LIVERPOOL EARNED a record-equalling 18th consecutive Premier League win as the runaway leaders came from behind to beat West Ham 3-2 thanks to Sadio Mane’s late strike on Monday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were in danger of dropping Premier League points for the first time since their draw at Manchester United on October 20 after falling behind in the second half at Anfield.
Georginio Wijnaldum put Liverpool ahead early on but Issa Diop equalised soon after.
Pablo Fornals gave struggling West Ham a stunning lead, but Lukasz Fabianski’s woeful blunder allowed Mohamed Salah to equalise with his 19th goal of the season.
Mane completed the fightback with nine minutes left as Liverpool moved 22 points clear of second placed Manchester City.
The Reds’ dramatic escape ensured they equalled Manchester City’s English top-flight record of 18 consecutive league wins set between August and December 2017.
Their 21st successive league victory at Anfield also equalled their own English top-flight record for consecutive home wins, set by Bill Shankly’s team between January and December 1972.
79 & 26 - @LFC have already won as many points this season as Man Utd's treble winners of 1998-99 (79), and as many league games as Arsenal's 2003-04 'invincibles' (26). Astounding. pic.twitter.com/n0RfT5R2Hk
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 24, 2020
Liverpool need four victories from their final 11 games to guarantee a first English title since 1990.
They are unbeaten in their last 44 league matches, just five short of Arsenal’s all-time English record of 49.
Klopp’s men found themselves in the rare position of coming off a defeat, for only the third time in all competitions this season, after Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League last 16 first leg loss at Atletico Madrid.
And third bottom West Ham gave them all they could handle in a thrilling clash that suggested Liverpool are not invincible just yet as they try to emulate Arsenal’s unbeaten 2003-04 top-flight campaign.
Liverpool took the lead in the ninth minute when Trent Alexander-Arnold showed great agility to whip a cross from an acute angle into the six-yard box, where Wijnaldum stooped to head past Fabianski’s weak attempted save.
The Reds had kept a clean-sheet in 10 of their last 11 league matches, but they were guilty of switching off for once as West Ham grabbed the equaliser three minutes later.
West Ham fans protested against co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan by releasing black balloons and displaying a ‘Run like a circus, owned by clowns’ banner before kick-off.
But they were celebrating when Robert Snodgrass’s corner curled towards Diop and the defender rose higher than Joe Gomez to beat slow to react Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker with a powerful header.
Liverpool were unusually vulnerable at the back and Tomas Soucek’s header caused panic before an offside flag stopped Diop from scoring again.
Virgil van Dijk was inches away from settling Liverpool down when his header from Alexander-Arnold’s corner cannoned off the bar just before half-time.
Having turned the title race into a procession, there was a distinct lack of edge about Liverpool, who were also hampered by the absence of their tireless captain Jordan Henderson due to a hamstring injury.
The subdued atmosphere at the normally raucous Anfield suggested Liverpool’s fans were getting complacent as well.
The malaise extended into the second half as Liverpool struggled to put West Ham to the sword.
Sensing an unexpected opportunity, West Ham mounted an incisive raid that brought them an improbable lead in the 54th minute.
Mark Noble found Declan Rice on the right and he quickly swivelled to whip in a cross that substitute Fornals swept home from eight yards.
That was the signal for Liverpool to finally wake from their slumber and Fabianski saved Alexander-Arnold’s pile-driver before Roberto Firmino headed over from close-range.
Liverpool’s pressure was rewarded in the 68th minute with a huge helping hand from Fabianski as Salah’s shot from Andy Robertson’s cross somehow squirmed through his legs into the net.
That set the stage for a late Liverpool barrage and West Ham were unable to stem the tide when Alexander-Arnold shot goalwards in the 81st minute and Mane tapped into the empty net to give the Reds another landmark moment in an incredible season.
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Decent game to watch… Liverpool not amazing by any stretch tonight but results like that is how you become champions….fair play to them…it’s their year.
@Billy Big Baws: it’s obviously thier year.. But salah and mane are a disgrace at times, make them very unlikeable players. Cheating When there’s no Need
@Billy Big Baws: oh shut up
@Ross: stop!! Nonsense
@Ross: Yeah but that’s not as bad as capital letters When there’s no Need :)
Epic stuff , no team is gonna play 100% and cruise through 38 league games comfortably, tonight was another uncomfortable one but this team just never gives up and keeps creating chances , begrudge at your peril , to have played 27 and won 26 at this stage of the season is phenomenal , on the back of being European and World champions and on the league run they have created … just appreciate ..
I could care less about results at this stage. Enjoyable game to watch though. End to end. Bobby Firmino got through some amount of work. Does everything right but can’t get a goal at home. Has to be one on the way for him. 3 points in the bag and miles in front
@my name: well done mick
@A: thanks Aido. Best of luck with that Mayo thing
@my name: If you could care less why don’t you? or do you not want to?
