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regular-article-logo Monday, 23 December 2024

English Premier League: Liverpool continue to win in business end of Juergen Klopp's final season

Fourth victory in 11 days as Reds’ ascent continues

AP/PTI London Published 04.03.24, 10:29 AM
Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez scores against Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on Sunday

Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez scores against Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on Sunday Reuters

Exhausted, injury-hit and relying on a bunch of academy prospects, Liverpool continue to pull off victories in the business end of Juergen Klopp's final season in charge.

No English Premier League win by the Reds has been sealed as late as the one at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

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Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez came off the bench and glanced home a header in the ninth minute of stoppage time to sink Forest 1-0.

It was a sixth straight win in all competitions for Liverpool — and a fourth in an 11-day span that included an extra-time victory over Chelsea in the League Cup final.

"If you’d told me 12 days ago we would win all four games, I would have said no chance — it was impossible," said Klopp, who will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season after nearly nine years.

"In the circumstances, winning the games is ridiculous."

Next for Liverpool and Manchester City in the league: A seismic meeting at Anfield on March 10.

Even though Liverpool's injuries are relenting somewhat, the likes of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones are still missing. Klopp started 19-year-old Bobby Clark in midfield alongside redeployed defender Joe Gomez. Jayden Danns, an 18-year-old forward, came on as a second-half substitute for his league debut.

"What the boys have squeezed out was special,” Klopp said.

“This game didn’t go easy for us. We didn’t have a great rhythm and the boys felt the intensity for the first time."

There were angry scenes among Forest players and coaching staff after the final whistle, with even club owner Evangelos Marinakis coming down to the touchline to express his unhappiness and later approach referee Paul Tierney.

Eight minutes of time added on was officially awarded by the referee, which was perhaps the cause of Forest’s complaints along with unhappiness that the hosts did not get the ball back when play was stopped after Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate sustained a knock to the head at a Forest corner just before the goal.


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