Liverpool spoiled Chris Wilder's return to Sheffield United as goals from Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai gave the Reds a 2-0 win at Bramall Lane, taking the Reds back within two points of leaders Arsenal.
Van Dijk struck from a corner in the 37th minute before Szoboszlai sealed the result in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time for his second Premier League goal.
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How the match unfolded
Though Liverpool dominated possession early on, they were fortunate not to go behind in the opening 10 minutes.
Joe Gomez, starting at left-back in place of Konstantinos Tsimikas, was dispossessed by Cameron Archer on the halfway line. Archer fed the ball to James McAtee but he was denied by goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Instead it was Liverpool who took the lead as Van Dijk scored his first Premier League goal of the season.
The Liverpool centre-back had the simple task of converting Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner from 10 yards after he was left unmarked in the penalty area.
Liverpool went close again from another set-piece as Wes Foderingham produced a brilliant save to stop Mohamed Salah’s right-footed volley from a corner in the second half.
Foderingham was then called into action again as he rushed out of his goal to deny substitute Darwin Nunez, who attempted to slide the ball through his legs.
Those misses wouldn’t prove costly though as Szoboszlai sealed the victory in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time when he lashed the ball into the roof of the net from Nunez’s cross.
Liverpool move to 34 points and are only two points behind Arsenal. Sheff Utd remain rooted to the table with five points.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
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Did you know?
Liverpool have scored at least once in each of their last 32 fixtures in all competitions, the second-longest such run in their history, after a 34-match stretch from April to December 2021.
Since the start of the 2018/19 season, Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk has 17 Premier League goals, at least four more than any other defender. Liverpool have won all 15 Premier League encounters in which the Dutchman has scored for them.
Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool have won all five of their Premier League games against Sheffield United, their joint-most against a side they have won 100 per cent of their league matches against under the German (also 5/5 v Norwich City).
Sheffield United are only the third side in Premier League history to have as few as five points from their opening 15 matches of a season in the competition, after Sunderland in 2005/06 (5) and the Blades themselves in 2020/21 (2).
Van Dijk and Szoboszlai score in Liverpool win away at Sheffield United