@eoin carroll: I’ve just noticed my typo there Eoin, could care less about “performance”. Thanks for pointing that out
@my name: embarrassing there Mick
@A: not half as bad as you forgetting what profile you were signed into
@my name: you couldn’t care less you mean?
@eoin carroll: that’s the one
Even when far from their best, this team keeps on winning. They are well on their way to being the most dominant league winners in the history of English top flight football.
To have equalled the league points tally of United’s treble winning side with 11 games to go is incredible. 4 more wins.
@Seàn Mc: possibly the most dominant winners of every league not just PL!
@Ado Smith: could happen but unlikely, I think PSG hold the record (in Europe anyway) with a 31 point lead. City’s English record of 19 points is definitely achievable though.
On the ball Paul, the live updates didn’t even have the full time score by the time this was up!
4 more thank you
Somebody will be on to say that it was a fluke / lucky / won by VAR. They were far from top of their game – hardly the first time this season – but that’s resilience.
It says a lot about the spirit and never give up attitude that Klopp has instilled in this team that when they losing with 25 minutes to go I was 100% certain of a win. Thanks Fabianski I hope you get a nice pay out if Liverpool do go unbeaten. If Salah, Mane and Firmino play like that against Atletico there will be no chance of a league/CL double.
@Ger Power: need a hug Ger ,aaw poor diddums:)
@Ger Power: it’s just one of those years for Liverpool
We got a glimpse of it last season Just enjoy it
They can’t even loose a coin toss this season
That’s the way it goes I guess
They’d want to defend better against Atletico Madrid that’s for sure. Firmino and Keita were so wasteful it was shocking.
@Ashley Rowland: Europe is not there priority this season
@James Lynch: That statement would hold some water if they were involved in a tight title race. The league is done and dusted and they are in a position where complete focus can shift to the Championz League. It’s only Poil fans that are throwing up that excuse in case they get knocked out by Ath Madrid.
@Pools Punter: haven’t seen many pool fans saying this, in fact he seems to be the first. Europe absolutely is a priority and they will have to do very well to get through the second leg of this tie.
LuckyPool get lucky again
@A: ……and not a Howard Webb in site!
@A: yeah dam var helping Liverpool again tonight… Oh wait.
@A: when you’re the best people always think you’re lucky.
@A: As I’ve said before A it is lucky being a Liverpool supporter and you can be one too. Go on… you know you want to.
@Manbackonboard: u do remember those white suits from 96
@A: Nope, I’m too young.
@A: LOL – You’re a United fan just bitter this LFC team will soon be considered the greatest ever team and so erasing the memory of United in ‘99, the jammiest ever bunch of flukes.
@Manbackonboard: To become a Liverpool supporter I’d need to move to England. No thanks!!
@james dimaggio: I don’t see anyone suggesting you become a Liverpool supporter in this thread? Unless…. no, wait, A, is that you? Oh Dear…
@Hakaman: Interesting statistic, this Liverpool team have now achieved the same points total as Man United’s ’99 team, 79 points with 11 games left to play!
@Roger Paltry: more competitive teams in 99
@A: Man United and Arsenal drew a third of their games (25 in total), Leeds and West Ham finished 4th and 5th. Do you want to have another go at that?
@james dimaggio: Oooops. You messed up there A.
@A: in any sport you make and earn your own luck
@james dimaggio: Liverpool is the capital of Dublin
@A: I remember those white suits very well. It had been six years since Liverpool won the league and the players were all loving stardom and not doing it on the pitch.. (reminds me of the social media hoors at a club who haven’t won the league in 7 years) Took quite a while to get back to the top for Liverpool. Here’s hoping it’s a good 23/24 years before we have to look at a United league win again.
@A: 26 wins out of 27 games. Yep, luck. Good man.
Disjointed performance, although I felt like it was similar to the Villa game back in…eh…long time ago..;-) Their muddlefield was just that…sloppy, slow, sticky…it never pushed on. Glad to see Trent got out of that horror show from last Tuesday…still..a win is a win..resilience, vigilance to the end prize…yeah..3 wins..3 draws in that order I’ll be happy..puts a few records to bed…
Out of Jail
The only thing that will stop Liverpool winning the title is the Corona Virus.It looks like it could be threat.I doubt if its going to get contained in Italy.
Arh the Liverpool of the eighties …. last minute winning goals snd then …….. obscurity. Lightning can’t strike the same spot – can it?
@Nigel Barlow: yes
@Nigel Barlow: the Liverpool of the 80’s, the teams that were preceded by the teams of the 70’s is that what you meant to say?