SportsEven After Beating United 2-4, Can Liverpool Still Make Europe?

Even After Beating United 2-4, Can Liverpool Still Make Europe?

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BEVERLY HILLS, May 14, (THEWILL) – The desperation of last season’s English Premier League champions Liverpool to get into the Champions League qualification places in the league standings was obvious in their performance against hosts of their rescheduled EPL tie at Old Trafford, Manchester United on Thursday night, which Liverpool won 4-2.

After enduring the ordeal of protesters who effected a blockade in front of the Liverpool team bus and deflated its tyres as it made its way into Manchester for the match but which police immediately took control of, Jurgen Klopp’s charges harried and hassled their opponents, who admittedly can point to fatigue with their tight schedule of matches.

Needing to win to remain in contention, Liverpool quickly found themselves on the back foot with an early goal, as Nathaniel Phillips attempted to prevent Bruno Fernandes’ effort heading towards goal and inadvertently sliced the ball into his own net. But, the Reds mounted a stirring fightback with resilient fervour.

Diogo Jota found the back of the net to level the scores before a Roberto Firmino brace, just before half time, for his first goal, and two minutes after the interval, for the second, switched the advantage back to the Reds from Anfield.

However, Liverpool’s control of the game was threatened by a Marcus Rashford goal that made for a tense final half hour, where a potential United goal could have rendered to naught all the fine efforts Liverpool had put in for the three points. Fortunately, Klopp’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah put finishing touches on the win with his late goal.

The win brings Liverpool back into contention for a top four finish, which Chelsea’s loss at home to Arsenal in the London derby on Wednesday allowed. With three games left, and with the potential of the third and fourth-placed sides, Leicester and Chelsea, to drop points when they face each other on Tuesday, May 18, Liverpool fancy their chances.

The Reds have placed reaching the top four places in their own hands by overcoming the Red Devils in their own backyard and it is the very first Liverpool Old Trafford victory under Klopp since his arrival at Anfield. It could not have come at a better time for the men from Anfield, who displayed great mental strength to comeback after the early setback.

In his post-match comments, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer conceded Manchester United lost to the better team even though he claimed that the fan protests outside Old Trafford disrupted his charges. Although, there were no security breaches by the protesters this time, United’s squad arrived at the ground around six hours before kick-off to avoid being held up by protesters again.

It was good they did because there was a large fan presence gathered outside the ground ahead of the game, and in Solskjaer’s opinion, that had a negative impact on United’s preparations and performance in general.

Another negative for the United side was the continued absence of centre-back captain Harry Maguire for a second straight game. Maguire was substituted in Sunday’s victory over Aston Villa and is still sweating out his recovery on the sidelines. United have lost the two games Maguire has missed, and it is likely he will still not make it for United’s Europa League final against Villarreal in Gdansk.

However, Liverpool are back on the bounce with four wins from their last four games of this season giving fans a late glimpse of the performance levels that won them, first, the UEFA Champions League against fellow EPL side Tottenham Hotspur and later, the EPL trophy itself that they failed to defend this year after injury woes and an inexplicable dip in form across board.

They will have to keep it up in the three matches remaining to give themselves the chance to make it to Europe’s elite football competition next season.

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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