1st February 2019 – Despite the distinct feeling that great swathes of the nation are now waiting for a historically sound, well-run, “properly organic” club to come
forward and seize the day, it is Liverpool that have edged a further point
clear this week in the title race that
nobody wants to win.
City, serial winners of trophies – including a European one – before Liverpool
fans knew their Emlyns from their Kemlyns, purveyors of consistently larger
crowds down the years than their foes and wearers of far nicer colours, just
refuse to play ball.
Watching Liverpool stutter to a frozen halt against a workmanlike but
frisky Leicester City at Anfield, proved a painful experience on Wednesday.
For all concerned. Had City got their “usual” easy win over Newcastle the
night before, the glee at watching Liverpool’s lead drop to two measly points
would have been palpable enough. Instead their wobbly draw has increased the
gap to five.
That the result was greeted a bit like a defeat by Liverpool
supporters has put an immediate spring back in the step in Manchester. These delightful
little nuances are going to be the flavour of our lives for the next three
months, you can just tell. Expected to take full advantage against a
Leicester side playing like the next candidates for a spring managerial
saviour, Liverpool could hardly have hoped for a better start. Claude Puel,
all dark Gallic shrugs and pursed lips, looked like a man close to the door
marked “fromage de tete”.
Mane’s quick strike at Anfield was beaten only for swiftness by City’s
own electric kick off on Tyneside, where Aguero’s shot was nestling in the
back of the net before the away fans had got their breath back from football’s
longest climb. That City were eventually beaten was down to complacent,
sloppy, wasteful football and an attitude blockage that had Guardiola
horizontal in his seat long before the end of the game.
Chances came and
went one after the other. Big players, for once, did not seize the game by
the scruff of the neck and turn it back to City’s favour as they have done
hundreds of times. This time the malaise crept gradually through the entire
body of the team until the whole shebang was malfunctioning. Stung into
meaningful reaction on countless occasions in the past, City’s stars just
muddled on in the same passive-peaceful mindset (Guardiola – “we forgot to
play…”) to record a crucial 4th defeat of the season, a watershed
moment for would-be title winners. Those defeats again: Palace, Leicester,
Newcastle and Chelsea.
At Anfield a slightly different scenario was making its mark. Despite
a tricky pitch, which manager Klopp suggested obliquely had done a better job
of stopping his men than Leicester themselves had managed, Leicester had as
many presentable chances as the home side had had.
Aside from a possible penalty for a clumsy lunge on Naby Keita,
Liverpool cannot have had many complaints. The crowd murmured softly to
itself. We had expected a cauldron after City’s gift the night before, but
everyone had their hands frozen to the seats and the ill wind swirling around
the place was blowing people’s enthusiasm off over the grey banks of the
Mersey.
Liverpool had had a good period to recharge too, drifting off to the
Middle East to play head tennis and mini golf while City were dealing with an
away League Cup semi final at Burton and an FA Cup tie with Burnley. All the
effort their coaching staff muct have put in to fine tune the build up to
this game will have left them confused by the outcome. City too, going at
full pelt again, so we thought, after their December capers, have fallen flat
on their faces once more.
While Liverpool inspect their own navels, they will at least have the
comfort of knowing this is not the same calibre City as last season. That
machine that ploughed results out of the most inhospitable situations has
long gone, replaced by fallibility, a little touch of Cityitis and a whole
raft of distractions.
Liverpool will take solace from this, but can hardly rest on their
laurels while they too are in such stop start form.
The weekend brings fresh challenges already, with league action versus
London clubs. City’s growing contingent of old boys playing under Manuel
Pellegrini at West Ham will want to help out if at all possible, while Unai
Emery will be keen to measure his tactical finesse against his old foe
Guardiola. West Ham- Liverpool fixtures are seldom anything less than robust entertainment,
while Arsenal’s recent trips to Manchester have brought all kinds of vivid sights,
smells and sounds. All the time the nagging thoughts remain though: for
Liverpool, it is whether they have the mettle to withstand massive mental pressure
to break a historical duck and the physical strength to keep jumping through
those Klopp hoops or not. For City, seemingly doing things from memory this
season, the nagging doubt is whether there are enough big games to bring out
the proper response from Guardiola’s players. We saw it against Liverpool and
may well see it in the Champions League when they run out in Gelsenkirchen in
three weeks’ time, but where City fans need to see it next is against Arsenal
and Chelsea in the bread and butter of the Premier League.
City’s laxness and Liverpool’s continuing refusal to buckle means we
will have no proper answers for some weeks yet as to who will prevail in a
battle both are struggling to cope with at present….
–Simon Curtis
|
No comments:
Post a Comment