A hugely successful weekend saw Liverpool continue winning on and off the pitch by beating their closest rivals and signing Alexander Isak…
IT’S BEEN QUITE the 48 hours.
Regaining our place at the top of the league, going two points clear, besting a title rival with the best free-kick of the season, Alexander Isak, the Marc Guehi outcome and the tremendous news that Joe Gomez’s magnificent scowl will still be seen around the training ground.
It’s been a series of wins for me. I’m elated at every outcome. I’m not having Guehi for both football and non-football reasons, personally, though he’ll probably be here in January so today I get to sing everyone’s names. Those are the best days.
As dramatic as the transfer window has been, I can’t help feel that it’s eclipsed the events of Sunday. I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to enjoy the Arsenal game a bit longer. I’m still wrapped in its afterglow. I love games like that. They’re as enjoyable as a 4-4 draw.
I read at half-time that it was a stalemate and a bit boring. ‘Not one for the purists.’ I suppose it depends on your opinion of purity.
On the Post-Match Show, Dan Morgan was mocked for his nerdy love of it but I’m right with him. Barely any (shudder) xG and both teams barely able to make two passes without being pressed and dispossessed. An absolute war of attrition? Heaven! I love a game that requires chess-like thought.
Once our greatest ever right-back sorted out the win (yeah, let him take it then), talk turned to Arsenal bottling it again and lacking ambition. I didn’t see it that way at all.
Arsenal, playing away at the Champions, didn’t do too much wrong other than not stop Dom’s goal. They still made us work no matter the lack of variety in their playbook. Their problem was that they didn’t get the moment of genius we did and then get it over the line.
They’re an excellent team but one just falling below the ultimate level. One where genius moments win games against teams you absolutely have to beat. They need a big win, either here or at City, to drag them up from below the floorboards. They needed that on Sunday, but now have a whole season to wait before they have another chance. And Liverpool are getting stronger.
There’s previous here. In December 2000 Liverpool went to Old Trafford and won 0-1 thanks to a Danny Murphy free-kick. It was one of the most significant wins in our history as it was the first time in a decade that we’d won there. We followed it up with a 4-0 drubbing of Arsenal. It was a huge Christmas period for the Reds. It marked the next step along the way to progress.
We lost the next game away to Middlesbrough. Our goalkeeper blamed ‘ice on the ball’ and though we won a Cup treble in May, we were still nowhere near a league challenge. We got closer the year after but not enough. Then we fell away.
Falling away is the easy bit. Drawing level and then overtaking is much, much harder.
Sunday was the Premier League champions putting its palm on the forehead of its challengers and watching them gamely swing punches which didn’t land. The distance between the clubs is still there, but with every passing game it increases a little further. I think Arteta knows that.
But that doesn’t make them lazy or bottlers or mentally weak. It’s just that football is very, very hard.
And I reckon they’ll get their day at the Etihad this season anyway.
But that’s them. The Champions go off to their national sides and hopefully don’t do anything silly like tackle or get too tired. Burnley comes first.
I never thought I’d ever type that last sentence.
Most of all I’m pleased that we still have Joe Gomez. That, and being top of the league by two points having got through arguably our hardest away and home game before the end of August.
You make sure you get some rest too. We’ve got a lot more of these things to get through.
Sing.
