Watford stuns Liverpool with a 3-0 victory

Jurgen Klopp's side, which last weekend equalled Pep Guardiola's Manchester City record of consecutive victories in the English competition (eighteen), but with a handful of historical records still pending, crashed against a lesser rival fighting to avoid relegation.

Watford, who lost Spanish forward Gerard Deulofeu after half an hour due to a collision with Dutch defender Virgil Van Dijk that left his right knee seriously damaged, knew how to play their cards. Liverpool dominated, but without success. The clearest chances, from the beginning, belonged to Nigel Pearson's team.

Liverpool's authority has declined in recent weeks. They lost the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Atletico Madrid (1-0) and have since struggled to win their matches.

Watford, who had gone six games without a win, five in the Premier League, embarrassed the Reds. The clear victory over Klopp's team lifted them out of the relegation zone, where Bournemouth fell into.

Liverpool, still four wins away from securing the English league title, which they haven't won since 1990, missed the opportunity to equal Arsene Wenger's unbeaten record of 48 matches set with Arsenal in 2004.

Klopp was unable to count on Jordan Henderson, James Milner, and Xherdan Shaqiri due to different injuries for this match.

It was Deulofeu who first threatened Liverpool. He could have scored after a cross from Abdoulaye Doucoure, but lacked accuracy. Troy Deenay also had a good chance after a mistake by goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Klopp's team reached halftime unscathed despite everything. But they didn't react and succumbed shortly after. Ismaila Sarr, who had already warned in the first play of the second half, didn't miss in the 54th minute. A goal that exposed the defensive attitude of the Reds.

It came from a throw-in. The ball reached Doucoure, who took advantage of the rival defense's passivity to cross to Sarr, who beat Alisson. Six minutes later, the Senegalese striker scored the second goal on a counterattack.

Troy Deeney, on a side of the midfield surrounded by opponents, filtered the ball to Sarr, who alone raced towards Liverpool's goal and beat Alisson on his exit.

The third goal came from another glaring error by Klopp's team. Trent Alexander Arnold, caught off guard, passed the ball to Doucoure when he wanted to cross to Alisson. The Frenchman was patient and held onto the ball until Deeney arrived, who only had to send it into the net.

Liverpool lost their unbeaten record after forty-four matchdays, although they still maintain a twenty-two-point lead over Manchester City, who still have their match of the round pending.

Lineups:

Watford: Ben Foster, Kiko Femenia, Christian Kabasele, Craig Cathcart, Adam Masina, Will Hughes, Etienne Capoue, Ismaila Sarr (Ignacio Pussetto, m.82), Abdoulaye Doucoure (Nathaniel Chalobah, m.90), Gerard Deulofeu (Ricardo Pereyra, m.37), and Troy Deeney.

Liverpool: Alisson, Trent Alexander Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain (Divock Origi, m.65), Fabinho, Georgino Wijnaldum (Adam Lallana, m.61), Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino (Takumi Minamino, m.79).

Goals:

1-0, m.54: Sarr; 2-0, m.60: Sarr; 3-0, m.72: Troy Deeney

Referee:

Michael Oliver

Venue:

Vicarage Road Stadium, Watford