It came as something of a surprise when Jurgen Klopp named a starting eleven as close to his strongest available as possible against Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Liverpool FC is on the crest of a wave at the moment, and the performance level in Friday’s 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers was described as ‘perfect football’ by no less a judge than Jurgen Klopp.
Well, if Carlsberg did the perfect footballing week, it would looks something like the seven or eight days that Liverpool have just enjoyed.
Let’s file away the nerve-shredding 1-0 win over Napoli as ‘job done’, shall we!? It was a tight old affair, as you’d expect with so much on the line, and it took two solitary standout moments to settle the contest.
There was no last gasp drama, no goalkeeping madness, no Jurgen Klopp celebration dash against Bournemouth….just a calm, clinical and comfortable Liverpool somewhere near their best.
We’re going about our business in fraught fashion, but Liverpool keep grinding out results; a trait we’ve been lacking for the past couple of years. When Jack Cork fired Burnley ahead on Wednesday evening it was very much a case of here we go again. But James Milner equalised and then along came the cavalry: Jurgen Klopp sending on Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino from the subs’ bench.
As Super Sundays go, that was absolutely tip top. The Merseyside derby with Everton had petered out into stalemate – a result which did us no favours as we hunt down Manchester City, but then football’s fickle finger of fate played its hand.
There were all sorts of shenanigans going on that may or may not have influenced the outcome of the game, but the reality was that Liverpool were thoroughly outplayed by PSG in Wednesday’s 1-2 defeat in Paris.
Everyone wants to win with style, but all that matters is getting the job done and taking the three points home with you. And that’s exactly what Liverpool did on Saturday after a hard-fought victory over Watford; a fixture that may well have just caused us a few headaches in years gone by.
After a welcome break from domestic action, it’s back to the nitty gritty for Liverpool FC as we look to stamp out authority on the Premier League table heading into the festive period. The international break is a bleak time for all club sides but especially for the Reds, with so many of our players representing their countries in far-flung corners of the globe.