Watford 3-0 Liverpool - 5 Talking Points

Quique Sanchez Flores celebrates with his players following Watford’s 3-0 win over LiverpoolWatford pulled off a momentous victory on Sunday night by registering an emphatic 3-0 win over Liverpool at Vicarage Road. Nathan Ake and Odion Ighalo were on the scoresheet for the Hornets, who produced their best performance of the season to earn three crucial points.Nathan Ake capitalized on Adam Bogdan’s error to give Watford the lead in just two minutes, before Ighalo added a second in the 15th minute. Ighalo scored his second goal of the game in the 85th minute to take the game beyond Liverpool’s reach.Here are the five talking points from the game.

#1 Goalkeeper Problems

Bogdan was woeful in goal on his Liverpool PL debut

Liverpool’s goalkeeping woes continued and this time the cuplrit was their reserve goalkeeper Adam Bogdan. The Hungarian international, who made his Premier League debut today for Liverpool, failed to collect a corner kick from Watford, and Nathan Ake profited, finding the back of the net from two yards.

Bogdan looked nervous throughout the game and caused a lot of panic in the Liverpool defence. First choice goalkeeper Simon Mignolet made a similar error last week against West Bromwich Albion that cost Liverpool three points.

Reports suggest Simon Mignolet will sign a new deal at Anfield and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp also denied rumors linking them to Timo Horn and Jack Butland. If that’s the case, one might think Liverpool are making a big mistake, as they are dropping points regularly due to goalkeeping errors.

#2 Odion Ighalo continues his brilliant form

Ighalo was magnificent in front of goal yet again

Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo continued to shine as he became the first Watford player to score in four consecutive top flight games. The 26-year-old scored twice in their emphatic 3-0 win over Liverpool and earned his team three crucial points. Ighalo’s first goal came from a Troy Deeney pass, and the Watford striker did well to muscle past Skrtel and put it past Adam Bogdan.

Ighalo’s second goal came in the 85th minute from Behrami’s sublime cross to take the game beyond Liverpool’s reach. He has now scored 12 goals in the league this season just behind Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Romelu Lukaku. Troy Deeney has also been in brilliant form for Watford this season, and was involved in both the goals.

#3 Another poor game for Roberto Firmino

Roberto Firmino was subdued as Liverpool’s striker

Brazilian star Roberto Firmino seems to be finding it difficult to settle in the Premier League. He has scored just the one goal, against Manchester City, since his big money move from Hoffenheim. The case of Firmino is difficult to understand as he was heavily involved in Liverpool’s big wins against Chelsea and Manchester City, but has looked very average otherwise.

Jurgen Klopp trusted him to start up front against Watford replacing Christian Benteke, but that didn’t make any difference and Liverpool once again struggled in the final third.

Firmino had zero shots on target, created zero chances, and was rightly substituted for Christian Benteke in the 74th minute. Liverpool have struggled in the absence of Daniel Sturridge and it will be interesting to see if Jurgen Klopp uses the January transfer window to buy a new striker.

#4 Sakho\'s worst performance for Liverpool

Sakho had a torrid time against Watford’s strikers

Mamadou Sakho returned from a long injury to fill in for Dejan Lovren, who was injured in the last game against West Bromwich Albion, but it was not the comeback he was hoping for.

The French international was very sloppy at times, and often created panic within the Liverpool defence. He was frequently troubled by Ighalo and his teammates, and it looked like Sakho was not completely fit for the game. His partner in defense Martin Skrtel too had an awful game before leaving the pitch in the 40th minute due to an injury.

Sakho was paired with Lucas Leiva for the rest of the game, and that probably din’t help him either. With Dejan Lovren expected to be fit for the Leicester City game and performing well recently it remains to be seen if Klopp brings him back to the starting XI or keeps his faith in Mamadou Sakho.

#5 Liverpool fail to capitalize once again

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool eschewed the chance to close the gap to the top four

It seems no teams wants to climb the Premier League table this season, while rivals keep dropping points every week, but Liverpool always fail to take advantage of the situation. The Reds have taken just one point in their last three games against Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion, and Watford. This is after they won away games against Chelsea and Manchester City. Liverpool bottled it again just when it seemed the momentum was with them.

With a busy period coming up for Liverpool, new boss Jurgen Klopp needs to examine his squad well and get points on the board before it’s too late for Liverpool. The Reds have a golden opportunity to finish in the top 4, despite their own problems early on in the season under Brendan Rodgers, and with a couple of additions in the January transfer window Liverpool should be hoping to get back on the right track.