Andy Hunter's match report
Post-match reaction
James Milner
“It was one of those days. The wind was difficult and it was tough to play. We went long more than we’d have liked – you have to play the conditions sometimes. Watford were always gonna be up for it and we knew it would be tough. It’s an important result.”
Mo Salah
“I’ve been practising with my right foot! I had good luck with the first goal – we scored at the right time. They are a tough team and they should be in a better position than they are. Sometimes the crowd get a bit panicky but we have more experience now – we have been together for 3-4 years. We’ve won a few games 1-0 so it’s fine.”
Full time: Liverpool 2-0 Watford
Peep peep! Liverpool move 11 points clear with an uncomfortable victory over Watford in a very strange game. Mo Salah, who played up front in a 4-2-3-1 system, scored two classy goals to punish Watford for a number of missed chances. Liverpool were sloppy, nervous, unconvincing ... and they still won.
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The goal itself was a beauty. Liverpool split Watford open with two fine passes from Alexander-Arnold and then Oxlade-Chamberlain, who slid the ball down the inside-right channel to release Mane. He cut it back carefully to Origi, who made a hopeless mess of his first-time shot. It was bobbling wide of goal when Salah improvised to flick the ball behind his standing leg and into the net. It looked like it was going to be disallowed for offside, but eventually the VAR folk decided his heel was level with Kabasele’s.
GOAL GIVEN! Liverpool 2-0 Watford I have no idea.
VAR check I think Salah is offside.
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GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Watford (Salah 90)
Mo Salah seals victory with a lovely bit of improvisation.
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89 min Here’s David Nevin. “You hear so much rubbish from all that want the reds to fail chelski prawn sandwich brigade accept you’re all 2nd rate.”
Nice one David, keep it up.
88 min A substitution apiece. Liverpool bring on Origi for Firmino; Watford introduce Quina for Doucoure.
87 min Alexander-Arnold wastes 20 seconds before taking a Liverpool corner. This time there are no boos.
86 min “The pessimism is a result of the gap since the last league title,” says Niall Mullen. “Like England fans didn’t really believe they’d won the Ashes in 2005 until the umpires came out & knocked the bails off at the Oval. Just like the England fans thought that somehow Shane Warne could come out in the gloaming and win it for the Aussies so Liverpool fans imagine that the lovechild of Federico Macheda & Demba Ba will inevitably thwart us.”
Ah yeah, I get that, but I still think it applies to most teams. For example, I remember being unsure when Man Utd were 14 points clear in 1993-94. And I was bloody right to be pessimistic, because Blackburn almost reeled them in.
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85 min This is one of the oddest games of 2019.
84 min Alexander-Arnold’s imaginative through pass to Mane is just intercepted by the sliding Kabasele. He has had a blinder. At the other end, Doucoure shots high over the bar from inside the D. Watford deserve at least a point in this game. At this rate, Liverpool could drop to fifth in the xG table by tomorrow night.
83 min Sarr belts a volley well wide from inside the D.
82 min “Hi Rob,” says Mike MacKenzie. “I can stop this festive goodwill ... the refereeing sucks big time! Not just this match but in most of them. Way too many fouls missed and bad calls on out of bounds. I know it’s not easy but too many obvious calls aren’t made.”
Each his own and all, but I think they do a pretty amazing job in the circumstances, especially as it has become so much harder since the advent of social media and VAR.
81 min The resulting corner from Deulofeu hits the outside of the near post! Alisson was scrambling across his line, and I’m not certain he had it covered. Liverpool have been so sloppy today.
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80 min Van Dijk almost scores an own goal! He was under no pressure when he slid the ball past the outrushing Alisson and, thankfully for Liverpool, just wide of the near post.
78 min “Richard Curtis has optioned the script for OBO The Lonely, starring Rafe Spall as a KP nut and Emily Blunt as a keen fan of The Hundred,” says James Debens. “Music by Roy Orbison and The Hoosiers.”
I’m not sure about casting Danny Dyer as Andy Bull, though.
77 min Watford break promisingly through Hughes and then Gray, who finds Sarr in the inside-left channel. He overruns the ball just enough for Gomez to make a strong interception. Watford have had so many opportunities in attack today.
76 min Oxlade-Chamberlain’s excellent cross is nutted over his own bar by Mariappa. Watford have defended admirably today.
75 min Andre Gray replaces Troy Deeney, who looks shattered.
