Liverpool Have Earned a Moment of Respite

Liverpool have deserved a bit of a let-up recently

Wednesday night was the first time in a while that fans could sit back and finally breathe a sigh of relief.

We did it! Many had branded Bournemouth away as a banana skin just lying in wait for the club’s unsuspecting feet, with good reason. Liverpool’s horrific form these past few months has been well documented, and while performances did improve against Man United on Sunday, we still ended up losing 3-0.

So to win 3-1 away from home was an absolute delight. It’s not a season-changer by any means. Bournemouth are top of the Championship and probably better than a good few sides currently languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League, but they are still a team that no top side should be struggling to beat.

But, as the old adage goes, you can only beat what’s in front of you. Bournemouth could have easily taken advantage of a depressing run of form – indeed, they could have scored twice in the first half and hit the post in the second – but despite some standard defensive wobbles, we came at Bournemouth with a real intensity that we haven’t seen since Spurs.

Sterling up front is a selection fans have been begging to see for a while in the continued absence of Daniel Sturridge, and it has given our attacks genuine pace. Of course the worry is that Sterling might burn out before Sturridge returns, but hopefully the 20 year old can last long enough until he gets his fitness back. Markovic has had the best form of his Liverpool career these past few matches, ignoring the harsh and undeserved red card against Basle. His goal was well struck and a real delight to see. Hopefully he can push himself into the starting XI and influence games on a more regular basis.

Adam Lallana looked great going forward as well, and hopefully if the team as a whole can attack with this intensity and fluidity on a regular basis, then he can up his game to a more consistent level too. In defence, Sakho looked great when coming on at half time for the injured Dejan Lovren. There are those who aren’t keen on Sakho despite Lovren’s diabolical form, but one thing the Frenchman is great at is the last ditch tackle. The state our defence is in, we need that quality now more than ever.

It’s worth noting too that Bournemouth only really got back into the game once we went 3-0 up and took our feet off the gas. Of course, fans would be right to demand a more professional attitude from our players to stop this from happening, but this isn’t uncommon – Ferguson’s United teams were often guilty of it – and in a way it’s almost understandable.

This season has been relentless, with one bad result after another after another. For the first time in 3 months, the team found themselves 3-0 up with real breathing room in a match. The players obviously realised this and must have thought they could ease off and enjoy the occasion; when was the last time they found themselves in this position? It goes without saying that this is always a bad idea, but perhaps this one time, against this level of opposition it is forgivable.

And let’s not forget we did win the game.

We’ve had too many false dawns recently to confidently boast that this is where we turn our season around. But it’s worth pointing out that since Rodgers announced our season began away at Ludogorets, we’ve won 3, drawn 3 and lost 1 in all competitions. Whisper it quietly, but things might just be improving.

Either way, until the Arsenal game today I’ve just sat back and enjoyed the moment. They haven’t come around too often recently.