In some respects, the 2-0 win over FC Midtjylland on Tuesday night in the Champions League went perfectly to plan.
Jurgen Klopp rotated his side, got some important game time into the legs of fringe players while giving the night off to a number of his key stars, and the comfortable victory over the Danish champions was exactly what the doctor ordered.
There was more VAR controversy – that’s almost a given these days – but Liverpool were able to shake that off and complete a decent 2-1 victory over a resilient Sheffield United side on Saturday.
At the end of Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Ajax, Jurgen Klopp made a beeline for Fabinho. The manager, beaming from ear to ear and showing off his trademark pearly whites, dashed over to the Brazilian and whispered….well, presumably not sweet nothings, but certainly words of praise for the performance of his makeshift centre back.
It’s hard to feel any positivity from the 2-2 draw with Everton last time out. There were dropped points against a bitter rival, of course, which is less than ideal, but the fact that Virgil van Dijk picked up an excruciating knee injury that will keep him out for six months – and possibly the rest of the season – while Jordan Pickford, the assailant, got away scot-free.
When we previewed the Aston Villa game just prior to the international break, we warned the Reds to be on their guard against a side that had performed far better than their status as relegation candidates would suggest so far this term. And boy, we weren’t wrong, were we?
Once more, Jurgen Klopp sprung a surprise in his team selection for the EFL Cup tie against Arsenal….but this time the joke was on him as his side were knocked out of the competition on penalties.