Liverpool were forced to dig deep to earn a 2-0 victory at Sheffield United as they showed another sign they can challenge for the Premier League title.
The Reds were far from their best but Jurgen Klopp saluted a mature performance. Goals from Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai were enough for Liverpool to yield three points at Bramall Lane.
Klopp’s troops moved back within two points of leaders Arsenal, although their main aim is finishing in the top four and qualifying for Champions League once again. The race for a top-fourth berth has already been tipped to be the closest battle for some time. And on match-day 15 of the 2023-24 season, results couldn’t have gone much better for Liverpool.
Liverpool handed an unexpected triple boost:
Manchester City are in pursuit of a fourth successive Premier League crown. However, they suffered 1-0 loss to Aston Villa. Ollie Watkins’ strike moved Villa third in the table as they aim to gate-crash the top four. City only occupy the final Champions League spot on 34 points – four behind Liverpool.
Meanwhile, on Thursday day, both Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur were beaten. Newcastle qualified for the Champions League last season ahead of the Reds but they may be in a battle to do so again. Liverpool’s Merseyside neighbours Everton delivered a 3-0 victory over the Magpies at Goodison Park, with Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Beto on target. Newcastle trail Klopp’s men by eight points.
Tottenham are the only team to defeat Liverpool in the Premier League this season. Spurs made a barnstorming start to the campaign under newly-appointed Ange Postecoglou and were leaders for a period but have hit the buffers. Their 2-1 home loss against West Ham United was Tottenham’s fourth reverse in five league games. That leaves them fifth and seven points adrift of the Reds. Arsenal also nearly dropped points but Declan Rice’s 97th-minute goal earned them a 4-3 win away to Luton.
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