penalty shout came with just under an hour gone, this time against Gary Cahill, Sturridge's ball, arms by his side, nothing in it, game on.

Chelsea threatened a couple of more times with Zappacosta and Alvaro Morata before Liverpool mounted threats and chances of their own with Coutinho and Salah.

The Egyptian former Chelsea man then finally found the breakthrough, nicking the ball off Bakayoko in the box and putting it past Courtois and in, 1-0 with 65 minutes gone. Cheeky, too easy, his 15th of the season, BOOM!

Jürgen Klopp took off Sturridge straight after LFC took the lead, Georginio Wijnaldum replacing the under-fire striker with just under 25 minutes to go.

The game slowed down a lot after that. Chelsea needed changes, made changes, more attacking after falling behind.

Substitute Wijnaldum saw a shot deflected out for a corner by Cahill, before some poor decision making by Chelsea conceded another counter by the Reds which won them a corner.

So, both sides kept threatening, Alonso missing the biggest sitter right in front of goal, kicking the ball high in the sky with his left foot.

The Reds did look nervy at the back, it's surprising they had only conceded once at Anfield in the Premier League this season.

That was until Willian stunned and fooled everyone with a cross/shot from the right edge of the box, the curl and turn lifting over and beating Mignolet to make it 1-1 with five minutes to go.

Five very tense minutes, plus three added on which saw a late double-change for the Reds, Adam Lallana returning from injury and coming on with Sadio Mané, and a great save by Courtois denying Salah late on.

It ended a goal and point each, the Reds throwing away a lead once again, disappointing, but showing much more strength, fight and threat against the Blues, who will be much happier with the point, Antonio Conte's reaction said it all.

Much in contrast to that, Mané was not happy with Klopp after the match, no surprise there. Everyone was caught out by the German's changes and too late substitutions, he blamed it all on the referee in the post-match interview. Harsh.

With this draw Liverpool remain unbeaten in their last six Premier League meetings with Chelsea.
However, the Blues haven't lost any of their last six Premier League visits to Anfield.

One point gained, but two points dropped in the chase for the top four, especially annoying after Tottenham also dropped points against managerless strugglers West Brom earlier in the day.

No rest for the wicked as Liverpool will travel to Stoke on Wednesday.

Liverpool Goal: Salah 65'.

Chelsea Goal: Willian 85'.

HT Stats: LFC 0-0 CFC
Possession: 64%-36%
Shots: 6-7
On target: 0-2
Corners: 0-5
Fouls 5-4
Yellow cards: 0-0

FT Stats: LFC 1-1 CFC
Possession: 53%-47%
Shots: 16-11
On target: 4-3
Corners: 7-8
Fouls: 10-7
Yellow cards: 0-0

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 18 Moreno, 17 Klavan, 32 Matip, 12 Gomez; 7 Milner, 14 Henderson (c), 21 Oxlade- Chamberlain (19 Mané 89'); 10 Coutinho (20 Lallana 89'), 15 Sturridge (5 Wijnaldum 66'), 11 Salah. 4-3-3
Substitutes not used: 1 Karius, 9 Firmino, 26 Robertson, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Chelsea Team: 13 Courtois; 24 Cahill, 27 Christensen, 28 Azpilicueta; 7 Kanté; 3 Alonso, 14 Bakayoko (11 Pedro 77'), 6 Drinkwater (4 Fàbregas 74'), 21 Zappacosta (22 Willian 83'); 10 Hazard; 9 Morata. 3-1-4-1-1 or more like 8-1-1
Substitutes not used: 1 Caballero, 2 Rüdiger, 15 Moses, 30 David Luiz.

Referee: Michael Oliver
Man of the match: Mohamed Salah
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 53,225

Click here to read my previous LFC match report.

All pictures, stats and facts were taken from the BBC match report, Twitter and SFR match coverage.

