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Overreaction to controversial Darin Nunez winner, and more thoughts on Liverpool’s recent form
It has been a quite remarkable few weeks, even by Liverpool’s recent standards. I don’t think I would have been alone in wondering whether that victory over Brentford a couple of weeks back might have come at a heavy cost, with the Reds losing four key players due to injury during it.
Certainly, the excuses were there if Jurgen Klopp and his players wanted to use them, and it is to their immense credit that they have not only ridden out the storm, but actually emerged from it looking stronger than ever. The performances of the club’s younger players has been a big talking point, naturally, and as a regular visitor to U21 and U18s games, I’ve been thrilled to see the likes of Bobby Clark, Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas excelling when called upon. The future is bright, if some of these kids can continue their development.
But it has been the way the remaining senior players have stepped up which has most impressed me. Virgil van Dijk is an obvious example, and what a leader he has become, but Ibrahima Konate has been magnificent, so have Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Alister. Harvey Elliott has made huge strides this season, as has Caoimhin Kelleher, and the courage of Luis Diaz in carrying the ball and leading the attack is truly exceptional. And now, with a few players back from injury, the skies quickly start to clear.
Darwin Nunez was the returning hero against Forest, and is having a brilliant campaign for my money, while Dominik Szoboszlai, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are all getting towards full fitness again. Mo Salah isn’t far away either, I believe. That puts Liverpool in a really strong position to at least go close in the three remaining competitions.
As an aside, to discuss the fallout from the winning goal at Forest, I really am starting to despair at the discourse surrounding refereeing in modern football.
To have Mark Clattenburg, a ‘refereeing personality’ turned ‘referees analyst’, all over TV and radio bemoaning a mistake, and to have TV pundits using inflammatory language such as “shocking” and “monumental” to describe Paul Tierney’s mistake, shows just how far the game has fallen. The fallout is disproportionate when compared to the error, which did not directly lead to Forest losing the game.
It feels like things have accelerated this season with regards to debates around referees. The PGMOL seems to get as much attention as the PL these days, VAR is discussed to death, and I personally find it both tiresome and alarming. Nobody should pretend that everything is perfect in terms of officiating, but every club has incidents they can point to, decisions that have gone against them, and to move into a world where clubs are now employing figures like Clattenburg to essentially lobby for more favourable treatment from referees is, to me anyway, grim. They just want consistency, they’ll no doubt say. They’re lying. They want fairness, balance and consistency with one key caveat; that it’s in their favour.
Will Liverpool vs Man City this weekend be a title-decider?
I can’t wait for Sunday’s game at Anfield, and I’m expecting it to be a truly brilliant contest too. It will, I’m sure, be billed as a title-decider, but I would stop short of labelling it such. Arsenal will still have something to say as to the destination of the Premier League crown, though I personally look at those away games against City, Spurs and Manchester United and wonder if they will be the ones that prevent Mikel Arteta’s side, as in-form as they are, from getting over the line.
From a Liverpool perspective, this is a huge opportunity. To open up a four-point gap over City – who face Arsenal next, don’t forget – at this stage of the season would be massive, and I think if they did that, then Klopp would look at his side’s remaining fixtures and think there was a real chance that they could bring it home. Even a draw, to be honest, would represent a good result.
City’s record at Anfield is pretty risible, but I don’t expect that to play any part in their approach to the game. They have some of the most in-form players in the league right now, Phil Foden in particular, and are capable not only of winning, but winning in style.
The atmosphere will be magnificent, I’m sure, and for me it’s a real 50-50 contest. I suppose that means I’ll be expecting a draw, doesn’t it, but I’ve got a sly feeling that Liverpool might edge this one.
Liverpool surely the most attractive option for Xabi Alonso
We inevitably keep hearing a lot about Xabi Alonso’s future, with some reports suggesting he’s held positive talks with Liverpool, while other sources are saying he’s favouring Bayern Munich.
To be honest, I think the situation with Alonso is that there are a lot of people trying to guess and speculate as to his intentions, when the reality is that his primary focus will be, and has to be, on finishing a huge job with Bayer Leverkusen this season.
Clearly, he is going to have a big decision to make soon, because both Liverpool and Bayern Munich will be calling him, if they haven’t already, and Leverkusen will surely be making a pitch for him to stay for at least one more season too.
One thing that is clear about Alonso is that he is someone who knows his own mind, and he has rarely, if ever, made a decision in his career that did not have a great deal of thought behind it. I certainly wouldn’t expect him to rush into his next move, and I certainly wouldn’t like to second-guess his intentions at this stage.
Personally, I believe that if both clubs (and Leverkusen) made offers to him, then Liverpool is a more attractive proposition at this stage, given the state of the squad, the quality within the academy and the lack of political manoeuvring that goes on behind the scenes, but that’s just my opinion. Bayern, I’m sure, would argue differently. Let’s wait and see how it all pans out.
Recent Liverpool midfielder links don’t add up
I would be very sceptical about links between Liverpool and players such as Joshua
Kimmich and Nicolo Barella. Good players, no question. Great players actually. But Liverpool are not short on midfielders, and with the exception of Endo and Thiago Alcantara, who is almost certainly leaving in the summer, they are all younger than those two.
The potential of Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Harvey Elliott and Ryan Gravenberch is obvious, and with the likes of Stefan Bajcetic and Bobby Clark also emerging, it is hard to see the need for a 29- year-old Kimmich or a 27-year-old Barella.
I personally feel Liverpool’s squad planning this summer will be about fine tuning, rather than overhauling. They were happy with the midfield business they did last summer, so expect attention to switch to other areas – central defence, full-back and the forward line – now.