Second setback for the Reds
Liverpool, second in the English Championship, missed the opportunity to come back to three points behind leaders Manchester City by losing on the lawn of Leicester 1 to 0 on the 20th day, cut off by three matches due to the Covid- 19.
The Reds are six lengths behind City, who can soar to the top of the Premier League if they win at Brendford on Wednesday (9.15pm), but keep their second place tied on points with Chelsea (3rd), which they face Sunday.
Irresistible until mid-December, Jürgen Klopp’s players recorded their second consecutive poor performance after a draw at Tottenham (2-2 on December 19).
The executioner of the Reds, Ademola Lookman, who was not on the field at kick-off, only needed two minutes to make the difference when he came into play (1-0, 59th).
Previously, the Reds had three opportunities to take control of the game, with a missed penalty from Salah (14th), another deflected attempt by Kasper Schmeichel (32nd) and a shot off target from Sadio Mané, yet in an ideal position (55th).
Apart from the conceded goal, Jürgen Klopp’s players were only really threatened once (Vardy’s attempt blocked by Matip in the 35th) and can harbor regrets.
Tottenham spoils at Southampton
Unbeaten in the league since the arrival of Antonio Conte on the bench in early November, Tottenham (6th place with 30 points) fell from 5th place in favor of West Ham (31 points), victorious over Watford (4-1) in the afternoon.
Led in the 25th minute after a goal from James Ward-Prowse, the Spurs equalized on a penalty from Harry Kane (41st), after a poorly controlled tackle and the expulsion of Mohammed Salisu.
Despite a clear domination (13 shots in the penalty area in the second of the period), they could not be precise enough and were refused two goals, one of which was for an offside of a few centimeters from Kane.
After taking just one point in their last three games, West Ham has recovered well at Watford.
Led from the fourth minute of play after a goal from Emmanuel Denis, the surprise team of this first half of the season was able to turn things around in just two minutes by Tomas Soucek (27th), then Saïd Benrahma (29th), before Mark Noble from the penalty spot (58th) and Nikola Vlasic (90 + 2) did not secure the victory in the second half.
Without his trainer Patrick Vieira, who tested positive for Covid, Crystal Palace easily won against the red lantern Norwich (3-0) thanks in particular to goals from Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Reports by shovel
Two meetings scheduled for Tuesday have been postponed due to many positive cases of Covid: Arsenal-Wolverhampton and Leeds-Aston Villa.
103 tests administered to the players and staff of the twenty English Premier League clubs between December 20 and 26 were positive, unheard of since the start of the pandemic.
The specter of further restrictive measures in the stadiums, however, appears to have receded in the near term, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicating that no further announcements will be made before the end of the year.
While fifteen league fixtures have been postponed since December 12, several coaches, including Brendan Rodgers (Leicester) and Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool) have again criticized the end-of-year schedule, which traditionally provides for two days in space. 48 hours, December 26 and 28.