Three defeats in the space of a fortnight is absolutely far from ideal. But anybody predicting the downfall of Liverpool FC based upon this spell of 14 days does so rather prematurely – there really is no reason for Reds fans to panic.
It was almost inevitably going to happen, wasn’t it? Any hopes of the perfect ‘invincibles’ season came to an end as Liverpool were downed by red-hot Watford on Saturday evening. Given the Hornets’ recent form to say their 3-0 victory was a surprise would be something of an understatement, but Nigel Pearson rallied his troops and they delivered an epic display.
At times this season Liverpool have taken the easy road to glory: beating opponents with a stellar demonstration of attacking, aggressive football and bludgeoning plenty of goals in the process. And at other times….well, things haven’t quite gone so swimmingly.
As expected, Atletico Madrid were at their ‘horrible’ best in the 1-0 win over Liverpool o Tuesday night. They pressed, they harried, they were hard in the tackle and they displayed all of the trademark spoiling tactics we have come to expect from a Diego Simeone side.
Patience is a virtue in many walks of life, and especially so in football when trying to break down a dogged opponent. Thankfully, Liverpool have that in abundance – as they showed in the narrow 1-0 victory over Norwich on Saturday, and they will need to showcase it some more on Tuesday when they take on the masters of the dark art of ‘spoiling’ football matches: Atletico Madrid.
There’s that old saying in life that a change is as good as a rest.Well, as far as Liverpool FC, a rest has been more welcome than ever. The winter break that most of the Premier League has enjoyed could not have come at a better time for the Reds, with Jurgen Klopp and his players having the best part of a fortnight off to recharge the batteries ahead of what will hopefully prove to be a historic conclusion to the campaign.
On the face of it, the 4-0 win over Southampton on Saturday felt like a routine – albeit very entertaining – victory for Liverpool. But, as you sense there will be more of, plenty of records tumbled as the Reds’ astonishing start to the season continues at pace. The triumph took our lead at the top of the Premier League table to 22 points, and that is the largest margin at the end of a day in top-flight history.
In customary fashion, Jurgen Klopp is not getting carried away after the 2-0 win at West Ham on Wednesday extended Liverpool’s advantage at the top of the Premier League table to 19 points.
It would be fair to say that the FA Cup fourth round tie with Shrewsbury did not exactly go according to plan for Jurgen Klopp. He named a strong enough starting eleven to take care of business against the League One outfit, and when Curtis Jones gave the Reds the lead early on there were no further dramas anticipated on a afternoon when some key squad players – Fabinho, Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren – were able to get some much-needed game time.
Dare we say it: NOW we can begin to dream of the Premier League title. The cushion remains 16 points at the top of the table with a game in hand, and just as importantly Thursday saw another tough assignment ticked off the list.