How about that then? Privately, perhaps, most Liverpool fans were confident of victory at Old Trafford on Sunday. But a 5-0 romp that could have been an even wider margin? This was wildest dreams stuff.
Have Liverpool ever been in better shape heading into the ‘local’ derby with Manchester United? It’s a fair question given that the Reds remain unbeaten in the Premier League and racked up their third straight victory in the Champions League in Madrid on Tuesday.
Everything that could have gone right did so in Liverpool’s 5-0 crushing of Watford, whose hopes of a honeymoon period under new boss Claudio Ranieri were well and truly dented.
What with the international break, it feels almost a lifetime ago since Liverpool and Manchester City’s highly entertaining 2-2 draw at Anfield. It was a game that City fans might have walked away from with a sense of injustice, given that James Milner probably should have been shown a second yellow card when crudely tripping Bernardo Silva in the second period.
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.