After a torrid start, Jurgen Klopp would have looked on with delight as his youthful Liverpool side rallied to beat Shrewsbury Town 4-1 in the FA Cup third round on Sunday. He handed starts to Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley, Tyler Morton and Kaide Gordon, while Elijah Dixon-Bonner and Max Woltman made their first senior appearances for the club.
The pandemic woes deepens at Liverpool. At least three new cases, including Alisson, Joel Matip and Bobby Firmino, plus staff also in isolation has left the club with no choice but to close their training ground in order to tackle the situation.
Football, bloody football. Just when you think you know the beautiful game and its unique machinations, a result will happen that surely nobody could see coming.
In some ways, we could describe the postponement of Liverpool’s Boxing Day fixture against Leeds United as an excellent result. During a hectic December, in which Jurgen Klopp’s depleted squad has already played seven games, any time off is most welcome – especially as it ensures that the virus-hit quartet of Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones, Fabinho and Thiago will have ended their isolation period in time for the trip to Leicester on Tuesday.
A stunning fightback booked Liverpool’s place in the EFL Cup semi-finals against Leicester City on Wednesday night. Jurgen Klopp was forced to field a much-changed starting eleven for the contest at Anfield, and after watching his side 0-2 and 1-3 down in the first half, the manager must have been fearing the worst.
An entertaining contest packed with controversy saw Liverpool escape with a point from Tottenham on Sunday. The word ‘escape’ has to be used, primarily because Spurs created a hatful of glorious chances as the Reds clearly missed the stabilising presence of the absent Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
It doesn’t seem to matter what day of the week they play, Liverpool just keep on winning. A rare foray into Thursday night action yielded a 3-1 victory, and it was very much a case of expectations being lived up to against the struggling Magpies.
There can be turning points and decisive moments in football season that define what is to come. And Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, amid a below-par performance, was the stuff of what champions are known for.
It was the joy of six for Liverpool in Milan when they became the first English team in history to win all of their Champions League group games. The 2-1 victory was made all the sweeter by the fact that Jurgen Klopp had made eight changes to his starting eleven, with his second string doing him proud against a side currently sat top of the Serie A table.
They took their sweet time about it, but Liverpool conjured up a late, late goal to condemn Wolves to defeat and extend their winning run in the Premier League to four games. The Reds have conceded just one goal in more than 360 minutes of league action, which suggests that Jurgen Klopp has worked to rectify his side’s achilles heel to some tune.