Liverpool vs. Watford: Winners and Losers from Premier League
ANFIELD, Liverpool — After the excitement of recent weeks, Anfield witnessed a far more straight-forward home victory as a much-changed Liverpool saw off Watford 2-0.
It was a match full of positives for the Reds in a game that had little riding on it for either side and at times resembled more of a training match.
Liverpool opened the scoring when Joe Allen slid in to finish from Christian Benteke's knockdown mid-way into the first half.
Their lead was doubled when Watford keeper Heurelho Gomes failed to keep out substitute Roberto Firmino's shot from the edge of the box in the 76th minute.
Watford had chances through Odion Ighalo, but ultimately, it was a routine victory for Jurgen Klopp's side in their penultimate home game of the season.
Here are the individual winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Joe Allen
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No matter where Allen's future lies, his stock this summer is considerably higher than it has been at any time during his three years at Anfield.
The Welshman netted his third goal of the campaign in the first half and linked the midfield and attack well.
If he leaves Liverpool this summer, there will be plenty of Premier League clubs wanting to sign the 26-year-old.
Allen, an accomplished footballer, could find himself in even more demand should he have a successful summer with Wales at the European Championships.
Loser: Odion Ighalo
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When Liverpool were humbled 3-0 at Vicarage Road in December, Watford were flying and Odion Ighalo was one of the league's most in-form strikers.
Five months on, and Watford and Ighalo are struggling. This was his 12th consecutive appearance without a goal, having not been on the scoresheet since January 12 against Newcastle United.
Indeed, since his double against Liverpool in December, he's only scored four times.
He had chances in this match, but last-ditch tackles and a superb save denied him.
Winner: Martin Skrtel and Lucas Leiva
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That corresponding fixture also saw a nightmare performance for Martin Skrtel and Lucas. Skrtel left the pitch injured and Lucas deputised at centre-back.
Troy Deeney wasn't on the scoresheet in December, but he was the chief tormentor, which he revelled in post-match.
"The most impressive thing about our performance today is that we bullied them. They just didn’t fancy the fight," a bullish Deeney told talkSPORT's Joe Moore.
“We scored after a few minutes which settled the nerves and then we dominated. Skrtel went off, he didn’t fancy it, and it was a great victory."
Skrtel would have been eager to keep a clean sheet and silence Deeney, and he successfully did so, despite some recent poor performances.
Liverpool's two longest-serving players combined well to record a clean sheet and exact some personal revenge.
Winner: Jurgen Klopp
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Klopp made eight changes, with the only repeat starers from Thursday's match against Villarreal being Simon Mignolet, Alberto Moreno and Philippe Coutinho.
Had Danny Ward been fit and Brad Smith not suspended, it's quite likely Klopp would have made 10 changes.
Last week at Swansea City, the manager's changes didn't pay off, with the Reds putting in a poor performance in a 3-1 loss.
Liverpool missed an experienced midfielder when Klopp also made eight changes in Wales, but with Joe Allen in and Lucas Leiva in defence, there was far more support for Kevin Stewart.
Klopp's new-look lineup was able to get the three points and keep a clean sheet, and the manager was able to provide more playing time for his young players, with Sheyi Ojo claiming his third assist in four league appearances.
Loser: Jon Flanagan
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There were few negatives for Liverpool and Klopp, but Jon Flanagan struggled on his first appearance since the nightmare at Southampton in March.
Flanagan had missed five of the six games prior, only named on the bench against Bournemouth. Instead, Connor Randall had been preferred for games against Bournemouth and Newcastle United.
The 23-year-old looked off the pace as he continues to struggle to get back to full-match fitness, which was apparent when he picked up a booking for a late challenge on Almen Abdi in the second half.
He was far from terrible, and solid enough, but it seems he may struggle to make an impact on the first XI at Liverpool under Klopp.
