After claiming their fourth consecutive victory against Wolves on Saturday, Liverpool now sits two points adrift of league-leading Manchester City.
However, let’s be honest, things were looking dark at 1-0 down at the interval.
The one saving grace in the awful first half for the Reds was that the advantage for the home team was only one goal. You had the impression that their inability to beat Alisson Becker on another goal would come back to haunt them. It did.
In the second half, a different-looking Liverpool team scored three goals without answering, briefly vaulting the Reds to the top of the Premier League for the first time in 16 months. Oh, seeing that again looked wonderful.
Liverpool’s new-look team, led by Jurgen Klopp, has plenty of reasons to be optimistic after winning four and drawing one of their first five games. But with some challenging games coming their way this fall, that team will now be put to the test.
On Sunday, September 24, West Ham will travel to Anfield and will be hoping that Jurgen Klopp’s team is still feeling the effects of their performance in the Europa League on Thursday. The weekend saw City defeat the Hammers for the first time, and they won’t want to lose again in Merseyside.
Tottenham (30 Sep) and Brighton (8 Oct) await Liverpool, so they are aware that three points are crucial at home before they travel for two of the toughest away games the Premier League has to offer.
The Reds may have been wary of this series of games last season because two powerful teams were poised to take advantage of any error. The performance against Wolves on Saturday, though, demonstrated that this Liverpool team is distinct from the one from the previous campaign.
Even if a poor performance can be exposed in the first 45 minutes, it would have likely resulted in a defeat or a depressing tie during the previous campaign. On Saturday, 0 points became 3, and the momentum is definitely moving in the right direction.
With 16 games without a loss, Liverpool now has the longest unbeaten streak in England’s premier division. The former Reds are beginning to emerge, and when that happens, the rest of the league will be aware of their potential.
With these crucial games approaching, Klopp will be aware not to get ahead of himself. However, if his team is still unbeaten at the end of the next international break, which is after October 8, then perhaps he will begin to consider the idea of challenging City once more.
If Liverpool can defeat West Ham at home and then win two games away at Spurs and Brighton, with Carabao Cup and Europa League games sandwiched in between, then people will start to pay attention.
Right now, the Reds are doing a great job of slipping football fans’ and commentators’ notice.
With good reason, City is predicted to win their fourth straight league championship, with Arsenal still being their biggest rival.
The final 10 games of the title chase were where the Gunners fell short last season; too many goals were given up and too many leads were squandered. You just get the impression that Liverpool wants to challenge Pep Guardiola’s team once more this season because they know what it takes to compete head-to-head.
Being eliminated from both domestic cup competitions with barely a murmur and getting destroyed by Real Madrid in the Champions League must have hurt during the previous season.
According to Klopp, this team is Liverpool 2.0, and with the destruction up front and a new-look midfield, they appear more prepared than ever.
Dominik Szoboszlai appears to have settled into being one of the best in the league, Darwin Nuez is starting to resemble the striker the Reds acquired from Benfica for a cost that might reach £85 million, and the steely mindset is back where Liverpool fails to recognize when they are defeated.
Klopp will have to deploy his squad since the games are now coming thick and fast. The chance to excel and make a case for a starting position in the league will be offered to the players who are on the periphery of the starting XI.
When Klopp needed to during the trophy-laden years, the players responded by standing up and giving performances as needed. If the Reds can pass this upcoming test, more of the same is required, and they might be in for an entertaining season.