Returning players and emerging talents: This should be a turning point for Liverpool’s season
This must only be the start of a turnaround for Liverpool.
“I will not and I cannot go. I’ve too much responsibility. It's difficult times but this club is special because we believe”, a refreshingly defiant Jurgen Klopp said in the build-up to the Merseyside Derby. This was no longer the sorrowful figure that we’ve seen shake his head and smile away the pain far too many times this season. This was a manager ready to fight, ready to turn doubters into believers. In other words, this was a manager ready to do what he does best. And whilst Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Everton must only be the start of what would be a monumental turnaround this season, hearing Anfield’s roar once more is certainly a good place to build foundations from.
We’ve seen several false starts by those in red this season, too, so it can be difficult to suddenly feel hopeful. We’ve seen them stick seven past Rangers in the Champions League Groups Stage; this is even a side - currently in ninth - that defeated Manchester City a few months ago. Neither of those victories resulted in a sudden return to peak form, but arguably, times weren’t so desperate then. The walls, this time, were closing in on Klopp and co. This isn’t a blip, this is a full-blown crisis that is hopefully, finally, at its end.
Maybe I’m an optimist. Hell, I’m just a football fan, it’s what we do. One 90 minute game between 22 men - half of whom I am usually still feeling anger towards after 3-0 losses to Brighton and Wolves - can induce some kind of memory loss. What winless run? Ninth place? I don’t think so.
Of course, all of this could come crashing down as we have seen so often this season. St James’ Park and a strong Newcastle United side is next, and that may just see my current amnesia wear off. But, Klopp’s relieved, passionate fist bumps towards the Kop end at full-time last night have me believing once more; believing that this Liverpool side can once again turn things around against all odds.
It was the game in which everything came back together at the perfect time. Darwin Nunez finally found the pass after so many counter-attacks halted in the past by a poor decision; Cody Gakpo avoided the same 007 brush which tarnished Jadon Sancho last season, and instead showed all of the class and wit of James Bond to not only score his first Liverpool goal, but conduct the choir of an improved side throughout.
A word, meanwhile, on Stefan Bajcetic. Plucked from the academy of Real Betis, little did Liverpool know that they picked out a true gem. “Since he started playing for us, he's been our best player”, Mohamed Salah said to the delight of Bajcetic, who was forced to keep his composure amid the high praise in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Salah wasn’t wrong, either. The little Spainiard, at 18, has been the calmest player on the pitch during a crisis. Next to Champions League and Premier League winners, Bajcetic has darted round a broken midfield with his socks rolled down, and the composure to go hand-in-hand with that. Where others more experienced have collapsed under pressure, Bajcetic has tackled, flicked and turned his way out of several signs of danger on one too many occasions to mark this down as just a purple patch.
Gakpo scoring, Bajcetic emerging, and a clean sheet all whilst Alisson Becker was handed a fairly uneventful, deserved night off in between the sticks, this was the closest we’ve seen the Reds at their best for longer than we’d have ever imagined. Newcastle and Eddie Howe await. Win that, and you’re right back in with a shout, Reds.