Jurgen Klopp is a consummate professional, and so his post-match interviews are conducted with a stony-faced stoicism throughout, but even he would have been delighted with the 5-0 win over Porto in the first leg of this Champions League last 16 tie.
A change is as good as a rest, so the old saying goes, yet a more accurate mantra in football might be ‘a rest with no change is just as good.’ Liverpool’s early exit from the FA Cup had given them an extended break ahead of last Saturday’s clash with West Ham, and that was evident in the energy and vitality the Reds’ players showed from the first whistle to the last.
It seems like an eternity since Liverpool last played, and there can be no doubting that the rest will have done the players a world of good. They signed off on Valentine’s night in the most romantic way: a 5-0 drubbing of Porto that has all but booked our place in the Champions League quarter finals.
How to sum up the 2-2 barnstormer with Tottenham in a succinct and concise fashion? Hmm…. We can say that Liverpool were the better side for the opening 70 minutes and deserved to lead through Mo Salah’s goal. Then Spurs boss made a couple of substitutions that would ultimately change the game.
No alarms, no surprises: why can’t we play like that every week!? The 3-0 win over Huddersfield on Tuesday was almost effortless in its simplicity: despite the odd glimmer from the Terriers we were rarely troubled at the back, and Emre Can’s early deflected goal offered a level of comfortability.
Liverpool’s failure in the FA Cup is becoming something of a joke now, and this time we can’t even blame a weakened side for our third consecutive exit at the fourth round stage.
In between the moments of unadulterated magic, the 2017/18 campaign has been littered with periods of abject frustration for Liverpool fans, and Monday’s 0-1 defeat to Swansea was the perfect case in point.
We told you we could do it! There was a general sense of scepticism amongst Reds fans ahead of the Manchester City game las Sunday, but as predicted by this column there was nothing for us to fear at a rampant Anfield.
If there’s one thing that nobody needs reminding of, it’s the fact that a week is a long old time in football. Barely a week after celebrating a 2-1 win over Everton in the FA Cup, courtesy of a debut goal from new man Virgil van Dijk no less, came the news that Philippe Coutinho would be leaving the club to join Barcelona.
So here we go again: less than a month since the last Merseyside derby, we go at it again with our blue neighbours this week in what is an almost immediate opportunity to gain revenge on Everton for the point they stole back in Anfield.