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'Lucky' Liverpool moves atop EPL, Klopp says. Man United stunned at home by Bournemouth

Sat, Dec 9, 2023
Soccer News (AP)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Jurgen Klopp was relieved after "lucky" Liverpool moved on top of the English Premier League after a comeback 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Erik ten Hag, meanwhile, looked like he had the weight of the world on his mind after another setback for Manchester United against Bournemouth.

Klopp admitted his team was "horrendous" against Palace as it trailed 1-0 at Selhurst Park through Jean-Philippe Mateta's penalty in the 57th minute.

The attitude and momentum flipped when Palace's Jordan Ayew was sent off in the 75th and a minute later Mo Salah's deflected shot levelled the score. Almost inevitably, Harvey Elliott struck from distance to seal victory in stoppage time.

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"I'm a very happy manager in this moment, but I know we were lucky as well," Klopp said. "If you only win your really good games you have no chance to be really successful, that's how it is, and obviously today was not a really good game from us.

"For 76 minutes it was a really bad performance."

Liverpool moved one point above Arsenal, which was at Aston Villa in the late kickoff.

While Klopp admitted his team was fortuitous, United got exactly what it deserved after an abject performance saw it lose at home to Bournemouth 3-0.

Goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi had the home crowd jeering after an 11th loss for Ten Hag's team in all competitions this season.

FANS TURN

United supporters let their team know exactly how they felt after the latest defeat.

The 2-1 win against Chelsea on Wednesday lifted the mood at Old Trafford following reports of player unrest.

A win would have seen United go level on points with fourth-placed Manchester City.

Instead, Ten Hag suffered one of his most humbling days as United manager as the crowd loudly booed when Bournemouth scored a third.

"Of course (I'm) annoyed, disappointed, definitely. I expected something different," the manager said. "I hoped before the game you can build on the performance and result from Chelsea, so it's very disappointing."

SALAH'S RECORD

Salah came up with his latest landmark goal to launch Liverpool's revival at Selhurst Park.

The Egypt international reached 200 goals for Liverpool - the fifth man to the mark - and 150 in the Premier League, which moved him up into the all-time top 10, tied with Michael Owen.

"The most important thing was that we won the game," Salah said. "It's a great feeling. I'm happy for the record and that we won the game."

WILDER WINS

It didn't take long for Chris Wilder to get a reaction from Sheffield United after returning to the club as manager this week. Having suffered defeat to Liverpool in midweek, he led his team to a 1-0 win against Brentford in his second game in charge.

James McAtee scored the decisive goal in first-half stoppage time.

But Sheffield United remained at the bottom of the table after 19th-placed Burnley drew with Brighton 1-1.

The bottom two are level on eight points each.

COOPER PRESSURE

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper faced mounting speculation about his job after losing 5-0 at Fulham in the week. His team led at Wolves on Saturday through Harry Toffolo, but was denied a win by Matheus Cunha's strike. A 1-1 draw at least halted Forest's four-game losing run.

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