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Liverpool were looking to add to their flawless start to the season when they travelled to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United on Saturday. The Red might have been riding high after attaining a perfect run so far this season, however, their record at Bramall Lane was far from perfect. Liverpool had been winless on their visits to Sheffield United since 1990, a record that Jurgen Klopp was desperate to change this weekend.
The Red were looking to make it seven wins out of seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and few people would have bet against them. Jurgen Klopp’s side has been insurmountable in the field and has scored 17 and conceded just five goals so far in the league. The German manager had a near-fit side ahead of the game, even though he was still missing Alisson Becker, Nathaniel Clyne and Xherdan Shaqiri due to injuries.
Liverpool Starting XI: Adrian, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum; Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah.
Liverpool started the game stronger, but the home team surprisingly matched toe to toe with the league leaders. After an intense 45 minutes, the game went to the break with the score 0-0, even though Sheffield United were looking the more likely to find a breakthrough. The home side had a few chances to score in the second half, but it was Liverpool who took the lead, through Georginio Wijnaldum in the 70th minute and went on to win the game 1-0. Here are three reasons why Liverpool won the game.
#3 Relentless attack
Jurgen Klopp’s side were relentless in attack since the start of the game. In fact, their desire to bomb forward at every occasion gave Sheffield a lot of joy on the counter. Sadio Mane even hit the upright in the first half, as the Reds piled the pressure on the home side.
The home side sat back deep and hit Liverpool on the break, using fast transition from defense to attack to unsettle the Liverpool backline. Sheffield United looked the more likely to score at one point of time, however, Klopp never deviated from his style of play. Liverpool’s relentless desire to attack ultimately helped the Reds win the game.
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#2 Sheffield United's failure to convert their chances
Sheffield United knocked on the Liverpool goal on quite a few occasions in the first half itself. Callum Robinson had a fantastic chance to score in the 36th minute, after getting in between Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip, but he ended up heading wide.
In the second half, it was clear that the tide was slowly turning in favour of the home side. Sheffield were growing in confidence with each passing minute. Buoyed by the backing of the brilliant home support, the Blades took the game to Liverpool and threatened to score on quite a few occasions. Oliver Norwood was especially impressive with his final balls and he created a great chance for Oliver McBurnie early in the second half, only for the Scottish striker to head over the bar. More chances followed as the game wore on, however, Sheffield was guilty of continuously missing their chances.
Had Chris Wilder’s wards were a bit more clinical in the final third, Liverpool would have been a couple of goals down early in the second half. Unfortunately, the Blades’ finishing let them down on the day.
#1 Costly error from Dean Henderson
The biggest reason why Liverpool managed to come away from Bramall Lane with all three points was due to a lapse of concentration from Dean Henderson. The Englishman had an impressive first half and was alert under the sticks for his team. He was quick out of his box on a couple of occasions and looked unperturbed by the might of Liverpool’s front three. However, disaster struck in the second half.
When the home side looked certain to score any minute, Liverpool had a huge stroke of luck. After a melee in the Sheffield box, the ball fell to Georginio Wijnaldum who struck a low shot towards Henderson. It should have been a routine stop for the Englishman, but to his horror, Henderson allowed the ball to roll through his legs and into the net.
The Englishman did partly redeem himself by brilliantly stopping Mohamed Salah in the 78th minute, but by then, the damage had already been done.
