Manchester City, the defending champions, are under significant pressure after temporarily relinquishing their lead in the English Premier League standings to Liverpool. This occurred following Liverpool's difficult 2-0 victory over 18th-placed Watford on Saturday in the opening match of the 31st round. After a 14-point gap between the teams, Liverpool rebounded with a series of impressive performances, sitting atop the table on Saturday with a 2-point lead over City while awaiting City's match against Burnley later the same day.
The competition intensified as the two teams are set to clash twice this month: first in the league at "Etihad Stadium" next Sunday, a match that could be decisive for the title, and later a week after at "Wembley" in the FA Cup semi-final.
With Senegalese forward Sadio Mané sitting on the bench just days after leading his country to the World Cup finals, and Egyptian teammate Mohamed Salah starting the match, Liverpool prepared optimally for their Tuesday trip to Portugal to face Benfica in the Champions League quarter-finals.
In their 19th encounter at "Anfield" against former managers, this time Roy Hodgson—who failed to replicate his April 2012 success with West Bromwich when he became and remains the only former manager to beat the "Reds" at their home—Liverpool struggled to find their rhythm after returning from the international break.
However, the standout Portuguese player Diogo Jota, buoyed by leading his country to the 2022 World Cup through the European playoffs, scored the opening goal for manager Jürgen Klopp's side with a header from a cross by Joe Gomez, benefiting from a mistake by goalkeeper Ben Foster (22). This marked Jota's 14th goal of the season, placing him second in the scoring chart behind Salah, who has 20 goals.
After the goal, Liverpool faced difficulties in creating opportunities and did not threaten Watford’s goal until the 38th minute when Foster excelled in saving a narrow-angle shot from Jota. The score remained unchanged until halftime, where Watford appeared stronger, continuing their threat at the start of the second half. Liverpool was especially affected by Salah's struggle, as the Egyptian lacked his usual danger.
Klopp turned to Mané instead of Salah in the 69th minute, hoping the African champion could secure a second goal for the hosts, but he too made little impact. Jota's goal remained the difference until the final seconds when the Portuguese earned a penalty from Slovakian Juraj Kucka, which Brazilian Fabinho converted successfully (89), delivering a severe blow to the visitors who suffered their eighth consecutive defeat at the "Reds'" home.
