ZCZC
BSP-03
FBL-ENG-PR-LIVERPOOL
Liverpool sinks West Ham for record-equalling 18th successive win
LIVERPOOL, Feb 25, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Liverpool earned a record-equalling
18th consecutive Premier League win as the runaway leaders came from behind
to beat West Ham 3-2 thanks to Sadio Mane’s late strike on Monday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were in danger of dropping Premier League points for
the first time since their draw at Manchester United on October 20 after
falling behind in the second half at Anfield.
Georginio Wijnaldum put Liverpool ahead early on but Issa Diop equalised
soon after.
Pablo Fornals gave struggling West Ham a stunning lead, but Lukasz
Fabianski’s woeful blunder allowed Mohamed Salah to equalise with his 19th
goal of the season.
Mane completed the fightback with nine minutes left as Liverpool moved 22
points clear of second placed Manchester City.
The Reds’ dramatic escape ensured they equalled Manchester City’s English
top-flight record of 18 consecutive league wins set between August and
December 2017.
“I never thought it would be broken or equalled. We did it and I cannot
believe it happened to be honest,” Klopp said of the record.
“Whatever will happen this season is an effort of all of us. So far, so
good.”
Their 21st successive league victory at Anfield also equalled their own
English top-flight record for consecutive home wins, set by Bill Shankly’s
team between January and December 1972.
Liverpool need four victories from their final 11 games to guarantee a
first English title since 1990.
They are unbeaten in their last 44 league matches, just five short of
Arsenal’s all-time English record of 49.
“You see City playing and this is the team in world football that are able
to win all their other games. We have to keep winning,” Klopp said.
“It is not about shining but the hardest work. As long as the boys are
ready to work hard I am not concerned.”
Klopp’s men found themselves in the rare position of coming off a defeat,
for only the third time in all competitions this season, after Tuesday’s 1-0
Champions League last 16 first leg loss at Atletico Madrid.
And third bottom West Ham gave them all they could handle in a thrilling
clash that suggested Liverpool are not invincible just yet as they try to
emulate Arsenal’s unbeaten 2003-04 top-flight campaign.
– ‘You have to squeeze it’ –
“We scored a wonderful first goal. But then we weren’t good in second ball
situations. We lost a little bit of patience,” Klopp said.
“You have to squeeze it and that’s what we did to get the three points. It
is so special.”
Liverpool took the lead in the ninth minute when Trent Alexander-Arnold
showed great agility to whip a cross from an acute angle into the six-yard
box, where Wijnaldum stooped to head past Fabianski’s weak attempted save.
The Reds had kept a clean-sheet in 10 of their last 11 league matches, but
they were guilty of switching off for once as West Ham grabbed the equaliser
three minutes later.
Robert Snodgrass’s corner curled towards Diop and the defender rose higher
than Joe Gomez to beat slow to react Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker with a
powerful header.
Having turned the title race into a procession, there was a distinct lack
of edge about Liverpool, who were also hampered by the absence of their
tireless captain Jordan Henderson due to a hamstring injury.
Sensing an unexpected opportunity, West Ham mounted an incisive raid that
brought them an improbable lead in the 54th minute.
Mark Noble found Declan Rice on the right and he quickly swivelled to whip
in a cross that substitute Fornals swept home from eight yards.
That was the signal for Liverpool to finally wake from their slumber.
Liverpool’s pressure was rewarded in the 68th minute with a huge helping
hand from Fabianski as Salah’s shot from Andy Robertson’s cross somehow
squirmed through his legs into the net.
West Ham were unable to stem the tide and when Alexander-Arnold shot
goalwards in the 81st minute, Mane tapped into the empty net to give the Reds
another landmark moment in an incredible season.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0834 hrs