Tuesday, February 25, 2020

West Ham scare but narrow escape for Liverpool as hunt for title continues



Four more wins and Liverpool will be crowned English Champions after nearly 3 decades! But there is one significant milestone that can be achieved which is staying unbeaten for the next 11 remaining games in the league and become only the 2nd top-flight team in the Premier League to achieve that after Arsenal's invincible season in the 2003/2004 season. 

This also means Liverpool stand a chance of winning a golden Premier League trophy provided they stay unbeaten for the remaining games and emulate Arsenal's feat, a kind of achievement that many teams failed to surpass since 2004. 

A handsome 22-point lead at the top of the table leaves Manchester City as the closest rival to the Reds at the moment after the Citizens nicked a narrow win against the Foxes last weekend, through a late winner by Brazilian star, Gabriel Jesus. Regardless the win at Leicester, Pep Guardiola chose not to remain optimistic about Manchester City going any where near of challenging a resurgent Liverpool side and claims that Liverpool have drifted on a higher gear now and are truly unstoppable. 

Liverpool welcomed a wounded West Ham side that's probably facing their worst start to a season but pulled out a surprise performance against the Reds at Anfield on Wednesday. Gini Wijnaldum's opener in the 9th minute was cancelled out by a well-taken goal by Diop before Pablo Fornals stunned the Kop by driving a low shot pass the irresistible, Allison right after the interval.


Comeback wins has been a routine for Liverpool this season and this match against West Ham was no different as Sadio Mane scored the winner 10 minutes from time before Mo Salah made it 2-2 through an unexpected howler by Fabianski. Liverpool were up against an adamant West Ham side that played some decent football at times during the match but the Reds were far too strong and the home support played a huge role in the big win. 

Liverpool now inch even closer and can already taste Premier League glory and winning 4 more games shouldn't be a problem for Klopp and his Red army. Where the back four is concerned, Joe Gomez and Van Dijk has formed a formidable partnership while both Trent-Alexander Arnold and Andy Robertson continue to be sharp in their respective roles. 

Losing Henderson through injury means that Klopp has the choice of utilising his attacking midfielders and more play time for the likes of Keita, Chamberlain or even Minamino, who is yet to adapt to the Liverpool outfit.  

Mane's return from injury was vital as he provides more attacking options and widens the play on the field while Firmino's trickery and Salah's persistence in front of goal is not sufficient to win important games.



Liverpool's prime aim for this season is to finally end the 30-year drought of clinching the Premier League title but also retaining the Champions League this year would be a bonus. Having lost the 1st leg of the last 16 tie against Atletico Madrid, the Spanish side better be expecting similar scenes of a vibrant Anfield as to when Barcelona visited and were stunned and knocked as the Reds went on rapid fire mode by beating the Spanish giants 4-0 and winning 4-3 on aggregate to reach the finals.

Atletico, hold your horses first because you’re about to enter the most dangerous and electrifying stadium there can ever be!