Mith a clear victory in the so-called “North-West Derby”, Jürgen Klopp impressively continued the race to catch up in the race for a place in the Champions League with Liverpool FC. The “Reds” played in a 7-0 (1-0) duel with the record champions Manchester United in a frenzy and are only three points behind fourth place in the English Premier League, which entitles them to participate in the premier class again.
Liverpool take 13 out of 15 points
Dutch World Cup star Cody Gakpo (43′) gave the hosts the lead at Anfield just as United were at their strongest. Darwin Nunez (47′) and again Gakpo (50′) brought about the decision with two goals shortly after the restart. Mohamed Salah (66’/83′), Nunez (75′) and Roberto Firmino (88′) scored three more goals against the third-placed team and ensured the biggest win in this prestigious duel.
“It’s something special to win a game like that,” said Salah, who was crowned the Reds’ Premier League record scorer with 129 goals, “we have to stay humble and win our games. Hopefully that will give us a big boost.” Coach Klopp said: “We know the result is crazy. That was the boost we wanted. So we are on the right track. We want everyone to know we’re still here. That wasn’t the case for a while, but today we showed who we can be and that’s what we have to do from now on.” United coach Erik ten Hag said: “It was a reality check. That wasn’t our standard. We didn’t perform as a team. It was unprofessional.”
Liverpool have thus achieved 13 out of a possible 15 points in the last five games. In the national cup competitions, team manager Klopp’s team was eliminated early on, in the Champions League after the 2:5 home defeat in the first leg against Real Madrid, there is a risk of being eliminated in the round of 16.
Meanwhile, champions Manchester City are no closer to Arsenal in the fight for the title. While coach Pep Guardiola’s team won 2-0 (1-0) against Newcastle United with international Ilkay Gündogan in the starting line-up on Saturday, the Londoners achieved a happy 3-2 (0-1 ). Reiss Nelson’s winning goal came in the eighth minute of injury time.
Arsenal remain five points clear of the defending champions. Chelsea FC, on Tuesday (9:00 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League and on Prime Video) opponents Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 of the Champions League, also drew 1-0 (0-0) against Leeds United. National player Kai Havertz was in the starting XI for the Blues. Wesley Fofana (53rd) shot Chelsea to the three points.
Bournemouth professional Philip Billing had shocked Arsenal with an early goal in the first minute, Marcos Senesi (57th) even increased to 2-0. But Arsenal equalized through Thomas Partey (62′) and Ben White (70′). Phil Foden (15th) scored the opening goal for ManCity, Bernardo Silva (67th) scored the final score.
