THE season starts. God, you felt that, didn’t you?
God you lived that, didn’t you?
God you loved that, didn’t you? Didn’t you?
What it is to be alive. Liverpool gave us that tonight. Being fair, so too did Crystal Palace.
It was visceral football from both sides. It was meaty football. It was the real deal, the first proper great game of the season. It had heft and presence. It kept announcing itself over and over and Liverpool had to cope with it. Before a ball had been kicked on this fixture list this was a game that stood out. Monday night, under the lights, Selhurst Park. Palace vs Liverpool.
And, therefore, fair play to Palace. They brought the best of themselves. Andros Townsend nearly scores a Tony Yeboah, nearly produces the full business. Wilf Zaha is so potent, every time he picks the ball up he screams danger. Patrick van Aaanholt is a footballer. And Aaron Wan-Bissaka is marvellous and, under duress, does the right thing, and my God what a player he is. Let no one tell you otherwise. They are quick, strong, brilliant on the ball. They finish top half. They terrify our rivals. They have 12 games against the top six. That we have won one should not be diminished. What a game to win.
https://twitter.com/TheAnfieldWrap/status/1031654466523738113
Liverpool play 38 games and at least 15 of them will be, in comparison to this one, utterly sterile. It should not be such. But we all know it will be.
This game was alive. It was vivid and it was active. Until the 93rd moment this was a contest. It was a contest Liverpool won.
Liverpool defended brilliantly. What is important there is the idea that defending wasn’t just about sitting deep and blocking. Liverpool played some brilliant front foot football to aid their defending. Both Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk were able to pick their moments to influence play; They got to be excellent centre halves as part of a unit rather than excellent emergency measures. James Tompkins was on the stretch. Mamadou Sakho was on the stretch. Liverpool’s players rarely were.
Through the whole game Liverpool had a guiding intelligence that Palace struggled to deal with. All of their moves were improvised whereas Liverpool felt rehearsed, in the best possible sense. These Liverpool players love and adore each other and want to know each other’s every move from the outset.
There were exceptions: Naby Keita turned away and found Mo Salah with the most glorious inspiration imaginable. Liverpool’s finest footballer should have found the net but instead punted over. It would have been a remarkable goal, a goal to tell one hell of a story. Instead Salah ended the game goalless and perhaps slightly frustrated. Yet he assisted both Liverpool goals.
We won 0-2 and we deserved to win 0-2. We were the better side across the board. Yet there was a ton going on. Wan-Bissaka against Mane; where James McArthur was at any one time vs what the momentum suggested; Christian Benteke vs himself. An ongoing battle that last one. But everywhere else on the pitch football was happening. Players had to demonstrate their qualities.
It was a joy to behold. The easiest thing in the world when Liverpool come to town is for a side to hide. But that didn’t happen this evening. Palace wanted to know. They faced down Liverpool and came off second best.
They won’t be alone come May. Liverpool have the presence to face the nation down, to want to swagger wherever they go. It is marvellous and it is incredible. But it is a side maturing in front of your eyes. The strange thing is this: They have done and lived and experienced the hard part. Most sides never properly get that, not the precocious ones, but Liverpool very much have. The know the hard part. But right now they want to make the hard be easy.
Liverpool win the game. They deserve it. But there are 36 more. Nothing stops now. But imagine being these Reds.
They march on, knowing the burden placed on them by their rivals; knowing that perfection is required by September. It is arduous and it is tough. But it is what Liverpool are built to deal with. Tonight was a sensation. Tonight was a ball. Tonight was a joy to be alive. It is exhausting how many more of them we need but this is our reality.
We have to keep winning. We have to be hard-faced. We have to not apologise. We have to work, bitch.
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Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
Six points from six for Britney’s Reds. Weirdly the goals come after our poorest spell of each half – a handy knack to have. So much assurance in between. Townsend’s shot aside, I never really felt like we weren’t gonna win. “Only two games” etc but this feels like a team that can still be in the race with two games to go.
The doubters are turning into believers. Last autumn is fading into the memory when the ‘Klopp doesn’t know how to defend’brigade were at their most vocal . What a joke that now looks like. Enough of us kept the faith that Klopp is made for this club. That 26 year burden is perhaps the biggest mountain in world football to climb and Klopp and these lads need be everyone behind them when the fight is on.
Well said, mate.
Spot on analysis there Neil.
Thought we weren’t great going forward, as klopp has said. Have to admire how palace played as they tried to match the red men all over the pitch. Would agree with paul above also, despite a good performance didnt really feel that threatened by palace. Probably says alot about our defence. To get a goal in last minute (when all to often that would be Palace getting an equaliser) is huge. A painful watch at times but a real effort and result.
I conversed with a many anxious Reds fans out there who are afraid that their dreams wont come true. Already talking about not getting carried away. That’s why they try to convince themselves and others that you should not invest too much emotions into the Reds. Like human beings could even control that.
Actually, sod that. What’s the point of following a football team week in week out, if you dont allow yourself to fully enjoy the ride. Nobody knows if we will win something or not. But the Reds are fantastic to watch. It’s about the moment. I was drained but beyond happy last night. It affected me much more than the West Ham game. But it’s moments like yesterday that we are doing this for, investing our time, our money. Because I dont get these specific thrills, these quick emotional highs and lows in any other facet of life like I do with football, with watching these Reds (under Jurgen).
And who cares if you look foolish in the eyes of others if your beliefs and hopes wont be met at the end of the season? At least, you had the balls to put your emotions out there and believe that the Reds can win the League. And THESE Reds certainly can!
It should not be underestimated what a win that was. I’d be surprised if any of the other big five go there and win in that manner because Palace make it so difficult. It’s a horrible fixture and one I always dread, but these Reds are different. You could feel it from the start. There was an assurance throughout the team that never lent itself to getting flustered as perhaps we might have done in previous years. The second goal is testament to this. How many times in recent years do Palace equalise there? Instead our colossus heads it away and within seconds we’re putting the game to bed. Symbolic, that.
Alisson is a horribly composed man isn’t he? That distribution is like having Xabi Alonso in goal. One of those clipped passes to the full-backs had Robertson running at their back four within two seconds. What a dimension to have.
Van Dijk – that may well be his best showing in a Liverpool shirt. Imagine being Gomez – who was also splendid – and getting to take your first steps as a Liverpool centre-back next to someone like that, and in front of Alisson for that matter.
It’s funny how sometimes a win can feel like it was worth more than 3 points in terms of its resonance. This one certainly did. You can usually tell by how much celebration goes into the key goal. Sadio certainly had me off my feet in my living room last night, even though the result was almost in the bag at that point.
Before, and at one point during, the game I was trying to convince myself that a draw wouldn’t be the worst result in the world, but so much more satisfying to get all 3 with a clean sheet.
Everyone deserved at least a 7 last night with some immense performances meriting more. But, as a collective, I thought our midfield 5 (inc. Hendo & Bobby) were tremendous in laying the foundations. Grafters, water carriers and artisans all, but with much much more. It’s gonna be some ride this season and I for one just can’t get enough.
Excellent display overall.
Alisson is settling in as are the other players.
It’s only game 2, but against a tough opposition you dare not underestimate as we’ve seen in the past.
Players still rusty and will come up to speed by game 10.
Love the defensive partnership. I just wish the injured players come back sooner. This type of display must surely inspire them to recover miraculously. :)
And we didn’t even need to bring on Shaqiri.
I wish we stay injury free.
Take it one game at a time.