It was perfection in Portugal as Liverpool demolished FC Porto to take one giant leap towards the Champions League knockout stage. The Reds produced a five-star performance and were full value for their 5-1 in over the dumbstruck Portuguese side, whose goal came after Liverpool had momentarily gone to sleep – such was their dominance in a game they were only marginal favourites for.
As expected, Brentford proved anything but pushovers in Saturday’s highly entertaining 3-3 draw with Liverpool. Our preview had earmarked the Bees as a side fully deserving of their top-half status in the Premier League, and the quality they showed in attack against the Reds confirms they are in the top-flight to stay.
All things considered, the 3-0 win over Norwich in the EFL Cup on Tuesday couldn’t have gone any better. Fielding a much-changed team, Jurgen Klopp was able to get game time into the legs of his fringe players, and celebrated a handsome margin of victory that was richly deserved at Carrow Road.
On another day, this report from Liverpool’s win over Crystal Palace on Saturday could have been reflecting on a cricket score margin of victory, such was the Reds’ dominance at Anfield. In the end, they had to settle for just the three – due largely to a combination of wasteful finishing and inspired goalkeeping from the Eagles’ Vicenta Guaita.
This very column predicted that Liverpool would win handsomely without conceding at Elland Road on Sunday, but few would have expected the edge-of-the-seat drama that met the Reds’ nail-biting 3-2 win over AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Frustration at an opportunity missed – that would have been Liverpool’s overriding emotion from their 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Yes, the Blues had Reece James sent off in the first period, but this was a game that Liverpool dominated – and created enough chances to score four or five times.
March 11, 2020. That was the last time that a full Anfield crowd witnessed their heroes in action, and it’s been a long old 17 months ever since. But finally, the wait will be over on Saturday lunchtime as Liverpool welcome Burnley to Merseyside.
Jurgen Klopp described Wednesday’s game against Burnley as a ‘semi final’, and he watched on with relish as his Liverpool players set up a fitting finale to the campaign with a 3-0 victory.
Football’s enduring popularity owes plenty to its complete unpredictability and its penchant for creating jaw-on-the-floor moments.
Another moment for the archives was created on Sunday when Liverpool, locked at 1-1 with West Brom and needing a win to keep their Champions League hopes alive, won a corner in the 95th minute.
Goalkeeper Alisson lolloped forward more in hope than expectation, and to the surprise of absolutely everybody he climbed highest to power home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner with a textbook header.
An outstanding performance at Old Trafford means that Liverpool’s hopes of a top-four finish are in their hands. The maths may hand Leicester and Chelsea the advantage, but remember that they play each other on Tuesday – one, if not both, will drop points. And so the door has been slammed open by Liverpool’s outstanding 4-2 victory over Manchester United on Thursday.