The Times - UK (2022-05-23)

6 1GG Monday May 23 2022 | the times

thegame

HOW THE DRAMATIC TITLE RACE UNFOLDED

Sep Oct 2021 Nov Dec

Liverpool Man Cityyy

23

26 32

17

31

38

35

41

47

50

53

37

40 41

34

7

10

13 14

15

22

25

29

28

6

3

6 9

10

13 14

3

City lose their first

game of the season

to a Tottenham

Hotspur side inspired

by Son Heung-min,

right, in Harry Kane’s

absence

August 28

Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea

Liverpool drop their

first points of

the season

September 25

Brentford 3-3 Liverpool

Liverpool edge ahead of

City at the top of the

table after a thrilling

clash in which Brentford

take the lead and

equalise twice

October 3

Liverpool 2-2 Man City

Nothing to separate the two rivals as

Liverpool take the lead twice but are

pegged back both times

November 6

Man Utd 0-2 Man City

City embark on a

15-game unbeaten run

with a comfortable

victory over United

November 7

West Ham 3-2 Liverpool

West Ham leapfrog

Liverpool into third

December 19

Tottenham 2-2 Liverpool

Spurs set Liverpool back

in the title race

December 28

Leicester 1-0 Liverpool

Liverpool fall six points

behind City

the lead twice but are w

oth times

18

20

21

October 30

Man City 0-2 Crystal Palace

A shock defeat for third-placed City

as Aymeric Laporte, left, is sent off

Liverpool 2-2 Brighton

Liverpool go 2-0 up but Brighton

fight back. Jürgen Klopp’s side are

three points off the leaders, Chelsea

44

For a brief, tantalising moment hope
had flared for Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah had just scrambled
Jürgen Klopp’s side into the lead and
the throaty roar that accompanied his
goal was quickly followed by another
deafening crescendo which whipped
and reverberated around Anfield.
The rousing din carried with it the
rumour that Aston Villa had come
from behind to equalise against
Manchester City and, with time
running out, created the scenario
Liverpool required in order to become
champions.
Then as quickly as the noise had
risen, it disappeared just as sharply.
There had, in fact, been no goal.
Reality would bite hard.
“It was a good moment but it was
only a second and then everyone
went, ‘Nah, nothing happened,’ ”
reflected Klopp.
“With all the things [that
happened], I’d have preferred if they’d
had been 5-0 up after ten minutes.”
He was probably only half joking.
The Quadruple is dead for Liverpool,
but hopes of the Treble live on and
next weekend’s Champions League
final against Real Madrid will act as a
consolation for the gut-wrenching
disappointment of finishing Premier
League runners–up once again.
Salah’s late strike and another from
Andrew Robertson ensured
Wolverhampton Wanderers were
dispatched, but, for all the sense of
unrelenting, at times excruciating,
drama, at no point in the afternoon
did Klopp’s side actually rise to the
summit of the Premier League table.
Had they been able to apply real
pressure by going in front, rather than

PAUL JOYCE

Hope rises but soon fades for

falling behind inside three minutes —

or even established ascendancy in

that period after Philippe Coutinho’s

second goal for Villa — then the

commotion would have been heard at

the Etihad. As it was, Liverpool can

have no complaints.

“You nearly won the league,”

chimed the gloating Wolves

supporters. That much is true and

there is no shame in that today.

No sense of lasting regret should

frame Liverpool’s domestic league

campaign with 16 victories — and

two draws — from 18 games in 2022,

plus success in the FA Cup and

Carabao Cup, creating a body of work

that deserved the adulation which

poured forth during a lap of honour.

Their tally of 92 points would have

been enough to win 24 of the

previous 29 campaigns and was the

fourth biggest in the club’s history.

It sounds like semantics but

Liverpool did not lose the title.

Rather, City retained their crown.

The outcome, then, proved the

same as in 2019 when City also

pipped Liverpool by a point — but the

feeling is different, regardless of the

fact their rivals can count on the goals

of Erling Haaland next season.

Liverpool had yet to win a trophy

under Klopp back then — that

anomaly was rectified in the

Champions League final against

Tottenham Hotspur a few weeks later

— and now they are multiple winners

with the promise of more to follow.

So Paris awaits, although the sight

of Thiago Alcântara walking straight

off the pitch seconds before the

interval with an ankle injury did

nothing to improve Klopp’s mood.

The importance of the Spaniard

was evident before, and after, his

departure, albeit in vastly differing

circumstances.

Alcântara had been pivotal to the

recovery from that early concession

as Wolves goalkeeper José Sá’s long

kick was misjudged by Ibrahima

Konaté and Raúl Jiménez broke free

behind the defensive line. A low cross

was emphatically converted by Pedro

Neto.

Had Leander Dendoncker not

turned Neto’s centre wide from seven

yards soon after, then this fixture

would have become far more

complicated. As it was, Alcântara

would smatter some stardust to

launch one more comeback.

Konaté advanced out of defence

and picked out his team-mate, who

immediately played a backheel flick

which bamboozled Willy Boly and left

3

Mané 24, Salah 84,

Robertson 89

RATINGS

Liverpool (4-3-3): A Becker 9 — T Alexander-

Arnold 7, J Matip 6, I Konaté 5, A Robertson 8 —

N Keita 6 (R Firmino 70min, 6), J Henderson 7,

T Alcântara 8 (J Milner 46, 7) — D Jota

(M Salah 58, 7), S Mané 7, L Diaz 6. Booked

Matip.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-5-2): J Sá 7

(J Ruddy 46, 6) — W Boly 6, C Coady 6, Toti 6 —

Jonny 6, L Dendoncker 5 (F Trincao 90), R Neves

7, J Moutinho 6, R Aït-Nouri 6 — P Neto 7

(Hwang Hee-chan 22, 6), R Jiménez 7.

Referee A Taylor.

Liverpool Wolves

1

Neto 3

Sadio Mané sprinting into open space.

The striker caressed home his 13th

goal since returning from the Africa

Cup of Nations in February.

Parity brought a surge of belief and

would be followed by another roar

after 37 minutes when news of Matty

Cash’s goal reached Merseyside.

However, Klopp would have been

more concerned that Alisson needed

to make an excellent save from

Hwang Hee-chan before Alcântara’s

fitness setback arrived.

Without his poise and calm, the

second-half became rather scrappy

and desperate. Three goals in six

minutes from City effectively

removed any remaining jeopardy

from the occasion notwithstanding

the cheer for the goal-that-never-was.

THE MATCH IN A GRAPHIC

0 mins 15 30 45 45 60 75 90

Attacking threat

Liverpool more threatening

Mané 24’

Statisticians Opta produced a graph to show who was on top throughout the game

Robertson 89’

Salah 84’

FIRST

HALF

SECOND

HALF

Neto 3’

Wolves more threatening

Salah swept

home what

proved to be

the winner for

Liverpool, but

it was in vain