Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Salah awards twice
Penalty flop initiates Liverpool’s bankruptcy
This is a setback for Jürgen Klopp in the title race: Liverpool FC fails at Leicester City, for which an ex-Leipzig player is decisive. Star striker Mohamed Salah, on the other hand, fails twice with a penalty. Meanwhile, Tottenham remains undefeated with coach Conte.
Liverpool FC suffered a severe setback in the Premier League title race. Team manager Jürgen Klopp’s team lost 1-0 (0-0) at Leicester City despite the best chances and remains six points behind leaders Manchester City. Ex-Leipzig Ademola Lookman (56th) scored to win for the hosts.
The Reds, who had not lost ten competitive games in a row, missed several good opportunities. Striker Mohamed Salah failed after a quarter of an hour with a penalty kick against the outstanding Leicster goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and then caused horror in the margin: Standing a few meters in front of the goal, he headed the ball instead of the empty goal, Schmeichel would have been powerless. Schmeichel also thwarted the Egyptian’s next chance brilliantly (33rd minute). Sadio Mane (56th) put a free-standing finish over the goal.
The hosts’ lead was all the more surprising: three minutes after being substituted on, the former Leipzig Ademola Lookman hit the near corner to make it 1-0 (59th minute). The Klopp-Elf didn’t manage to build up pressure afterwards and remained without a hit at the end of the year for the first time this season.
Klopp was extremely dissatisfied after the game: “We played a really bad game,” he said on Amazon Prime. On the BBC he added: “So many times these guys have given me the opportunity to say, ‘Wow, what a game!’ – Tonight it’s ‘Wow!’, But very different. It didn’t look good. It didn’t look like us, and of course that’s the only thing we have to think about and change immediately. ”
Conte remains undefeated
Tottenham Hotspur remains unbeaten in the seventh league match under coach Antonio Conte, but did not get more than 1: 1 (1: 1) at Southampton FC despite being outnumbered in the entire second half. Harry Kane scored for the table sixth with a penalty to equalize (41.). James Ward-Prowse gave the hosts the lead (25th). Southampton’s Mohammed Salisu saw a second yellow card in the 39th minute.
City rivals West Ham United moved past Spurs in the table with a 4-1 (2-1) win at Watford FC. The corona pandemic is still keeping the Premier League firmly under control. On Tuesday, the games between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers and between Leeds United and Aston Villa were canceled. In the evening, the league also canceled the match between Everton FC and Newcastle United scheduled for Thursday.
On Monday, the Premier League announced that 103 players and officials tested positive for the corona virus between December 20 and 26. This is the highest number of infections within seven days in the English elite league.