3 Goals & A Point Each In Seville

Sports - Football - Champions League - SFC 3:3 LFC

It was a Champions League group game of two halves in Seville, Liverpool bossing the first half going three goals up thanks to Roberto Firmino's double either side of Sadio Mané's header, but vanishing after the break letting the home side grab three goals and a point back, with Wissam Ben Yedder netting twice and Guido Pizarro equalising in the dying moments.

The Reds couldn't have asked for a better start, finding the breakthrough not even two minutes into the game, silencing the stunning Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where no visitors have won for over a year.

88 seconds gone, unmarked Firmino swept in Georginio Wijnaldum's flick-on off Philippe Coutinho's corner, LFC's second fastest goal in the competition.

Mané doubled the lead 20 minutes later, Firmino the provider this time off another Coutinho corner, the Senegalese striker powering home his first goal for the Reds since 27 August to make it 0-2.

Sevilla had a couple of chances, cup keeper Loris Karius did well denying Nolito before Ben Yedder put an easy chance wide.

And with just half an hour gone, man of the match Firmino made it 0-3 with an easy tap in after Mané's attempt deflected its way to the Brazilian, Liverpool completely bossing the show.

Whatever both bosses said at the break, it completely reversed the game.

Los Rojiblancos came out running all over Liverpool, holding their opponents back completely, pushing, pressing and were soon rewarded for it. The team was back. The fans were back.

Six minutes into the second half, Ben Yedder pulled one back for the home side, Alberto Moreno conceding a free kick which Éver Banega whipped in for the French striker to glance home. And it got much worse for the former Sevilla defender.

Just under an hour gone, the Spaniard conceded a very soft penalty, which had to be retaken to add to the drama, but eventually gave Ben Yedder the double and reduced the hosts' deficit to just one goal.

Jürgen Klopp tried to resuscitate the visitors with a double change, James Milner and Emre Can replacing Moreno and Coutinho respectively, and a bit more organisation did return, but no control.

Captain Jordan Henderson looked a very unhappy and frustrated figure throughout, getting nowhere near the opposition, just no control.

Defenders Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez did well under the circumstances, but the main culprit Moreno had already done the damage and was rightly taken off. Just. Not. Good. Enough.

Sevilla totally made the most of Liverpool's weaknesses, just like happened vice versa in the first half. And it could have been much worse.

Substitute Franco Vazquez fired straight at Karius before Sergio Escudero's smacker hit the underside of the bar before rebounding to safety after the Reds keeper got his hand to it.

But in the dying seconds Pizarro netted the equaliser and banked the point for Eduardo Berizzo's side, unmarked in the centre of the box off a corner.

So, the best and worst from both sides, three goals and a point each, a fair result in the end which keeps the Reds top of the group and Sevilla second, a point separating them with one final group game to go.

It was the first time since May 2014 Liverpool let a three-goal lead slip in a competitive match (v Crystal Palace in the Premier League, also 3-3).

37-18 attempts between the two sides in the two games, Liverpool recording more than double as many shots as Sevilla but scoring and conceding the same (5-5).

The Reds have scored as many goals in the last three Champions League games (13) as they have in the previous 14 combined.

Klopp said he doesn't doubt his side's mentality, calling what happened a misjudgement.

It's a bit more than a misjudgement to throw away a three-goal lead! And the contrast between the two halves was just too shocking to overlook.

Yes, a point at Sevilla is good, but the way the Reds dropped the two points was just shambolic!

Klopp cannot ignore that! Especially with Chelsea next on the fixture list, the German boss will have to fix the problem and fix it quickly, mental or not mental, otherwise they'll be in for another thrashing like against Tottenham!

Sevilla Goals: Ben Yedder 51' & pen 60' & Pizarro 90'+3.

Liverpool Goals: Firmino 2' & 30' & Mané 22'.

