Liverpool keep the pressure on leaders Manchester City after their 1-0 victory against West Ham, this Saturday in the 28th round of the Premier League, in which Chelsea waited for the second half to crush Burnley 4-0.
Source: AFP
The ‘Reds’ made use of a goal by the Senegalese striker, new African champion, Sadio Mané (27), against a willing West Ham but without success in front of goal.
Ahead of the Manchester derby on Sunday, Liverpool are back within three points of the ‘Citizens’, with the same number of games, while the ‘Hammers’ remain locked in fifth place on 45 points.
Although without Declan Rice in midfield, West Ham confirmed their ability to put Jürgen Klopp’s men in trouble, whom they already won 3-2 in the first leg.
Liverpool started the clash by stepping on the accelerator, with several clear chances before Mané pushed a center-shot from Trent Alexander-Arnold (27) from the small area.
But the Londoners, well organized in defense and dangerous on the counter, did not give up.
The Spanish Pablo Fornals saw his lob over the Brazilian Alisson saved just in front of the line by Alexander-Arnold (39), and the Argentine Manuel Lanzini finished high with everything in his favor (69).
“I don’t know if we will remember this game as one of the most important,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said.
“If you are not well organized you have to defend with passion, and that is what we did,” he added.
But the ‘Reds’ fulfilled their mission, and on Tuesday they will try to seal their ticket to the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Inter Milan, whom they defeated 2-0 in the first leg.
FOUR GOALS IN 22 MINUTES
For its part, Chelsea woke up to endorse a 4-0 run against Burnley (0-0 at halftime), while Leeds’ first game after the Bielsa era ended with another defeat.
With 53 points, the ‘Blues’ consolidate their third position, with six more and one game less than Manchester United.
Burnley (18th) will continue to occupy relegation position, with two points less than Leeds, who have one more game.
Unrecognizable for the first 45 minutes, Chelsea might even have trailed at half-time had Dwight McNeil failed to forgive a chance in the 30th minute.
It was his right winger Reece James, starting for the first time in 2022 after an injury, who opened the can for his team with a solo number concluded with a good shot (47).
The German Kai Havertz, starter at the top to the detriment of Romelu Lukaku, vindicated himself with a brace in three minutes (52 and 55), before the American Christian Pulisic (69) closed the scoring.
In Saturday’s first game, Leeds United, who parted ways with Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa last Sunday and named American Jesse Marsch as his replacement on Monday, lost 1-0 on their visit to Leicester (12th).
The only goal of the game was scored by Harvey Barnes in the 67th minute, in an attack launched alongside Kelechi Iheanacho that culminated in beating Illan Meslier.
Leeds remains for the moment in sixteenth place, with just one point margin over Everton (17th), who have played three fewer games.
And one of the news of the weekend in the Premier was the first start of the Danish Christian Eriksen since his cardiac arrest during the European Championship last June. His team, Brentford (15th) celebrated with a victory at bottom side Norwich (3-1). The other star of the match was striker Ivan Toney, who scored all three of Brentford’s goals.
Aston Villa (11th) thrashed Southampton (9th) 4-0, with a goal from Brazilian Philippe Coutinho and another from his compatriot Douglas Luiz.
