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Before Sunday’s match I was already pretty confident about the season. I have said Liverpool had a good summer, recruited well, had a pre-season schedule to get us to the right point, and confidence is the only hangover from last season following the Champions League run.
My cards are on the table - I think Liverpool win the league this year. One of my reasons for that bold statement is that in 2017 we had a slow start, Champions League qualifier’s making our season busy at the beginning. A league draw was followed by wins in that competition and the Champions League, however the 5-0 / down to 10 men loss at Man City sent what was a promising beginning off into a strange direction. We only won two more matches from then (09/09/17) until and including the defeat to Tottenham (21/10/17). A comfortable win v Huddersfield got us back on track, we hit our stride and became a force to behold. There was the occasional blip, but in general we rolled through the rest of the season, gaining momentum and plaudits from neutrals along the way.
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Towards the end we were of course distracted by our Champions League run and threw away a few games, draws and the occasional loss wrecking our form column. I reckon we would have been easily 15 points better off without those factors, perhaps even 20. The Mane sending off / 5-0 defeat was a freak occurrence, and Liverpool were right to prioritise games towards the business end in the CL because European trophies is what Liverpool are about, City were out of sight and a top 4 place was ours to throw away.
So while form guides are generally an indicator of future performance, if you based your analysis of Liverpool on bare league form, you’d be misled. It’s one of many reasons why I am bullish about Liverpool’s chances this year. Discount a few of those results and Liverpool’s form looks a lot better and puts us closer to City.
I felt quietly confident before kick-off but am never one to shoot my mouth off about such things. It started well, and there weren’t many moments where it looked like we were out of control. Salah picked up where he left off, scoring an easy tap in. Mane got the other two and confirmed what I had been quietly thinking, that he’s going to have a barnstorming campaign. Don’t be surprised if he’s the man we all talk about at the end of the season. Alongside Liverpool’s derailment at Man City, Mane also suffered a serious blow to his form. He never regained it until into the New Year, and it’s no coincidence that Liverpool’s form picked up at the same time. His league goals early on were helping Liverpool’s fine start, then that City game saw a three game ban followed by a dry spell. His next goal in any competition was the Champions League goal against Seville nearly 3 months later. It was part of a 4 goal spell before Christmas, another brief dry spell then followed by a New Years Day goal which was one of 13 after the turn of the year.
So I think this momentum that he’s built up will continue, and I think we’ll see him be a key part of a flying start to the 2018 / 2019 season.
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Wijnaldum has improved in 2018, he has shown versatility in the midfield roles, and the game v West Ham saw another solid display. He’s got a few pre-season goals and confidence is high. I liked at one point when I saw him clapping Alexander-Arnold in support of a missed bit of control by AA. AA should have taken a ball down, didn’t, and instead of getting a bollocking, got a rousing bout of clapping to chivvy him along. I think that shows the mark of the man, allowing AA to acknowledge it’s just a simple mistake and not beat himself up. While not his absolute best game, Alexander-Arnold is a regular starter now for Klopp and once more you could see why.
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Sturridge did his season’s hopes no harm by scoring with his first touch as sub. He is in a rich vein of form and if Klopp can keep him happy on the bench and keep him fit, he could be some super-sub this year. Shaquiri looks happy as a kid in a sweetshop, excited to be involved and bouncing around like a smiling, stocky little sprite. He did all that was asked of him, showed some good touches and movement, and his enthusiasm coupled with his talent could see him stand out as a bargain signing this year. Alisson didn’t have much to do, when he did he didn’t fuck anything up, although in fairness there was an occasional punch / clearance that worried me momentarily. They didn’t matter and came to nothing so can be forgotten.
Naby Keita looked like the player we hoped he would, worth the wait and piling kudos onto those responsible for snapping him up. We saw the full range of his ability on display, from some 1-2’s to the snappy tackles, finding space to play in, running and dribbling, playing some clever football and spotting some great passes at times. Linking up well with his team mates, he caught the eye and looks a Liverpool player already. He adds steel to a midfield without sapping its creativity, which is a rare thing these days. If it’s still true that most players improve under Klopp, then we have some player to look forward to!
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The game itself saw more of the same from Liverpool, great attacking football supported by a hard working midfield and defenders who put in a shift when they needed to in order to preserve the lead. We were lucky with Mane’s second, which was clearly offside. I would rather have luck when we need it than when we don’t, but I suppose at 3-0 it did mean we could all relax and enjoy the rest of the game.
So what did the first game tell us? Liverpool’s front three are possibly the best trio in Europe, they have recruited well this summer. The team are well placed to properly challenge Man City this season. They are motivated and ready for what lies ahead. And I remain confident in my prediction of this being the one.