Football: Liverpool lose cloak of invincibility in thrashing

Watford's Etienne Capoue, center right, tries to block a shot from Liverpool's Adam Lallana, center left, during the English Premier League soccer match between Watford and Liverpool. Photo / AP

Arsenal's class of 2003-04 can breathe easy: Liverpool will not be joining them as Premier League Invincibles.

"Phew ... " was the immediate reaction from Arsenal's Twitter account after Liverpool collapsed to their first league loss of the season on Sunday, a 3-0 defeat at Watford — a team languishing in the relegation zone.

It marked the end of a 45-match undefeated streak and a record-tying 18-match winning run for Liverpool in the league.

Jurgen Klopp's team headed to Vicarage Road as the champions-in-waiting — with their record 22-point lead — and needing to get through 11 more matches to also become only the second team to complete a full season unbeaten since the Premier League started in 1992 and the third since the Football League was founded in 1888.

Few could have foreseen the manner of the meltdown against Watford, who scored all their goals in the second half through Ismaila Sarr (two) and Troy Deeney.

Thankfully for Liverpool fans desperate to see their team back on top of English football for the first time in 30 years, the loss is far from terminal.

Four wins from their last 10 games will see the Reds become champions for the 19th time.

"There is no reason for panic," Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk said.

"The [unbeaten] record, and the talk of the records, is all media. We just try to win every game ahead of us."

The performance will be a major concern, though, coming soon after a 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.

While Chelsea's forwards continue to struggle to score, at least the team can rely on their left back to find the back of the net.

Marcos Alonso made it three goals in two games since returning to the line-up after a two-month absence when he scored twice — including an 85th-minute equaliser — in a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth. The draw lifted fourth-placed Chelsea four points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United, having played a game more.

Just when his team looked like being sucked into a relegation battle, former England manager Roy Hodgson has inspired Crystal Palace to back-to-back victories and most probably another season in the Premier League.

The 72-year-old Hodgson is poised for talks with the Palace board about a contract extension this week, and can go into them feeling fairly content about another solid season's work in the wake of a 1-0 win at Brighton.

Brighton are now only one point above the relegation zone.

Can the signing of a player from the second-tier League Championship be the catalyst for West Ham in their bid to secure safety in the Premier League?

Jarrod Bowen's lively performance in the 3-1 win over Southampton suggested so. Handed his first start since joining from Hull in the January transfer window, Bowen opened the scoring with a deft chip over goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and was a constant danger with his movement and pace in behind.

"That's the way it went in my dreams last night," Bowen said.

Newcastle and Burnley shared a 0-0 draw, with All White Chris Wood returning from injury with half an hour off the bench.

- AP