Sevilla Team: 1 Sergio Rico; 18 Escudero (c), 5 Lenglet, 12 Geis, 25 Mercado (booked 54'); 14 Pizarro, 10 Banega (booked 45'), 15 N'Zonzi (22 Vazquez 45'); 24 Nolito (20 Muriel 73'), 9 Ben Yedder (11 Correa 81'), 17 Sarabia. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 2 Corchia, 7 Krohn-Dehli, 13 Soria, 16 Navas.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius; 18 Moreno (booked 38') (7 Milner 63'), 17 Klavan, 6 Lovren, 12 Gomez; 10 Coutinho (23 Can 63' (booked 82')), 14 Henderson (c) (booked 68'), 5 Wijnaldum; 19 Mané, 9 Firmino, 11 Salah (21 Oxlade-Chamberlain). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 15 Sturridge, 22 Mignolet, 29 Solanke, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

FT Stats: SFC 3-3 LFC
Possession: 70%-30%
Shots: 11-13
On target: 6-7
Corners: 6-7
Fouls: 10-19
Bookings: 2-3

Referee: Dr. Felix Brych (GER)
Man Of The Match: Roberto Firmino
Ground: Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan
Attendance: 39,495

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Twitter and beIN Sport match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 12

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 12

The 12th week of the Premier League action saw:
32 goals - most by Bournemouth, Man United & Chelsea = 4 each
247 shots - most by Liverpool = 22
92 on target - most by Liverpool = 8
116 corners - most by Man United & Huddersfield = 11 each
136 fouls - most by Everton = 26
34 yellow cards - most by Arsenal & West Ham = 4 each
1 red card - Simon Francis for Bournemouth (second yellow)
1 penalty - 1 scored (Leighton Baines for Everton)

What a game! Arsenal surprisingly impressed recording their first league win against Tottenham since 2014 in the early kick-off on Saturday. Shkodran Mustafi headed the Gunners ahead in the big London derby from Mesut Özil's controversial free kick in the 36th minute. Alexis Sánchez doubled the lead five minutes later lashing in from Alexandre Lacazette's square ball. Both goals looked offside, close calls though. Arsène Wenger has now beaten 10 of the 11 Spurs managers he has faced in the Premier League, the only exception being Christian Gross in 1997-98. It was the first time Harry Kane failed to score in this bitter derby and was subbed off in the 75th minute, with Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Fernando Llorente replacing them. Mauricio Pochettino was surely bitterly disappointed with the officials and his side, but his away record looks very dire, winning just once in the last 15 visits to top six sides. Everton came back twice against Palace, the game ending 2-2 with a point each. The two worst defences fought hard, how the match ended up last on MOTD shows how action-packed, eventful and entertaining the day was! Who can start a petition to get rid of international breaks, please?!!!

What a team! Manchester City recorded their 16th consecutive win in all competitions, 34 points in the opening 12 league games - equalling the Premier League record they set under Roberto Mancini in 2011-12. Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring from close range and Kevin De Bruyne added a breathtaking smacker that could be heard hitting the back of the net. The league leaders were lucky with some decisions though, see more below. Manchester United set a club record of their own going 38 games unbeaten after thrashing Newcastle 4-1. Dwight Gayle gave the Magpies the lead early on in the game, giving neutral viewers the hope they could be up for an actual contest. But it went all downhill from there at Old Trafford, Rafael Benítez's side conceding four including Paul Pogba netting on his return from injury. Burnley! Boom! Boom! The Clarets moved within a point of the top four after an impressive 2-0 win against struggling Swansea. Sean Dyche would be more than daft to leave this strong position for any of the shaky job vacancies going around at the moment... More to that below!

What a man! I doubt Tony Pulis will keep his job much longer after Chelsea hammered his side West Brom 0-4 at the Hawthorns, making it 2 wins in the last 21 for the Baggies. And as I am editing this, the news breaks of his sacking. It's the second Premier League week in a row that's happened, the Welshman is already the fifth sacking of the season after Slaven Bilić was sent packing before the international break and it's not even December yet!
Callum Wilson's hat-trick more than helped ten-man Bournemouth thrash Huddersfield 4-0. The Cherries are flying up the table, but the Terriers were more than up for the f(l)ight, working and fighting hard despite the scoreline.
Watford stopper Heurelho Gomes starred with breathtaking/double/triple saves!!! A super keeper on the only Super Sunday match! 22-year-old former Derby County midfielder Will Hughes scored with his first ever shot in the Premier League and Brazilian Richarlison doubled West Ham's misery after the break. Who wants to be David Moyes, ey?! The former Everton and United boss lost his first game as Hammers manager and 500th in the top-flight. The Hornets meanwhile impressed and went up to eighth.

