THIS Sunday brought back one of those nail biting days that Liverpool fans were so used to a few years ago, where despite the anxiety they would come out on top at the end.
Rewind back to those encounters against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals, or in the FA Cup semis against them, or perhaps even the clash against Manchester United that same year in a lower round.
It was a product of Liverpool somehow remaining second best on the pitch in terms of possession and trying to create chances, but still coming out on top at the final whistle, thanks to a moment of inspiration followed by solid defending.
This latest triumph over the arch-rivals however, is also just another example of the false positives that have blighted Liverpool’s campaigns over the last few years.
Of course the result makes it 3 wins from 3, a 100% record for the defence as well with 3 clean sheets. But bear in mind, the season has only just begun and there are 35 matches still to go.
Liverpool players have more or less always managed to show up on the day of a big occasion, and frankly you don’t even have to be English, let alone a Liverpudlian to know that Liverpool versus Manchester United is as big as it ever gets. It’s our El Classico and there’s perhaps no bigger stage in English football.
Of course there are other big occasions such as the Merseyside and Tyneside derbies, even your London derbies between Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and the likes. Now there’s even going to be the Welsh derby on the English stage between Cardiff and Swansea.
Not sure if any of those get anywhere near Liverpool and Man Utd from a neutral perspective. Either way, it’s hardly a surprise Liverpool won.
These derbies on the day have been fiercely contested by both sides throughout history so the two sides are always a match for each other barring the odd ones.
Where Liverpool have a frustrating habit of lagging is when it comes to consistently dispatching the smaller sides, the mid-table ones. This was predominant even when Liverpool were firmly in the top 4, and if you remember it was those 11 draws which cost Liverpool the title 4 years ago.
Manchester United were bested both home and away that season. As were Chelsea for that matter. Yet Man Utd ended up winning the title because they beat teams like Wigan, West Ham and the likes while Liverpool didn’t.
That consistency is desperately required, which is very much achievable without spending silly money or waving a magic wand. Discipline needs to be enforced and implemented by both Brendan Rodgers and all the players.
On Sunday, the players were sloppy in possession, always giving the ball away while Man Utd were calm and much more composed. Kolo Toure’s injury is reportedly not as serious as first feared so his return to the side should also add a physicality which has been missing at Anfield for a while.
Iago Aspas was fairly impressive against Stoke, but both the Villa and Man Utd matches exposed his frail first touch which continually took the ball away from him and in to the lap of the defenders. That’s an area he needs to work on.
Raheem Sterling only played the last half hour or so, but he was far too inferior physically. He either has to have that aspect developed in him or find a way to make use of his slight size and get in to the knack of moving the ball quickly and finding space.
Concentration is the key during every match, against whoever it may be. Your Fulhams and West Hams, or even the Arsenals and Tottenhams – Liverpool need to concentrate and stand tall against every one of them.
It’s only been 3 matches and sure, Liverpool sit at the top of the table. Yet Chelsea and Manchester United have both looked far more solid and unless Liverpool can develop that backbone in possession, it’ll be tricky making much out of this season as well.
Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at live4liverpool@snack-media.com
Follow us on Twitter here: @live4Liverpool and ‘Like’ us on Facebook
I see the point your getting at in the article but for the last couple of years as Liverpool supporters we haven’t had that much to be positive about so at this point every win I celebrate like we won the league. Can u blame me tho?
Disagree totally have you not seen the team spirit and the trust between defense and goalie. Rogers squad todaybis so much better than the one he inherited. It will be a low points total that wins the league this year. We have 9 points already. Be happy
guys relax and be happy with enrique,lucas and hendo i think we are much stronger than downing,allen and sahin.Good season ahead.
One game at a time! What liverpool lacked so far is experience . I look at last season and it was against the so called lesser sides that we dominated . With confidence sky high we should have too much for most of these teams . Southampton are a tough side nowadays but I see with maximum concentration a huge opportunity .
I agree on some points but largely disagree with the article as being too negative. “False positive” only spells out the lack of faith from the author and the supposed fans that agree.
I might not live in Liverpool but I am not blind to the work going on at Melwood and the positive steps that allowed us to be where we are right now. Albeit only 3 games but it’s the best we’ve done in a few years. Is that not improvement? The real test is yet to come, consistency, but for anyone to comment on that we first have to have an average number of games to compare it to. Have we started better than last year? Did Stoke beat us or draw with us once again? Did the league leaders show us that they are in a different class than us? Did the team mentality fall apart? Did the defense have their normal lapses in concentration and concede? No to all and so, as many of the above fans said, concentrate one game at a time and judge them only on what they are doing.
A bright start to a new season with new players and a new attitude. Give the team encouragement and the fans renewed hope. It’s all we need and deserve …
YNWA!
well said mate.i think we’ll better this time around, because the team spirit is good and the guys are working very hard.you can’t point at one player to be the one that is making it to be possible, but it is the whole team.
Remember, we have a far better squad than last season, and over the last 16 premier league games, we have won 11, drawn 4 and lost 1. We have two more points than Manure over that period.
Is that not Progress?
I am happy, get on board chaps!
iI iIf we were on d luzin side u’ll here lambasting d incompetency of B. Rodgers. Now he has won us 3 matches in a row and u call false hope. If we speak of negative media hype dat wat dis author represents.
Abhjan..! Bro, did you watch the three games this season? I can understand if you said the stoke game is doubtful, i can even tolerate if you question Villa game but if you still not convinced after MU game, than youre watching last season recording bro.. I’m not saying that LFC going to be champions this season( but i hope they do) but certainly theres nothing false about their performance. Its not an offence to have a little faith,hope and confidence my friend..unless you support some other team.!?
Bro, am so sure if it were to be man utd that has 3 wins out of 3, with a one goal margin, you will be say that is a champions stuff. But now its liverpool you are now saying the performance of the team is false. Think bro or go and support another team.
Lads, some of you might have misunderstood the point of the piece. 3 wins out of 3 is brilliant but most of the games could’ve easily gone either way. Liverpool haven’t shwon the reassurance in possession that top sides have to if they’re going to challenge for the title or any kind of honour really. We can mathematically big up the team all we like, saying the last 10 matches have seen Liverpool get more points than anyone and so on, but at the end of the day it’s the 38 matches in the single season that matter. The possession element has to be enforced, which is why the article just says that a bit more discipline is required. There are 35 matches still to go so getting carried away after 3 matches won’t be very productive. Still it’s a great start, and to build on it throughout the season, the ball needs to be retained by Liverpool players as much as possible.
I can assure you all, I was jumping up and down like a kid on a bouncy castle when that final whistle went on Sunday.
Just trying to be balanced when writing an article here.