Sorry Liverpool thrashed at Wolves
IMAGE: Ruben Neves celebrates scoring the third goal for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Liverpool FC during the English Premier League match at Molineux in Wolverhampton, on Saturday. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images
Relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers humiliated Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool on Saturday with a comfortable 3-0 win over the misfiring Reds, who are yet to win in the Premier League this year.
In their best performance of the season, Wolves cut through Liverpool’s shaky defence from the off, missing two good chances before a Hwang Hee-Chan cutback went in off the heel of Joel Matip for a fifth minute own goal.
Minutes later, debutant Craig Dawson lashed in the second unmarked from close range after the ball bounced off Cody Gakpo in another spell of sloppy defending by the visitors.
A fired-up Liverpool started the second half strongly, but Ruben Neves effectively ended the contest in the 71st minute, controlling then prodding the ball in at the end of a scintillating counter-attack from the home side.
Defeat left Liverpool 10th on 29 points after a terrible start to 2023 in which they have won just one of seven matches – against Wolves in the FA Cup – in all competitions.
“The start to the game was horrible. We caused the misery with the first 12 minutes… How can I not be concerned?” a downcast Klopp told reporters after the game.
“You can criticise, you can judge us, you can say whatever you like, and you are probably right, because these 12 minutes are not allowed. That’s really hard to take, I have to say.”
IMAGE: A dejected Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker after Ruben Neves scored the third goal for Wolves. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images
After coming close to a historic quadruple last season, where they won two domestic cups and were runners-up in both the Champions League and Premier League, Klopp’s injury-hit and confidence-shorn team are a shadow of their former selves.
The result was the first time in a decade that Liverpool have lost three consecutive Premier League away games.
They have conceded more goals in the Premier League this season – 28 in 21 games – than they did in the whole of last season and remain 21 points behind Arsenal at the top.
Klopp refused to make excuses, saying it was no longer right to point to the impact of their energy-sapping 2021-22 campaign.
“The team is not full of confidence, you can see that. We caused the problems ourselves. I cannot always cover things… I don’t lose confidence in the boys, but I see where we have to improve. For today, it was not good enough what I did.”
Victory eased Wolves’ fears of a drop to the second-tier Championship, lifting them to 15th position on 20 points, two ahead of the bottom three.
Their ecstatic fans serenaded every touch with an “Ole” in the final minutes as Liverpool’s once all-conquering players looked beaten and embarrassed.
“We love super Lopetegui,” the Molineux crowd sang to their Spanish manager Julen Lopetegui, who took over in November charged with saving Wolves’ Premier League status.
Klopp, meanwhile, had to endure what for him is an unaccustomed taunt: “You’re getting sacked in the morning”.
Wolves’ boss was thrilled with the performance but cautioned his team still had plenty of work to ensure safety.
“Of course we are happy,” Lopetegui said.
“But this is only three points. We have to continue working hard. We need a lot of points more to achieve our aim. It is going to be a very long and hard race.”
IMAGE: James Tarkowski, right, celebrates with team-mates after scoring the winning goal during the Premier League match against Arsenal at Goodison Park in Liverpool, on Saturday. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
New Everton boss Sean Dyche’s reign began with a shock 1-0 victory over English Premier League leaders Arsenal as James Tarkowski’s second-half header saw the Toffees win their first game since October and move out of the relegation zone on Saturday.
The defeat left Arsenal with a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, who visit Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with the top two having both now played 20 games.
Everton looked a much-improved unit in Dyche’s first game in charge after replacing Frank Lampard and they troubled Arsenal throughout, coming close to opening the scoring in the first half through Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Tarkowski finally broke the deadlock to score his first goal for the hosts on the hour with a header from a corner by fellow ex-Burnley man Dwight McNeil which flew past Aaron Ramsdale.
Tarkowski, who Dyche signed when he was at Burnley, said he hoped the win could help change the prospects for Everton, who had only won three league games all season before Saturday.
“It has been tough for us and the fans and for all the staff in the club. Hopefully this is the turning point for the club, there is a lot of talent here,” he told BT Sport.
“It’s taken me a while, I need to score more. What a great time to do it and a great day. It’s back to work on Monday and we crack on.
“We’ve lacked that little bit of grit at times and that’s what the fans want. We’ve seen what it’s all about today.”
IMAGE: James Tarkowski broke the deadlock in the 60th minute with a header from a corner, to score his first goal for Everton. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
It was the first time Everton had beaten a top-of-the table side in 11 years, with their last such win coming in January 2012 against Manchester City.
Toffees winger McNeil added: “We know how good they (Arsenal) are as a team, but we also know how good we are as a team as well with all the chances we had.”
Arsenal did pose problems, with Bukayo Saka forcing a goal-line clearance from Tarkowski after a volley in the first half and Eddie Nketiah blasting an effort over from close range.
Deadline day signing Jorginho made his Gunners debut a minute before Everton’s goal but the Italy midfielder could not do enough to change his side’s fortunes.
They continued to toil to the end of the six minutes of added time with a period of relentless attacking but Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was able to keep the visitors at bay.
Everton, who had only been separated from bottom spot by goal difference, are now 17th, a point above the drop zone but having played a game more than the teams below them.
Rashford fires Manchester United to win over Palace
IMAGE: Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring the second goal for Manchester United against Crystal Palace. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images
Marcus Rashford won a first-half penalty before scoring himself in the second half as Manchester United survived a straight red card for Casemiro to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The visitors found themselves behind early when a VAR check showed Will Hughes had handled a ball from Rashford in the box, and Bruno Fernandes sent Vincent Guaita the wrong way from the spot in the seventh minute.
Palace had their best chance just before the break when Jeffrey Schlupp struck a dipping, swerving shot from distance that David de Gea had to get down smartly to save, but other than that Palace struggled to threaten the United goal.
Rashford cut inside a curled a shot just over the bar 11 minutes into the second half, and shortly afterwards winger Antony sped into the box with the ball at his feet but he couldn’t find a team mate and Palace were able to clear.
The in-form Rashford was not to be denied and he made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute with a simple finish after a move that featured some superb short passing as United looked set to cruise to victory.
However, Palace were thrown a lifeline when Casemiro was shown a straight red card for grabbing Hughes by the throat as both sides clashed following a tackle on Antony, and Schlupp pulled a goal back in the 76th minute to give them hope.
The visitors poured forward looking for an equaliser but United coach Erik ten Hag stemmed the tide by sending on Harry Maguire, loan signing Marcel Sabitzer and Victor Lindelof, who replaced fellow substitute Alejandro Garnacho, as they held on to win.
Manchester United climbed to third in the standings on 42 points, eight behind leaders Arsenal and three behind second-placed Manchester City, while Palace are 12th on 24 points.
“The first 70 minutes was all ours, we dominated the game and we played really well, A big compliment for the team, a lot of energy and they played really well in possession and in the defence transition,” Ten Hag said in a TV interview.
“The last 20 minutes we showed we can battle, we can fight. It’s a big team spirit, they stand (up) for each other and we are happy with that,” he added.
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