Oooh, conspiracy!
Liverpool stretched their lead over Manchester City at the Premier League summit on Wednesday night. Admittedly, a 1-1 draw with Leicester wasn’t what most of those in Anfield would’ve been expecting at kick-off – and especially not after Sadio Mane’s early opener – but nevertheless, the gap is now five points, not four.
With the title race hotting up, every slight advantage matters, which might explain the actions of the Anfield ground staff at half-time.
Merseyside was hit with heavy snow in the hours before kick-off, and the playing surface wasn’t completely clear during the first-half. As pointed out by BT Sport, the groundsmen set about working on the pitch during the interval – or at least some of it…
The area surrounding the goal in front of The Kop – the one which Liverpool would attack in the second-half – was cleared. The other end of the ground, however, was not.
Predictably, this was enough for some of those watching to cry foul play, claiming this was a deliberate plot to help Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool Groundsmen just clearing snow from the half they’re attacking in the second half is something else 😂 #LIVLEI pic.twitter.com/0HC4K84YiN
— Jim Balshaw (@JimmyBalshaw) January 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/boom_tick/status/1090718200038375435
https://twitter.com/clockend_talk/status/1090717647589818375
Surely that’s cheating by Liverpool groundstaff?
— Richard (@RichardSkerritt) January 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/KevinIsaac/status/1090717542694481922
If that was the intention, it didn’t help. No goals were scored in the second half, with Liverpool now looking to return to winning ways in their game at West Ham next Monday. City will hope to bounce back from their surprise defeat to Newcastle United on Tuesday when they host Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
