Liverpool players were under no illusion that their 1-0 victory at Sheffield United was a “tough” slog as they celebrated another league win.
The Reds made the trip to Yorkshire with six successive Premier League victories to their name, but they were certainly made to work for their seventh.
Sheffield United proved to be a tough opponent to break down and Jurgen Klopp’s men were far from their best throughout the encounter at a ground which had proved a stumbling block for Liverpool sides of the past.
But a slice of good fortune in the second half saw Man United loanee Dean Henderson spill Gini Wijnaldum’s effort over the line and in, to hand Liverpool all three points, stretching the winning record in the league to 16.
For the goalscorer himself, it was a performance whereby Liverpool were not quite at the races having identified the tempo and counter-pressing as notable areas which were lacking.
And while he did concede that there was luck involved in his goal, Wijanldum was simply focused on having obtained all three points at a crucial point in the season when speaking to LFCTV following the game:
“I think the game last week was more difficult against Chelsea but even today was a really tough game.
“Over 90 minutes we were struggling in a few moments and they fought to win the game, we fought to win the game and then we were the lucky ones.
“Their fighting spirit was really good and if they had space they played football, but we were not at our best, we didn’t speed the tempo up when we needed to and we didn’t counter-press.
“All that matters at the end of the day is that we have three points, especially at the beginning of the season you have to make sure you collect as many points as possible because you get better and better throughout the season and at the start, you’re not at your best.
“Sometimes you need luck, I was lucky today, the goalkeeper was unlucky and sometimes you need those kinds of moments.”
Following the final whistle, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino took to Instagram to credit a “job done” in what was an undeniably “tough” game:
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Andy Robertson and Wijanldum did not shy away from the fact that the Reds were not at their best, but it was the three points, not the performance, which was “the most important thing”:
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Meanwhile, James Milner and Fabinho celebrated another big three points in the bank as Trent Alexander-Arnold focused on the winning streak which claimed another victim:
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And the defensive wall in Adrian and Virgil van Dijk were not only in the mood to celebrate the win, as they took time to laud their second clean sheet of the league season:
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The win over Sheffield United maintains Liverpool’s impressive 100 per cent start to the season and keeps momentum rolling in the Premier League.
But Klopp’s side will now shift their focus to European duties, as RB Salzburg now await at Anfield on Wednesday evening, a night where the Reds will be eager to bank their first points of the Champions League campaign.
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