Liverpool defeated Watford 2-0 at Anfield thanks to Fabinho's late penalty and Diogo Jota's first-half header
Liverpool 2-0 Watford: The hosts take the Premier League lead for a few hours thanks to Fabinho's late penalty and Diogo Jota's first-half header.
settle a tense afternoon at Anfield against Watford... before City responds with a win of their own
It was an illusion that lasted only 45 minutes, by which time Manchester City had taken the lead at Burnley. Nonetheless, in the battle of mind games that characterizes the best title duels, it was a significant moment. For a brief moment, Liverpool led the table.
'We will not be moved,' they say.
The Kop chanted, and the fact that they were very soon after they sung did not imply that their confidence was exaggerated. Momentum is everything in title races, and Liverpool unquestionably has it. Next Sunday is the Etihad title match between the two leading teams.
At the end, Jurgen Klopp celebrated in front of The Kop, fist clenched, milking the applause and leading the roars. 'It had nothing to do with being top of the league,' Klopp said with a big grin. 'I hadn't considered that.' But we're not going to give an inch. We need to win our games to stay in the title race. We can't hide from the next game, which is a big one.'
Nobody could have predicted this in mid-January, when Liverpool trailed City by 14 points. So they had games in hand, but given Liverpool and Manchester City's dominance over the last five years, it was difficult to imagine Pep Guardiola's team conceding such a lead.
This is the era in Premier League history when winning ten consecutive Premier League games, as Liverpool have done since the turn of the year, seems almost unremarkable. The city, on the other hand, has disintegrated. These days, that means they drew with Southampton and Palace and lost to Tottenham.
Klopp, a winner's winner who can snap under pressure, can be irritable at times. However, in this case he was all smiles and uber cool. As the most intense weeks of the season approach, he exudes calm. 'I really appreciate the situation we're in,' he said to explain.
And Watford were excellent. Cucho's near-post header on 13 minutes signaled that this would be a tense afternoon. The Kucka opportunity, which resulted from a superb Pedro through ball, caught Liverpool's defense completely off guard.
Then, for a brief moment, Liverpool clicked into gear, with Henderson finding Joe Gomez, who was filling in for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back. On 20 minutes, he produced a cross worthy of Alexander-Arnold, a superb strike directly on the head of the leaping Jota. Indeed, Gomez continued in a similar manner for the erstwhile of the afternoon, excellent in his role.
Otherwise, Thiago was commanding and Virgil Van Dijk was solid, but Watford were a persistent thorn in the side, and Liverpool struggled at times. Nonetheless, they prevailed. Sometimes you just get over the hump, move on to the next game, and don't give too much thought to the quality of your performance. It had been one of those days. And sometimes, when you have the title in your hands and the champagne is flowing, you realize that these are the most important days of your life.
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