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74 min Robertson plays a slick one-two with Mane and picks out Firmino with an immaculate low cross. He takes too long to get his shot away, and it hits Hughes before dribbling through to Foster.
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73 min This has been a peculiar game. Liverpool have been both fortunate and in almost complete control.
70 min Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Xherdan Shaqiri, who had a 6/10 kind of game. (It would have been 7/10 but for that pesky VAR.)
70 min “As a Chelsea fan, it’s funny to listen to the pessimism from Liverpool fans,” says Alexander Scrutton. “If any other team was this far ahead, playing this well, at this stage of the season, we would have them nailed for the title.”
Isn’t the point that we’d have them nailed on unless it was our own team? But really, Jose Mourinho said it best the other week in the Sky studio, something along the lines of: “When I know I have the best team, and we have a lead, goodbye.”
69 min Henderson wallops over from distance.
66 min “I’m watching all the football today and tomorrow in a cafe in Laayoune, Western Sahara,” says Sarah Saunders. “Anyone keen for a tea and some footy?”
What’s with all the sociability and goodwill today? Didn’t you all get the memo?
65 min A second Liverpool goal is imminent. Andy Robertson’s introduction has changed the game and energised them.
64 min Firmino, put clear by Salah, overruns the ball. Jurgen Klopp is baring his teeth at allcomers, because he wanted play brought back for an earlier foul on Salah.
63 min Salah, put through by Milner, dithers and is eased off the ball by Kabasele. He wants a penalty but, as with the Sarr appeal at the other end, there was nothing in it. Moments later, Salah drives miles wide with his right foot.
62 min Firmino’s sharp low drive from the left side of the box is well held by the plunging Foster. Mane and Salah were waiting for a rebound.
60 min Sarr surges past van Dijk in the area and falls over. It will be checked but it’s not a penalty. Van Dijk did lean into him, but not with enough force for it to be a foul.
60 min It looks like Wijnaldum’s knee rather than his hamstring. He’s leaving the field a little gingerly, to be replaced by Andy Robertson. That means James Milner will go into midfield.
59 min “Hey Rob,” says Kristof Künssler-McIlwain. “Has it ever happened that a couple actually found each other over MBM? What a story that would be!”
It certainly did with the cricket OBO - the thoroughly lovely couple of Lynn Bashforth and Jeremy Theobald met that way.
58 min Gini Wijnaldum is down with what might be a hamstring injury. Liverpool are falling apart. Has Jurgen Klopp taken them as far as he can?
57 min Milner is booked for a foul on Sarr, who, that one hideous miskick aside, has been pretty impressive today.
56 min It’s no exaggeration to say Watford could be two goals ahead, yet there is still no real doubt - to the neutral - that Liverpool will win. It’s been a strange game.
54 min: Fine save! Alisson makes an excellent block to deny Deulofeu, who was through one on one. Deulofeu appealed for a shove from behind by Alexander-Arnold, but there was nothing in it. He hit the shot well but it was too close to Alisson, who is brilliant in one-on-one situations. He reminds me a little of Peter Schmeichel in the way his presence unsettles attackers as they run through on goal.
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NO GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Watford
Mane was a millimetre offside. Shame as it was a lovely goal - a fierce cross from Shaqiri on the left, and an emphatic flicked header from Mane at the near post.
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VAR check Mane may be offside here.
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GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Watford (Mane 50)
The best attacker in the world scores another superb goal.
48 min Another chance for Watford! Sarr plays a one-two with Doucoure and slides a close-range shot from a tight angle that is smothered by Alisson. Deeney was screaming for a ball into the six-yard box.
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47 min “David, I am in the Irish American sports bar,” says Keith Dugdale. “Looks like I need a half-time taxi. Thanks to the Guardian for providing the Vietnam blind-dating service.”
It’s what we do best.
46 min Peep peep! Liverpool begin the second half.
Half-time reading
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Half time: Liverpool 1-0 Watford
Peep peep! Well, that was a bit odd. Liverpool lead through Mo Salah’s splendid goal, but Watford had the two clearest chances of the game either side of that. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
45 min “Rob,” says Mac Millings. “I think it’s lovely that the Guardian is bringing people like Keith Dugdale and David Baines together. Can I have a go? Is anyone else out there watching the game while slumped on a couch in last night’s clothes in South Carolina?”
44 min It’s all happening now! Salah plays in Mane, who stabs the ball over the outrushing Foster on the edge of the area before being crowded out by Kabasele.
