Watford pulled off the shock of the season to defeat Liverpool 3-0 in the Premier League and end their 44-match unbeaten run. The Hornets were ferocious from the off and much as Napoli and Atletico Madrid had done in the Champions League before them, they took full advantage of a sub-par performance.
There were to be no late heroic’s for Jurgen Klopp’s side on this occasion as the hosts made their advantage decisive by notching three to secure the Reds’ highest losing margin since November 2015. The summer arrival from Rennes, Ismaila Sarr, was involved in all of the hosts’ goals and Nigel Pearson has revitalised his career after a stuttering start to life at Vicarage Road.
There was much anticipation surrounding Sarr’s £27m record-breaking move to Watford, but as the Hornets endured a woeful start to the campaign, the winger was nowhere to be seen in the Premier League. He did not make his first start in the division until November and scored on his full debut, in a 2-1 defeat to Southampton. But since Pearson has arrived, Sarr has not been selected in the starting eleven just twice, and he has become a vital part of Watford’s system.
While he has featured, primary as a substitute, early on the Senegalese midfielder was deployed as far right as possible, hugging the touchline. Though the stroke of genius from his current boss has been to bring the 22-year-old closer to the action as one of three attacking midfielders. Closer to the centre, Sarr, valued at £24.3m (Transfermarkt), has been able to capitalise from linking with Troy Deeney and Abdoulaye Doucoure. The results have been explosive as he’s scored four goals and provided three assists in his last eight matches for the struggling side, as per WhoScored.
The change in system has unleashed Sarr’s potential, which was first seen in Ligue 1 and could yet fire Watford towards safety. Liverpool found out the hard way just what the attacker is capable of as he rounded off the victory with a cool as you like dinked finish over Alisson. Sarr could yet match his career-best eight goals and six assists this term, in half the time, if he can continue in his current vein of form, via WhoScored. A simple switch from Pearson has produced incredible results to get Sarr firing on all cylinders, which could be the difference that ensures Premier League survival.
