- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Liverpool Showing ‘Another Way of Winning’ at Everton Bodes Well for Title Push
- Updated: December 20, 2016
Since Liverpool’s strong start to the 2015/16 Premier League season, some pundits have poured cold water on their title credentials by claiming that Jurgen Klopp’s side don’t have another way of winning than to blitz opponents away with relentless pressing.
It has been claimed in media circles that Liverpool do not have the cliched ‘other way’ of winning—something that was thoroughly dismissed as Klopp’s side recorded a 1-0 success in the Merseyside derby.
The Reds’ first 1-0 win in the Premier League of 2016 arrived after rivals Everton had put them under firm pressure for the first half an hour, but Liverpool held on before taking control of the game in the second half and eventually getting their rewards deep into stoppage time.
It was another way of winning. A way of winning that title contenders have had in the past and that Liverpool showed at Goodison Park.
For much of the match, it looked as though this fixture was set to end in a draw for the fifth consecutive season, with both sides lacking the quality to put the ball in the back of the net. Eventually, though, Liverpool made the breakthrough in the fifth minute of stoppage time, as Sadio Mane pounced to tap home Daniel Sturridge’s rebounded shot and notch his eighth goal of the campaign.
Toffees boss Ronald Koeman claimed post-match that defeat for his side wasn’t deserved, according to the Press Association (via This Is Anfield), but in truth, his charges burned themselves out in the first 30 minutes and offered little goal threat thereafter. Klopp told Sky Sports that he couldn’t remember an Everton chance, and he’d be right with that assessment.
Centre-back solidity
Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images Lovren and Klavan were excellent.
Praise must go to Liverpool’s defensive unit for the way in which they coped in the early stages, as Everton enjoyed much more of the ball and territory, getting the ball wide and putting crosses into the box.
Liverpool fans were disappointed not to see Joel Matip back in the side, with the 6’4″ defender struggling with an ongoing ankle issue, but they needn’t have worried, as Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan put in superb displays both as a pair and …
