OPINION
If Liverpool don’t win anything this season, they will surely look back on the campaign and wonder what more they could have done.
Imperious in the league, just one defeat and a likely grand total of 97 points, they are still at the behest of old flame Brendan Rodgers, who takes his Leicester City side to Manchester on Monday night in the faint hope that he can do what he couldn’t back in 2014 and stop City.
In Europe, the Reds have been similarly impressive. Admittedly, they could have had worse draws, but they calmly dispatched of Bayern Munich with minimum fuss, and made short work of FC Porto too.
Even last week they spent large spells of Wednesday night soundly playing Barcelona off their own park, and yet somehow, by the divine intervention of a diminutive Argentinian, ended up limping back to Merseyside with a 3-0 defeat for their troubles.
That leaves the Reds in a real bind. A season that promised so much could end up yielding nothing but fond memories, and unfortunately, memories don’t fill trophy cabinets.
Consequently, Jurgen Klopp’s men are left on the brink of a massive heartache.
And that disappointment was made to look all the more likely when the German confirmed that the Reds will be without star man Mo Salah for their second leg clash with Barca on Tuesday night, as reported by Echo journalist James Pearce on Twitter.
Overturning a three goal deficit against the Catalan giants is hard enough at the best of times, let alone when you’re missing your most lethal asset.
Klopp did confirm, however, that Salah will be fit to face Wolves next Sunday, as reported by Pearce, and that could prove to be a massive silver lining.
Klopp confirms that Salah will be back available for Sunday's final PL game v Wolves. #LFC
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) May 6, 2019
If we’re being frank, the Champions League is gone now, surely. Four goals against Barca, without reply, will be nigh on impossible.
The league, however, is still very much there for the taking.
Yes, they have to rely on results elsewhere, but it should not be forgotten that if the Reds are to lift a first league title in 29 years, they will also need to beat a Wolves side that look increasingly likely to tie up seventh spot.
For Liverpool to win the double from here they will need two miracles. Maybe asking for two miracles is greedy.
But asking for one, the one that matters most, is more than reasonable.
Having Salah onboard could make that miracle a whole lot more likely.
