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Football

30th Jan 2019

Rival fans accuse Liverpool’s ground staff of cheating for only clearing one penalty area at half-time

JOE

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.

https://twitter.com/boom_tick/status/1090718200038375435

https://twitter.com/clockend_talk/status/1090717647589818375

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.