What a goal! There was some top quality team play produced by both Chelsea and Man City in all their goals, both men of the matches Eden Hazard and De Bruyne starring for their sides respectively. Mohamed Salah scored two on the day to help Liverpool beat Southampton 3-0, the Egyptian star's ninth league goal of the season to make him top scorer and 14 after 18 games in all competitions. The last LFC player to score more than 14 goals in a season was none-other than Luis Suárez. And it's only November. On. Fire. The win meant Liverpool have now won by three or more goals in four consecutive games for the first time since Bob Paisley's Reds in 1980. Double BOOM!

What the hell?! Referees!!! City defender Vincent Kompany  had a lucky escape after a late tackle felling down last man Jamie Vardy. And what is offside again?! The Citizens and Gunners were both very lucky with those decisions respectively, but deserved the wins looking at the performances and general displays. The Cherries were just as fortunate with a few decisions as well before their first couple of goals. Fouls and offsides were missed again, I think the officials need to google both. But Eddie Howe's men doubled that score thrashing Huddersfield 4-0 despite going down to ten men, killer goals, killer score, killer points. Terriers boss David Wagner was rightly very unhappy about those decisions that went against his side. The officials at the Amex didn't cover themselves in glory either, where Brighton extended their unbeaten league run to five games as they drew 2-2 with Stoke, but could and should have done better after being denied a blatant penalty in a frantic first half. Referees, ey. What's their job again? Hm. Who knows. They don't seem to have a clue!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Arsenal 1:1 Tottenham - 2:0
Bournemouth 2:1 Huddersfield - 4:0
Burnley 1:0 Swansea City - 2:0
Crystal Palace 1:1 Everton - 2:2
Leicester 1:2 Man City - 0:2
Liverpool 4:1 Southampton - 3:0
West Brom 2:1 Chelsea - 0:4
Man United 4:1 Newcastle - 4:1
Watford 1:1 West Ham - 2:0
Brighton 2:1 Stoke City - 2:2

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

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and SFR live match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 11

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 11

The 11th week of the Premier League action saw:
24 goals - most by Liverpool = 4
213 shots - most by Chelsea = 18
74 on target - most by Chelsea = 8
118 corners - most by Newcastle = 11
226 fouls - most by Man United = 20
30 yellow cards - most by Arsenal = 6
1 red card - Christopher Schindler for Huddersfield
3 penalties - 2 scored (Sergio Agüero for Man City, Leighton Baines for Everton, Tom Cleverley missed for Watford)

What a game! All the buildup to the Super Duper Sunday was bound to disappoint. Tottenham just about scrambled through to a win over bottom side Crystal Palace. Manchester City had some help from the officials to down the fighting Gunners and don't get me started on the refs at Stamford Bridge! Chelsea number 9 Álvaro Morata had all the space in the world to head the home side ahead after Manchester United were lucky to still be in the game. More to all that below. All eyes were on Antonio Conte and José Mourinho and their Blue history, pre-match, during the match and post-match. But in the end the top game was Everton's comeback against Watford from two goals down at Goodison Park, would you believe it!!! Or top half should I say, as all goals came after the break. Leighton Baines scored a club-record 24th penalty for the Toffees and won the game in injury time, 90 + 1!  That wasn't all though. Ten minutes later, the Hornets got the chance to draw level from the spot, yep, in the 101st minute, and Tom Cleverley missed it, putting the penalty wide. Yes, you read right, it stayed 3-2, handing David Unsworth his first win as Everton's caretaker. And the temp boss can take a lot of credit as all the changes he made ended up crucial in all goals and completing the perfect unbelievable turnaround. Oh, and by the way, that was the only game on Sunday that was NOT live on telly. FFS.