43 min Henderson is booked for pulling back the dangerous Deulofeu.
42 min: Watford miss another great chance! It’s another shocking miskick. Deulofeu skinned Alexander-Arnold on the left of the area and fizzed a low cross-shot into the six-yard box. The diving Alisson pushed it out as far as Sarr, eight yards from goal, and he shanked the bouncing ball so badly that it flew off the side of his boot at a 90-degree angle.
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40 min You see what happens, Nigel? You see what happens if you win a corner against this Liverpool side?
Watford won a corner after that Doucoure chance, and 15 seconds later they were behind. The corner was half cleared towards Firmino, who improvised superbly to volley the loose ball over his head to Mane. He moved it down the inside-left channel to Salah, who Cruyff-turned away from Kiko Femenia on the edge of the area and toed a right-footed curler that drifted into the far corner. Brilliant goal.
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GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Watford (Salah 38)
A classic Liverpool counter-attack!
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37 min: Great chance for Watford! They should be ahead. Sarr played a nice pass into space for Capoue down the right. He moved into the area and carefully picked out Doucoure, who miskicked completely in front of goal.
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35 min Firmino twists Kabasele inside out to win a corner. Nothing comes of it. This has been a dog of a game so far, devised and hosted by Nigel Pearson. He’ll be thrilled with how Watford have played.
34 min “Alright, Rob,” says Adam Griffiths. “In this crazy, upside down state of flux/fluxed world in what we live the MBM is a rare constant. So cheers to you and your fellow MBMers for the sterling work you do, and a Merry Christmas/Happy Hannukah/kick-ass Kwanzaa/tiptop Tet to all the listeners out there in MBM-land.”
Cheers Adam. Merry Christmas to all you listeners!
33 min Doucoure breaks down the left and into the area before crossing low into the six-yard box. Van Dijk takes up a perfect position and lumps it clear.
32 min Liverpool are missing the relentless threat of Andy Robertson on the left. They should still win comfortably; they just need to be patient .
28 min Watford are working so hard without the ball, and will be really pleased with how the game has gone so far. It’s hard to see them sustaining this for 90 minutes, but it’s been an encouraging start for Nigel Pearson.
27 min Salah falls over in the area under challenge from Kabasele. Nothing doing. I don’t think it was a dive, since you asked. It certainly wasn’t a penalty.
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26 min “I’m a Watford fan in the States getting up at 5 a.m. local time and thinking it will be a miracle if the Orns keep it within three,” says Shaun Kuter. “No one ever accused me of being smart.”
It’s the hope of a noble 2-0 defeat that kills you.
25 min Salah scurries infield from the right wing and flips a curling shot well wide of the far post. Every goalkick allows Watford to waste a bit more time; the crowd and Liverpool players are getting a bit irritated.
24 min Hughes is harshly booked for a foul on Henderson. Moments later, Mane hooks an optimistic volley over his shoulder and the bar from the edge of the box.
23 min It’s raining shots! Will Hughes surges forward from midfield and drives a left-footed shot a few yards wide from just outside the box. Alisson had it covered but it was a purposeful run.
23 min Mane’s deep cross is half cleared to Henderson, who slaps the bouncing ball into orbit from 12 yards. It was an awkward ball to hit on the run. I think that’s the first shot of the match at either end.
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21 min Deulofeu wins a corner for Watford, and walks over to take it at approximately 0.0002 miles per hour. More boos.
20 min “Sitting in fast response ambulance thanking my lucky stars I’ve got the BT Sport app!” says Richard Howes. “And hoping south London will be quiet for the upcoming 90 mins. At some point will Liverpool rest van Dijk? Hopefully they’ll win. I need something to cheer me up after Thursday’s results... and that’s not a reference to the Europa League games!”
Mason Greenwood does look good though, eh. As for van Dijk, he plays with a resting heart rate so I doubt he needs a rest. It’s telling that he is the one player who hasn’t been left out in the last few weeks.
18 min Watford have already started timewasting. There are a few boos as Mariappa delays a throw-in, and their new coach Nigel Pearson breaks into a gentle smile that says, ‘I could not give a solitary flip what any of you think.’
16 min Alexander-Arnold is starting to threaten. There’s a greater onus on him today in the absence of the rested Andy Robertson.
