Jurgen Klopp bags special record as Liverpool beat Watford to register 10th straight league win

Jurgen Klopp bagged a special record as Liverpool FC defeated Watford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Liverpool trailed reigning champions Manchester City by 14 points on Jan. 15, but a 10th straight league win at a raucous Anfield meant, the Reds went at the top of the 2021-22 Premier League table for a few hours at least. Man City and Liverpool are set to face off in a very crucial encounter on April 10 at Etihad Stadium.

The match against Watford on Saturday was Klopp's 250th league game in charge of Liverpool. With 160 wins, Klopp now has more wins than any other manager had after as many games as in charge. The previous record was held by Jose Mourinho – 158 wins, ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson (152 wins), and Arsene Wenger (146 wins).

In-form Diogo Jota jumped between two Watford defenders to gracefully head a cross from Joe Gomez past the goalkeeper Ben Foster to put the hosts 1-0 up just 22 minutes after the kick-off. Gomez contributed with a vital assist in his only second league start of the season. The defender started ahead of his fellow English right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold against Watford, a move that paid off certainly.

It was Jota's seventh header for Liverpool in the Premier League since his arrival to Anfield in the summer of 2020. Only Crystal Palace's Christian Benteke has headed as many goals in the English top-flight since Jota's Reds debut.

In the second half at Anfield, rugby-style challenge on Jota during a Liverpool corner, the Reds received a penalty. Since Mohamed Salah had been substituted, Brazilian midfielder Fabinho stepped in for the spot-kick. He made no mistake as he doubled Liverpool's lead just a few minutes before the final whistle. It was the midfielder's seventh goal in the ongoing campaign.

Jurgen Klopp: Today's counter-press was the best I saw in long time

In a post-match interview, Klopp hailed the opponents for their defense. "It was how I predicted. We had to get through this. A big compliment to Watford and Roy today, they defended really well and we could have done better but we needed maturity and desire. The counter-press today was the best I saw for a long time. We needed Ali once today. We could have created more.

"A great cross from Joey and a brilliant header from Diogo. We were in control and we needed to be in control today. I am really happy," added Klopp.

While Salah has been the best of the lot for Klopp's side with 28 goals this season, Jota is not far behind. The former Porto forward has netted 20 goals and three assists in 40 competitive appearances for Liverpool this term.