What a team! Burnley shot up to sixth in the table (at least temporarily) after substitute Sam Vokes' late header was enough to beat Southampton at St Mary's. Sean Dyche's side withstood all of the pressure and Saints chances, their keeper Nick Pope making some excellent stops. Liverpool snatched that sixth spot back in the table in the late kick-off on Saturday, after beating West Ham 1-4 at the London Stadium thanks to Mohamed Salah's double on Sadio Mané's return. You can read all my match notes here. Or my full LFC match report here. Has Jürgen Klopp handed Slaven Bilić his final notice? With the Hammers dropping into the relegation zone after Sunday's results and the international break coming up, I will be very surprised to see the Croat again... Plus David Moyes being interested in the job... And as I was editing this blog, both got confirmed, the prior's sacking and the latter's interest and likely appointment. Surprise surprise.

What a man! Huddersfield keeper Jonas Lössl was hugged and kissed by everyone after some acrobatic saves late on in the match and win against West Brom! Dutchman Rajiv van La Parra produced the stunning 20-yard winner, curled into the top corner just before the break, increasing calls against Tony Pulis. The Yorkshire side were down to ten men after defender Christopher Schindler received a second yellow card with just under an hour gone but fought on hard to hang on to the win which took the promoted side into the top half of the table. Glenn Murray gave Brighton victory at Swansea, eleven of his 15 Premier League goals coming in away fixtures. It was a gift though as Federico Fernández ducked out of the way of a cross, condemning the Swans to their fifth defeat from six home league games this season and seeing them slip into the relegation zone. The Seagulls meanwhile are up to ninth after back-to-back away wins in the top flight for the first time since 1981 and only the second time in their history.

What a goal! Peter Crouch headed home Xherdan Shaquiri's corner to make it 2-2 for Stoke and grab a point from Leicester. It's the 36-year old's Premier League record 52nd netted header and 15th goal coming off the bench - only Jermain Defoe (23), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (17) and Nwankwo Kanu (17) have scored more as a sub in the PL. Both sides had more chances, both keepers were busy, so, faire result in the end, a thrilling draw. The late Bournemouth winner headed in by defender Steve Cook was fully deserved after all the chances and pressure they produced at Newcastle. Rafael Benítez's men wasted a lot of chances and then ran out of steam, the visitors pouncing and bouncing out of the relegation zone with the win at St James' Park.

What the hell?! How did Wilfried Zaha miss that chance?! The Palace forward cost his side three points as minutes after he put a sitter wide, Son Heung-min swept the one and only goal in from 20 yards. Tottenham will be very relieved after another win at Wembley from a less than convincing performance. And how the hell did the linesman not see goalscorer Gabriel Jesus AND David Silva were BOTH offside when the official was exactly on the same line as the players when the cross came in?! The error made it 3-1 to City at the Eithad and destroyed any kind of competition or chance of a late comeback by Arsenal, who enjoyed a much better second half after not offering much before the break. Although, Arsène Wenger's men were also unlucky to concede the penalty in the first half, Raheem Sterling making the most out of nothing, which gave Sergio Agüero his record 179th City goal from the spot and the home side a two-goal lead. Harsh. And seeing a spectacular Phil Jones own goal disallowed for an alleged push by Morata just added more crap creme on the horrendous refereeing cake of the weekend!!! Lucky Mancunian buggers!!!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Stoke City 1:2 Leicester - 2:2
Huddersfield 1:0 West Brom - 1:0
Newcastle 2:1 Bournemouth - 0:1
Southampton 1:1 Burnley - 0:1
Swansea 1:2 Brighton - 0:1
West Ham 2:3 Liverpool - 1:4 or my match notes & match report
Tottenham 2:0 Crystal Palace - 1:0
Man City 4:2 Arsenal - 3:1
Chelsea 1:1 Man United - 1:0
Everton 1:2 Watford - 3:2

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and SFR live match coverage.