15 min “What bar is Keith Dugdale (6 mins) in?” says David Baines. “I’m watching it in Cheers, the Hanoi Reds home bar.”
13 min Alexander-Arnold, roaming infield, plays a dangerous through ball towards Salah that is crucially intercepted by the sliding Cathcart.
11 min Milner plays a neat one-two with Mane, only to overrun the ball. It was another neat touch from Mane, who for my money is the best attacker in the world right now.
10 min “It’ll take a better stats person than me, but if we take the best second halves of a season for Manchester City and Leicester City and then take Liverpool’s worst (okay, we’re not quite at 19 games yet), Liverpool surely cruise home regardless?” says Gary Naylor. “People keep puffing air into the title race balloon, but it’s not going to happen.”
No, no chance, unless Liverpool lose van Dijk, Mane, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold and Alisson to long-term injuries, and inexplicably replace Jurgen Klopp with Terry Christian. Even if Manchester City win their remaining 22 games, they won’t catch Liverpool.
9 min Liverpool are slowly getting into their work. There’s no real atmosphere, as is often the case with early kick-offs.
6 min “My 24-year-old son still has not seen Liverpool win the league,” says Keith Dugdale. “So here I am in a bar in Hanoi, beers in hand and still nervous of the game despite the opposition and our home record. At least mathematically we can’t be relegated. Next step is Champs League qualification.”
I used to think I was a pessimist, but I’ve got nothing on Liverpool fans this season. You’re the best team in the world and are going to win the league by March. Relax. Fakkin enjoy it.
5 min Watford almost take the lead! Sarr’s superb low cross from the right just evades the stretching Deeney in front of goal. He went with his wrong foot, the right, and made no contact with the ball.
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3 min It’s been a quiet start to the game, with Liverpool yet to threaten. It gives me no pleasure to say this, but I think we have to ask a difficult question: has Jurgen Klopp taken Liverpool as far as he can?
2 min “As a lifelong Watford fan,” says Mark Hawkins, “should I be ashamed at the fact I have substituted Watford players for Liverpool players in my Fantasy Football team?”
The only thing you should be ashamed of is putting an Emma Bunton song in my head.
1 min Peep peep! Watford kick off from left to right. It’s a lovely day in Liverpool. Little brisk.
The teams emerge from the tunnel, with Liverpool’s players looking relaxed and content. What have they got to be so pleased about?
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“I’m also unsure whether Steve Alvey is being serious or not, but I do absolutely see the point!” sniffs Matt Dony. “Yes, yes, I know the numbers, I’ve seen the table, I’m well aware of the probabilities. And yet, and yet. Honestly, at this point, I don’t know what Liverpool could possibly do to make me stop feeling The Fear. I wish I had your confidence, Rob. (And charisma. And integrity. And good looks...)”
Definitely serious.
The first email of the day
“Liverpool’s last good chance to close the goal difference on Leicester before the Club World Cup and a run of hard league matches,” says Steve Alvey. “An important detail as I expect they will drop points somewhere.”
I’ve read this email 471 times and I’ve still no idea whether it’s serious or flippant.
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Pre-match reading
Team news
Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Milner; Henderson, Wijnaldum; Shaqiri, Firmino, Mane; Salah.
Substitutes: Adrian, Robertson, Williams, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana, Origi.
Watford (4-2-3-1) Foster; Mariappa, Cathcart, Kabasele, Kiko Femenia; Doucoure, Capoue; Sarr, Hughes, Deulofeu; Deeney.
Substitutes: Gomes, Foulquier, Dawson, Chalobah, Quina, Gray, Success.
Referee Andre Marriner.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Liverpool v Watford from Anfield. You know the context: top v bottom (or 2nd v 13th if you’re into the whole xG thing), champions-elect v Championship-bound, etc, etc. Nothing speaks of the differences between these sides quite like the number two: that’s how many points Liverpool have dropped in the Premier League this season, and how many managers Watford have sacked.
Their third boss of the season, Nigel Pearson, takes charge for the first time today. Even the ostriches know Watford are in serious trouble, though there has been enough encouragement in some of their performances to suggest they are not yet a lost cause.
Their great escape may have to wait until next week, when they host Manchester United, because Liverpool’s home form is terrifying. In the last two years their Premier League record at Anfield is P37 W33 D4 L0. Oh, and Watford’s last three visits have ended 0-5, 0-5 and 1-6. Godspeed, gents.
Kick off is at 12.30pm GMT.
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