Mohamed Salah returns to scoring ways as Liverpool avoid slipping up against spirited Huddersfield
Huddersfield 0-1 Liverpool: Salah reminded everyone of his sharp finishing with his 50th goal in English club football
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Good news for Liverpool: Mohamed Salah has remembered how to finish, and his team-mates are learning to see off the sort of awkward customers who squashed their hopes of a Premier League title challenge last season.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were too often thwarted by the back markers as they fought to finish fourth last May. They are not playing with the same free-flowing style this season, but they are not losing league games either.
Huddersfield were spirited and unlucky; Jonathan Hogg hit the post, while James Milner was fortunate to escape a strong penalty appeal. They remain winless, in the relegation zone and without a home goal all season, yet if there were points for showing fight, they would be nowhere near the bottom.
Their problem is that they cannot score goals. It was becoming an issue for Salah too, until a terrific 24th-minute finish ended a mini-drought stretching over four games. His 50th goal in English club football gave Jurgen Klopp victory over his long-time friend David Wagner, and ensured that his team finished Saturday level on points with leaders Manchester City.
Klopp freshened up his front line by restricting Roberto Firmino to a late substitute’s appearance, while Sadio Mane was not risked after having surgery on a broken thumb during the week. It meant big chances to impress for Daniel Sturridge, making his first league start for Liverpool since last November, and Adam Lallana, getting his first since New Year’s Day.
Liverpool toiled for the first quarter of the match against well-drilled opponents, before nosing ahead with a superbly worked goal.
Xherdan Shaqiri collected Joe Gomez’s ball, and fed an excellent pass for Mohamed Salah, who timed his run perfectly to slide an angled shot past Jonas Lossl and into the far corner.
If Liverpool hoped that would deflate Huddersfield, they were to be disappointed. Wagner’s side, chasing their first home goal since April, produced a lively response.
Hogg struck the post just after the half-hour mark with a fine 25-yard drive, while Milner escaped a loud penalty appeal when he diverted the ball with his thigh on to his arm as he dealt with a header forward from the Huddersfield captain.
Right at the end of the first half, Alex Pritchard thought he had ended the club’s long wait for a home goal, but was rightly ruled just offside as the slotted past Alisson following another header through from Hogg.
Huddersfield continued to cause problems for Klopp’s team after half-time, with Laurent Depoitre – a scorer just once in his previous 27 matches – guiding a header from Florent Hadergjonaj’s cross, although Alisson held it easily.
Salah remained a threat when Liverpool could get the ball to him, and almost added a second when he collected Sturridge’s diagonal ball on his chest and steered a shot just beyond the far post.
Lallana, still getting back to the pace of Premier League football after a series of injury troubles, came off with just over 20 minutes left to be replaced by Fabinho, making his Premier League debut after his £39m move from Monaco.
The visitors still had to survive a scare after that, with Steve Mounie diverting fellow substitute Isaac Mbenza’s cross over the bar on the turn as Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren both failed to clear. It was not stylish overall, but Liverpool got the win. For Klopp, that will feel like progress.
Huddersfield (3-5-1-1): Lossl 6; Jorgensen 7, Schindler 7, Lowe 6; Hadergjonaj 7 (Mbenza 69, 7), Mooy 7, Billing 7 (Mounie 69, 7), Hogg 8 (Diakhaby 90), Durm 8; Pritchard 8; Depoitre 6.
Substitutes: Hamer, Stankovic, Bacuna, van La Parra.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson 6; Gomez 7, Lovren 6, van Dijk 7, Robertson 6; Shaqiri 7, Henderson 6 (Wijnaldum 46, 7), Milner 6 (Firmino 77); Salah 8, Sturridge 7, Lallana 7 (Fabinho 69, 6).
Substitutes: Mignolet, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Origi.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
Attendance: 24,263
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