There was a telling period in Liverpool’s 5-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. It came after John Flanagan’s goal on 75 minutes where the team just kept the ball.
Shifting it from left to right, forwards and backwards; the players looked assured and confident, emphasising their dominance of the game. For the first time under Brendan Rodgers we truly saw his idea of resting with the ball come to fruition.
The retention of the ball showed a conviction and belief in the team. We adopted a maturity and cocksureness in what was the first notable yardstick that showed just how far we have come since Rodgers took over eighteen months ago.
Right from the word go we saw another of Rodgers’ ideas: the team pressed Spurs to win the ball back. We looked to hunt down the ball in packs and prevented Spurs getting the ball out wide or to their forward players.
This pressing was done very intelligently, as it seemed as if we alternated between pressing and sitting back.
Our play was swift and looked properly drilled into each individual. The choreography was perfect: we would win the ball and without hesitation the ball would be swiftly passed around in midfield as Henderson broke from midfield, Sterling held the width, Coutinho drifted in, and Suarez dropped deep to pick the ball up.
Throughout the game we saw a midfield that was without a doubt the most fluid, dynamic, confident, hard-working and technically competent under Rodgers. This game was the closest realisation to Rodgers’s initially touted philosophy.
Allen, Henderson, and Lucas each put in a tireless shift, winning possession, doing intelligent things with the ball, and moving in between Spurs in devastating fashion.
The wide men, too, were tactically excellent, putting in dogged shifts and looking dangerous with the ball. Sterling in particular looked fantastic. He terrorised Spurs’ defence and had extraordinary off-the-ball movement.
What else was noteworthy about this excellent midfield was just how young they were. All – bar Lucas – are under 24-years-old. Each showed unbelievable desire and composure.
Another point is that we’ve appeared to overcome last year’s issue of struggling against teams with physical midfielders.
Sandro, Paulinho, and Dembele are three that would have seen our play be more timid and easy to overrun last season.
It is truly incredible that we seem to have gotten rid of that issue, as we have looked confident even against the likes of West Ham’s midfield.
It is difficult not to get carried away after such a victory.
This match marked the first of a very difficult run for us. Looking past the score, it was the manner at which this victory was carried out – without Sturridge and Gerrard – that was most spectacular.
It was the first match where the Rodgers imprint over the team was truly palpable. The team pressed, passed, and moved with plenty of courage and flair.
We need to keep this kind of performance going. Of course, we must take it one game at a time, and the back to back games against City and Chelsea will be the acid test.
Of course, Spurs look to have no morale or structure whatsoever. It is therefore naïve to believe that we will be allowed to have such a result against Cardiff on Saturday.
Still, team spirit should be sky high after what was a remarkable performance and result.
We enter into our difficult run in the best way possible.
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