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Sheffield United fans craved it and Liverpool supporters feared it – but the ‘new manager bounce’ effect was nowhere to be seen at Bramall Lane. If anything, it all felt a bit flat on Chris Wilder’s return as his Blades side fell to a disappointing defeat against a sub-par Liverpool.
Wilder is a good man, an astute tactician and adept man motivator – but this match underlined the monumental mountain he must climb to keep his boyhood club in the Premier League after taking over from well-liked Paul Heckingbottom earlier this week.
It was a marked improvement from the drab mess at Turf Moor on Saturday, when Heckingbottom’s coffin was given one final nail after a 5-0 loss to Burnley, but United were toothless in attack and failed to punish several big mistakes from a sloppy Liverpool team.
Virgil van Dijk’s first-half volley and Dominik Szoboszlai’s 95th-minute strike helped the Reds keep up the pressure on Arsenal in the title race, with this their second of nine games in a Christmas and New Year period which will define whether they are contenders or pretenders.
But Jurgen Klopp was often left berating his team on the touchline after misplaced passes, poor touches and shoddy finishing left the door ajar to a Blades comeback. If Wilder’s attacking players had a bit more about them, they could have punished Liverpool.
Klopp’s men were by far the dominant side but United had a number of good chances. Several times, they got into good areas but fluffed their lines, with Cameron Archer too often guilty of hesitating in front of goal, being unsure whether to pass or shoot and ending up doing neither.
Local lad Wilder was serenaded with a chorus of ‘Chrissy Wilder, he’s one of our own’ after the stadium announcer told Bramall Lane that each fan must play their part in backing the players. And that raucous atmosphere seemed to unsettle Liverpool, who made several sloppy errors.
Joe Gomez, a right-footed central defender starting at left-back, was the biggest culprit and was caught napping in possession on 12 minutes, which nearly gifted a goal to Sheffield United. Archer charged through and fed James McAtee but Caoimhin Kelleher stood tall.
Liverpool had 80 percent of possession in the first half but despite all of their possession, Wes Foderingham was barely called into action and the Reds’ opener came after captain Anel Ahmedhodzic had the misfortune of tripping over Van Dijk’s knee and falling over.
It meant Van Dijk had the freedom of the penalty box to volley home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner. It was Alexander-Arnold’s 75th assist for the Reds – Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah are the only Premier League players with more since the full-back’s Reds debut in 2016.
Van Dijk’s volley was the headline-grabbing moment but the captain put in an imperious defensive display in a somewhat shaky overall performance from Liverpool. The Dutchman was a commanding presence as Blades threatened with set-pieces and from fast counter-attacks.
Salah had failed to score in three of the previous four league games, which is a dry patch for his superhuman standards, and was denied his 200th goal for Liverpool in the 56th minute after his powerful, right-footed volley was extraordinarily tipped over the crossbar from Foderingham.
Wilder urged his men to get forward, with Archer and McAtee both fluffing chances in promising positions. Manchester City loanee McAtee demanded a penalty after being felled by Ibrahima Konate but Simon Hooper – under scrutiny after the weekend – waved it away.
With one of the last kicks of the game, Liverpool finally put the game to bed after Nunez picked out Szoboszlai in space and the Hungary captain finished calmly to secure their first Premier League away win since September and leave the Blades rock bottom.
Wilder’s sequel started with plenty of reasons for optimism – they were well-drilled at the back and created openings at the other end – but after working a couple of miracles in his first stint in South Yorkshire, it feels like his biggest task yet stands ahead.
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