By close of play today, Liverpool could be Premier League champions. My first article for this site, weighing up the rights and wrongs of sacking Kenny Dalglish after finishing eighth, could hardly feel more distant. Since then, 445 hours have been spent watching this team, every one of them hoping for the moment that is now tantalisingly close.
At times it has been within reach only to be cruelly snatched away. At other times it has felt like a faraway pipe dream. Now, it is a matter of when rather than if Jordan Henderson lifts the trophy aloft. In truth, that has been the case from the moment Jurgen Klopp took the helm: he has transformed and restored this club, and the ultimate reward is now in sight.
The circumstances, of course, could hardly be stranger. There is no shame in admitting that it all feels somewhat surreal, even somewhat lesser. It is impossible not to envisage what Anfield would have been like last night as the fans watched their heroes drive Liverpool to within two points of immortality. Some bittersweetness is equally inevitable when the trophy is hoisted and no parade follows. It is inexpressibly unfair that the 30-year wait should end in this manner.
But the 30-year wait is ending. We are witnessing, albeit remotely, the greatest Liverpool side in generations. The only asterisk against this title applies to the raw untamed joy which supporters will be partly denied – on the pitch last night, the team showed beyond doubt that they will be supremely worthy champions.
After the huge disruption of the enforced break and the anticlimactic return in the Merseyside Derby, there was a fear that the season might just fizzle out. Ultimately it wouldn’t have mattered, the title being all but won already, but this remarkable campaign deserves to end in a victorious procession even if there can be no parade. Against Palace, the carnival came to town.
The increased sharpness was evident from the first minute. Salah and Robertson returned, which provided much-needed balance and quality to the side, but beyond that it seemed that each individual had raised their game. It was as though they were issuing a reminder to everyone of exactly why they are so far ahead of the rest of the league: not because all the other teams have had bad years, not because of lucky results, but because this side at its best is capable of wreaking utter destruction on the opposition.
Roy Hodgson unsurprisingly opted to get a lot of players behind the ball, something which has traditionally blunted even some of the best Liverpool teams. But it was to no avail: the aggressive pressing out of possession and the intricate link-ups with the ball both provided regular avenues to goal, and Palace were helpless to resist. Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez, both of whom shone, spent most of the game operating as the deepest playmakers, regularly venturing into the opposition half to pick out penetrating passes. Remarkably, the Eagles never made it into Liverpool’s box.
With this kind of dominance the breakthrough was inevitable, and it came through Trent Alexander-Arnold. There was some irony in a set piece making the difference when the open play chances were coming thick and fast, but Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson must have quickly forgotten their squandered opportunities when they saw the mercurial full-back nestle a free-kick perfectly in the top corner. Watching the academy graduate kiss the badge with a big smile on his face was proof positive that this game can still stir emotions even in empty, echoing grounds.
Mohamed Salah doubled the lead just before half-time, running on to a beautifully-weighted chipped pass from Fabinho before guiding it past Wayne Hennessey. It was a richly-deserved goal: the Egyptian was a menace all game, playing a key part in keeping Palace so pinned back and offering a constant threat. Fabinho’s performance also more than warranted an assist, although he would go on to crown it even more fittingly.
The second half continued in much the same vein – if anything, the connections between Roberto Firmino and his fellow forwards seemed to be growing even more, the muscle memory gradually kicking back in. Some of the link-up play in tight spaces was of the highest order: it genuinely has a place in the discussion for the best performance of the season, which in the circumstances is remarkable.
Once again, though, the next goal did not come in the expected manner. Fabinho, seemingly bored of all the interplay, took advantage of the space he was allowed to drive an absolute thunderbolt into the corner of the net. He is a supremely clean striker of the ball, and the goal was the kind to truly stir the kind of elation that has been so conspicuously absent since football went away.
The final goal was a more accurate microcosm of the performance, with each of the front three playing a key part in the build-up. Firmino worked it to Salah, who then released Sadio Mane with a delightful pass on his weaker foot. The winger ran through on goal, making no mistake with a typical curling finish. It was a fitting end to a performance of champions.
As is so often the case when writing about Liverpool, it is impossible to encapsulate things better than Klopp himself. “My boys played like everyone was in the stadium” – even in their absence, it was a performance very much for the fans.
Tonight, the team could win the title without even being there themselves: whenever it happens, though, and whatever the circumstances, there should be no question that it has been made possible by an amazing team, passionate fans, and a generational manager who has harnessed the power of the latter to push his talented group of players to even greater heights. Even apart, there will be nothing distanced about this title: it is a collective achievement, and one that should have no aspersions cast upon it.
James Martin
Latest posts by James Martin (see all)
- A Pressing Concern - February 8, 2021
- Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool: Did Klopp’s formation gamble pay off? - November 10, 2020
- The big Premier League preview Part Two – The bottom half - September 10, 2020