It looks like Liverpool are already hungover after the triumph and commemorative jollification.
They seem to be eager to get over this season as quickly as possible, as their results won’t have any impact on their standings. The lackluster performances against the Gunners and the Cityzens showed that they are already in the celebration mode.
Amid the disappointment, even Jürgen Klopp and Virgil van Dijk admitted that they are eagerly awaiting next week’s presentation ceremony. The Merseyside club not been up to the mark since the restart, barring the 4-0 trashing of Crystal Palace.
Second placed Manchester City, with a different formation, showed no mercy as they demolished Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad stadium. Well, even though the hosts gave a guard of honour to the champs before the kick-off, they displayed tremendous attacking football on the pitch to beat them on all fronts.
De Bruyne’s class-oozing performance and Raheem Sterling’s impressive display were the highlights of the match.
Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates stadium ended their quest for a century of points. Liverpool were leading 1-0, thanks to a sublime finish from Sadio Mane but Arsenal capitalised on two errors from Alisson Becker and Van Dijk to come back from a goal down to a confidence boosting victory against the champions-elect. Alexander Lacazette and Reiss Nelson pounced on the erros to win it for the hosts. People would have only imagined the greatest defender in the world committing a blunder, but football fans across the world witnessed a one-in-a-million phenomenon- A Virgil Van Dijk howler! They also were quite off-colour against Everton and Burnley, both resulting in draws.
It would not be morally correct to cast aspersions on the best club in the world considering the domestic brilliance they have shown this season, but we live in a ruthless world where living without throwing criticism seems a distant reality.
The Reds mustered 82 points out of a possible 87 before lockdown and only 11 from a possible 21 after the resumption of the Premier League. A loss and a draw in 29 matches before lockdown and two losses and two draws in 7 games after lockdown- this says it all.
Many believe that there has been evidence of an intensity deficit in the past month- Andy Robertson remonstrating with match officials, Van Dijk chastising himself after his error at the Emirates. The fans expected Liverpool to cross the 100 point barrier- the benchmark for every Premier League side. But this drop off has cost them a chance to rewrite history by breaking the Premier League points record, but can still amass 6 points to take their tally to 99, just a point short of Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City’s record of 100 points.
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But even losses in the remaining two fixtures would not affect Klopp and his boys when that trophy is lifted high up into the Anfield sky. They do not have to worry about the upcoming Champions League (Next season for sure….) and can bask in the glory of their success after waiting for 30 long years.
