Arsenal’s class of 2003-2004 can breathe easy: Liverpool will not be joining them as Premier League “Invincibles.”
“Phew...” was the immediate reaction from Arsenal’s Twitter account after Liverpool collapsed to their first league loss of the season on Saturday, a 3-0 defeat against Watford — a team languishing in the relegation zone.
It marked the end of a 44-match undefeated streak and a record-tying 18-match winning run for Liverpool in the league.
Photo: AP
Juergen Klopp’s team headed to Vicarage Road as the champions-in-waiting with a record 22-point lead and needing to get through 11 more matches to also become only the second to complete a full season unbeaten since the start of the Premier League in 1992. Preston also went through the 1888-1989 season undefeated.
Few could have foreseen the manner of the meltdown against Watford, who scored all of their goals in the second half through Ismaila Sarr (two) and Troy Deeney.
Thankfully for Liverpool fans desperate to see their team back on top of English soccer for the first time in 30 years, the loss is far from terminal.
Four wins from their final 10 games will see the Reds become champions for the 19th time.
“There is no reason for panic,” Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk said. “The [unbeaten] record, and the talk of the records, is all media. We just try to win every game ahead of us.”
However, the performance will be a concern, coming soon after their 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in their Champions League last-16, first-leg match.
Indeed, Liverpool’s players have been far below their usual high standards since returning from the Premier League’s first midseason break, having edged past last-place Norwich City 1-0 and coming from behind to beat another team fighting relegation, West Ham United, 3-2. The loss to Atletico was sandwiched between those league matches.
The absence of captain Jordan Henderson, who sustained a hamstring injury against Atletico, has been significant, while the defense looked ragged against Watford, with Dejan Lovren filling in at centerback for Joe Gomez.
“We want to strike back, we want to show what we’ve been doing the whole season,” Van Dijk said. “That’s the only way forward.”
Elsewhere, Marcos Alonso made it three goals in two games for Chelsea since returning to the lineup after a two-month absence when he scored twice — including an 85th-minute equalizer — in a 2-2 draw against AFC Bournemouth.
“Marcos Alonso has had a big week, but I don’t want my leftback top of the scoring charts,” Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said. “I want our attackers scoring goals and they haven’t.”
Alonso netted what proved to be the winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur a week earlier, only to get sent off in the 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League’s last 16 on Tuesday.
Crystal Palace won 1-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham won 3-1 over Southampton, and Newcastle United and Burnley played out a scoreless draw.
The Aston Villa-Sheffield United match was postponed.
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