LIVERPOOL, England: Two second-half goals from substitute Xherdan Shaqiri gave Liverpool a 3-1 Premier League win over Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday as Juergen Klopp’s side regained top spot with a pulsating performance in the North West derby.
Unbeaten Liverpool have 45 points from 17 games with champions Manchester City, who beat Everton 3-1 on Saturday, a point behind.
United are 19 points adrift of Liverpool in sixth place — the biggest gap between the clubs at this stage of this season for 46 years — and a daunting 11 points behind the top four.
Jose Mourinho’s side’s 26 points is their lowest return after 17 games in the Premier League era and the defeat, which could have been even more emphatic, is sure to re-open questions about the manager’s future.
Mourinho left French World Cup-winning midfielder Paul Pogba on the bench as he opted for a defence-orientated line-up but his attempt to get a third straight draw at Anfield ended in failure.
Klopp’s side were faster, smarter and more incisive than a United team again lacking cutting edge and looking mediocre against opponents who look equipped to fight Manchester City all the way for the title, even if their manager insisted the summit duel was far from his mind.
“Today we played United. For one second we didn’t think about (City). We wanted to win the game which was difficult enough,” Klopp told reporters.
“We know we are a good football team. We had to prove it and keep on proving it. I’m over the moon about the performance. The way the boys played tonight was outstanding,” the German added.
Klopp’s side roared out of the traps and took the game to United, grabbing the lead in the 24th minute when Sadio Mane chested down a pass from Fabinho and slotted past David De Gea.
Against the run of play, United drew level in the 33rd minute when Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker spilled a harmless low cross from Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard pounced on the loose ball to find the net. — Reuters
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