Two matches, featuring two title contenders, as well as the small matter of Liverpool v Man United, took place on a genuine Super Sunder of Premier League action on 19 January 2020.
Official UK highlights for both matches are below, from Sky Sports.
Burnley v Leicester (2-1)
Burnley had been enduring an awful run which will have had them nervously looking down the table to the way-too-close-for-comfort bottom three, before this match. Leicester, on the other hand, were pushing for second place, and still had an outside chance of a title push in 2019/20 before this match.
The turning point, here, though, was all too clear. Having gone 1-0 up, Leicester allowed Burnley to level, but still looked good for three points, playing some crisp passing football. When a penalty was awarded and Vardy stepped up, an away win was on the cards. Pope saved, and Leicester heads dropped a little. Burnley completed the turnaround with a late winner, a little against the run of play, which visibly drained Leicester, before clinging on for a deserved win.
Title challenge over for the Foxes.
Liverpool v Man United (2-0)
This felt like a defining moment in the 2019/20 season. Man City dropped two points on Saturday. Leicester dropped all three just before this match. The door was already open, and now it was even wider, as Liverpool squared off at home against a poor looking – by their historic standards – Manchester United starting 11.
So it would prove in the opening minutes, as Liverpool got off the mark – of course it was Virgil Van Dyke who towered above them to head home from a Trent Alexander-Arnold outswinging corner.
Liverpool looked in danger of running them off the park for a few minutes, and VVD leapt high next to United keeper De Gea, causing a fumble before a second was slotted home. VAR decided the minimal impact between the defender and the goalkeeper was a foul, which was a close call.
United gradually crept back into the match, and in the second half, Martial had a great chance to equalise, but blazed over. They threatened, and looked like they might get a point, before Allisson, in the Liverpool goal, claimed a ball in stopped time, and played Mo Salah in to slide home under De Gea, before sprinting the full length of the pitch to celebrate with this centre forward.
Allisson sprinting up the pitch felt like a moment in this season. They’d endured a lot of pressure, and this was a big release. The crowd sang “we’re going to win the league” and, in reality, they are. Liverpool are way too good, for the rest of them, right now.
Since Sky didn’t include the celebration in the highlights, here’s what Liverpool FC posted on Twitter:
