Will the real Liverpool please stand up? There seems to be no logic, pattern, rhyme or reason to their results or performances at the moment, and the fact they are capable of playing as well as they did in the 2-0 defeat of Wolves on Wednesday must leave Jurgen Klopp wanting to tear his hair out.
Although they hit the woodwork twice, it felt like Liverpool escaped from Selhurst Park with a point following the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. Eagles striker Jean-Philippe Mateta missed an absolute sitter in the first half after being gifted the ball by Trent Alexander-Arnold, and had he been more predatory the Reds might have returned home from the capital empty-handed.
Jurgen Klopp has sensationally claimed ‘the tie is over’ after watching Liverpool succumb to a 2-5 defeat against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening in the Champions League last 16. The first leg result means that the Reds will need to win by a three-goal margin just to force the contest into extra time – the away goals rule has been abolished, remember, so perhaps Klopp has a point.
Liverpool vs Newcastle United is a fixture that has served up some of the most entertaining, chaotic passages of play in Premier League history, and Saturday’s clash between the sides at St James’s Park added further to that lineage.
Now that’s more like it. Most pundits – ourselves included – expected an Everton side rejuvenated under Sean Dyche to give a strong account of themselves in the Merseyside derby on Monday night, but the truth is that the Toffees weren’t able to as Liverpool produced a stirring display of determination, energy and no little attacking quality.
Any slim hope Liverpool had of finishing in the Premier League’s top four this season seems dead in the water following a 0-3 thrashing at Wolves on Saturday. The Reds are now eleven points behind Newcastle, who currently sit in the final Champions League berth, and it’s very difficult to see how they can make up the shortfall given their woeful form at the moment.
Those with a glass half-full mentality will say that Liverpool getting knocked out of the FA Cup is fine – they can concentrate on fighting it out for fourth place in the Premier League now instead. But those of a half-empty persuasion will have noted that the Reds have played six times in 2023 so far….winning just once.
On paper, a 0-0 draw with Chelsea looks a decent result for a team that has been struggling for clean sheets of late. But anybody that witnessed Liverpool’s engagement with the Blues at Anfield on Saturday will have been left in no doubt that the Londoners would have been worthy winners.
Jurgen Klopp rang the changes for the midweek visit to Molineux in the FA Cup, and he was rewarded by a much-improved performance from his side as they marched into the fourth round. It needed a wonder goal from Harvey Elliott to separate the sides in a hard-fought 1-0 victory, but this was a much more solid showing from the Reds that was devoid of their recent defensive woes.
There’s a very real chance that Liverpool could end the 2022/23 season outside of the European places and without a trophy to their name following another heavy defeat. Brighton were full value for their 3-0 win over the Reds on Saturday, and that loss adds extra significance to Liverpool’s trip to Molineux on Tuesday for the FA Cup third round replay – that competition may be their only real hope of lifting a trophy this term, which would go some way to papering over the cracks.