Liverpool vs Sheffield United. Premier League.
AnfieldAttendance60,055.
Report and free match highlights as Mac Allister and Gakpo strike late on to move Liverpool two points clear at top of Premier League table; relegation-threatened Blades stunned Anfield with Conor Bradley own goal after gifting Darwin Nunez an opener but stay 10 points from safety
Friday 5 April 2024 08:13, UK
Alexis Mac Allister scored a screamer as Liverpool survived a big scare from bottom club Sheffield United to win 3-1 at Anfield and return to the top of the Premier League.
The Reds are now two points clear of Arsenal and have a three-point gap on defending champions Manchester City with eight games to go - but while those title rivals had routine wins on Wednesday, Liverpool went through the wringer 24 hours later.
Jurgen Klopp's men were stuck in second gear at the start of the second half after Ivo Grbic's blast against Darwin Nunez had given them the lead before the break. It had all seemed too easy for them.
Sheffield United - who had blown a golden chance to score after 32 seconds through James McAtee - capitalised on Liverpool's lack of intensity, with McAtee atoning for his miss with the cross for Gustavo Hamer to force an own goal from Conor Bradley.
Anfield was stunned. Mohamed Salah was hooked. The tension and anxiety ramped up as the clock ticked down.
But for the 25th time this season Liverpool came up with a goal in the final 15 minutes of a Premier League game. And what a goal it was. Mac Allister lashed a scorcher into the top corner to spark celebrations of joy and relief. A huge moment in the title race.
He whacked the crossbar from a free-kick not long after but Liverpool got over the line with Cody Gakpo heading in a third - and 26th in the final stages this season - from fit-again Andy Robertson's cross.
The result will have been a painful one for Blades boss Chris Wilder, who will rue those two big errors from his players in the first half. They are 10 points from safety with just eight games to play, but while the odds are against them, this was a reminder there are twists and turns to come in the battle for the Premier League crown.
Klopp had warned against complacency from his side in the build-up and Sheffield United showed inside a minute why they should not be overlooked despite their lowly position. A long throw was flicked on and McAtee had to score. Instead he blasted against Caoimhin Kelleher's legs. McAtee put his hands on his head. It was a chance he could not even have dreamed of.
But for Grbic it was a nightmare moment midway through the half. The expected Liverpool onslaught had followed McAtee's miss but it was another blunder from a visiting player which gave the hosts the breakthrough, with the goalkeeper blasting the ball against Nunez and seeing it rebound into his net. Wilder puffed out his cheeks.
By that point Liverpool had well and truly woken up and put the pressure on. It seemed it would now be a formality. Salah, Nunez, Bradley, Joe Gomez, Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai all saw chances come and go. Luis Diaz, after a series of tricks and flicks, dragged past a post as Liverpool racked up 14 first-half shots.
It was Sheffield United with the last strike of the 45, though, with Jayden Bogle running onto one and forcing Kelleher to get down low. It was a reminder Liverpool's lead was just one and they did not heed the warning. They were subdued at the start of the second half and when Hamer worked Kelleher with a free-kick the Anfield crowd sensed danger and upped the noise levels.
Klopp prepared to send on Harvey Elliott and Robertson to try to change the dynamic but it was too late - Hamer's header deflected through the legs of Kelleher off Bradley and the title-chasers were in real trouble.
Salah looked less than impressed to be surprisingly taken off in the aftermath but Liverpool piled forward in desperate search for a second. Grbic had to save from Virgil van Dijk, Robertson volleyed Elliott's cross wide… but then Mac Allister's moment of magic brought relief. It was a beauty of a hit, with his textbook technique rocketing the ball into the top corner.
The Argentina World Cup winner, who now has a goal or assist in each of his last six games, almost doubled his tally, whipping a free-kick against the bar as Liverpool played with some freedom again, and Gakpo made sure of the result with a smart header from Robertson's pinpoint pass.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp: "We scored one of my favourite goals ever for 1-0. A striker from time to time needs that kind of thing. I ask [Nunez] quite a lot to press the opponent and it's pretty rare you get close enough to get this kind of block.
"We controlled the game but there are different ways to control again and today was not the right one. Not enough creating. I don't expect we have chance after chance after chance but you have to accelerate, speed up, underlap and overlap, and that's what we did [after 60 minutes].
"The game was a difficult one to get rhythm but we should have had a better rhythm than we had. In the end, all good. Probably all the other games are now different, especially the next one."
Sheff Utd boss Chris Wilder: "The press conference before, the interviews before the game you could sense we were [seen as] just here to make the numbers up. The narrative was this would be a pretty comfortable evening for Liverpool.
"We knew we'd have to give up the ball and be structured and organised and they'd have opportunities. But you have to suffer, which we did, take the game deep and ride your luck a bit and that becomes the night you get something from the game. Unfortunately, the finish from Mac Allister is a fabulous, world-class finish. Then in the end you change your shape, trying to chase it and they get three.
"As a manager you're looking for, what is my team about. And I've liked it over the last three games."
Liverpool are back in action on Super Sunday, taking on fierce rivals Man Utd, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 3.30pm
Sheffield United also play on Sunday, hosting Chelsea in the Premier League; kick-off 5.30pm.
