Liverpool Continues to Ride Wave of Success
Liverpool fans have reason to rejoice so far this season. The Reds are currently sitting in second place in the Premier League table, and have only lost one match all season. It is a great return to form for a team that struggled a season ago, finishing eighth in the Premier League. Finishing that far down in the table has its advantages. Like first-place squad Chelsea, Liverpool’s bad performance last year means they don’t have to expend any energy playing across Europe this season.
The Lightning-Strike Liverpool Attack
One of the biggest keys to Liverpool’s success this year with Jürgen Klopp as manager has been the team’s ability to put pressure on opponents from the start of the match. They are striking first and building big leads. They have been masters of the blitz much of the year, although their fast-strike capabilities have diminished somewhat since returning from the international break in November.
Learning to Win Patiently
Although most games were laughers before the break, Liverpool has put their fans through the wringer in the three games since. They had a scoreless draw at Southampton in the first game after the break, and then beat Sunderland and Leeds United both by 2-0 score lines at Anfield. In both of those wins, Liverpool scored both of their goals in the last 15 minutes of the match. It may be nerve-wracking for the fans to watch, but the kind of belief that it instills in a team to score late like that is beneficial in the long run.
Paying a Heavy Price for Victory
In the Sunderland game, Liverpool had to pay a heavy price for the victory. Star player Philippe Coutinho was carted off the field with an ankle injury after a tackle by Didier Ndong late in the first half. It appears that he may be out for up to five weeks, which would mean that Coutinho would miss seven games. It was a good sign that the team was able to win their first game without Coutinho, even if it did take awhile for them to find a way to score against Leeds United.
Ben Woodburn Boots His Way into the Record Books
Woodburn scored in the EFL Cup win against Leeds United, which made him the youngest goal-scorer in Liverpool’s history at 17 years and 45 days. The Welsh teenage superstar just signed for three years with the squad, and it should be fun to watch his ascension over that time.
A Look to the Future
With the injury to Coutinho, Liverpool needs to find a way not to let their momentum stall this month. The rest of the team needs to step up and find ways to keep the winning form continuing. As the season progresses, the lack of European football will become even more of an advantage. It could very well be that Chelsea and Liverpool continue to duke it out at the top of the table for the rest of the year.