The Next Three Games
Another weekend of premier league football has passed and with it, another Liverpool victory. The 3 points puts the reds back on top of the league with 3 games remaining, and takes Liverpools total for the season to 88 points, a record for our club during the premier league era. It's an absolutely unbelievable statistic when you consider that there's still 9 points up for grabs, with two of those games to be played at Anfield.
At the start of the season if someone had said to me that Liverpool would finish the campaign with 95 points, I would have broke their arm off for it. We look like we're going to surpass that.
Another crazy one to look at is the gap between us and Tottenham in third place. It seems like only last week they were catching up with us in the title race, now they find themselves 21 points behind us. All of these numbers are just frightening, and to think it still may not be enough to lift the title is just ludicrous. But it's the situation we find ourselves in.
Since Liverpool handed over the reins to City, we've been perfect. We have won every game. We have done everything possible to regain that control over who determines where the title will go. Unfortunately City have done the exact same. So all we can do now is keep asking the questions, keep beating what's put in front of us, and hope that someone can snatch a point, or more off city.
In all truthfulness I don't see United picking up anything against them, I'm praying that Man-U do manage to turn their form around, to use that game as a catalyst and push on for the champions league race. It's certainly the perfect game to do so. I just don't see it happening. However I'm trying to change my outlook on this title charge, Im attempting to indulge in it, to enjoy every second of it, because we may never see a season as good as this again. I have no doubt that Liverpool will win many many more titles in my lifetime, certainly under Jurgen Klopp in the next few years, but to finish a 38 game season on a possible 97 points, it's hard to expect to see that again. So even if we do fall short of the title by one point, I still think we are winners. We may not have the trophy in our hands, the record books may say that we finished as runners up, we may not have an open decker bus tour through the streets of Liverpool with the premier league trophy on show, but we have certainly had a season to be immensely proud of.
This isn't me giving up, I still believe. I just feel it's going to come down to something crazy. A Glenn Murray brace on the final day of the season to clinch survival for Brighton or something mad like that. It will be typical Liverpool fashion, to win it in the most heart wrenching of ways, trailing wolves by a goal with ten minutes to go and Alisson scores an over head kick from outside the box off a corner. Then super sub Shaq gets the winner in the 9th minute of extra time to send Anfield in to pure chaos. I know it's going to be something ridiculous, but either way I still believe we will do it.
Regardless of all that, I just want to state how proud I am of our lads this season, and even if we fall short, what a journey it has been. We've had some unbelievable moments, Divock's 96th minute winner, the battering of united and arsenal at Anfield, Alderweireld's own goal in the last minute against Spurs, Salah's mesmerising counter at St Mary's, and that thunderbolt against Chelsea. There has been so many ups and very few downs, and with 3 games remaining in the league we're running out of time to enjoy this glorious season. I feel like we are in a perfect position, I don't feel like there's any pressure. Next, a Friday night game at home to an already relegated side should be a really pumping party atmosphere. I have no doubt what result that game will be, some people may call for us to enhance our goal difference, but we have made that mistake before, against crystal palace in 13/14. I only want the three points, that's all I care about.
As we all know the premier league is out of our hands, but there's another little trophy that is still firmly in our grips, the European cup. With a two legged semi final to look forward to against Barcelona, it doesn't get much bigger than that. There is still memories to be made in that competition, which has been overshadowed for months by our success in the premier league, and if we do go on to lift ol' big ears for a 6th time, it will be difficult not to put this campaign down as one of the greatest.
Last year after the loss in the final, I sat in the courtyard of my house in the early hours of the morning, even though i'd been drinking for about 12 hours I was completely sober. I was chain smoking cigarettes with my head dropped below my knees, I couldn't fathom how the journey we had been on had ended the way that it did. There was no way in that moment I thought we would be in with a shot for another champions league final the season after. The only thing I could think of is how nice Karius' head would look on my mantle piece. But here we are, almost 12 months later, and two games away from making the final again. It just goes to show what Klopp is building, and even though it may be really difficult to picture us having a better season than this in the future, we may very well be surprised for what next season has install for us.
But back onto the premier league, Liverpool have passed every test since the start of March that has been put in their way. 9 wins from 10 in all competitions, the only flaw in that record coming at the hands of Everton in a 0-0 draw. An unbelievable record when you consider some of the teams that Liverpool have played in that period, including Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Southampton, Chelsea, and two games against Porto. With 3 remaining in the league, I really do believe we will carry on that perfect record till the end of the season. The boys are in peak fitness, they're on a roll, the momentum is surging behind them, the squad is looking thick and healthy, with all of themchomping at the bit to play their part. I do predict we will finish the season on 97 points, and we're all going to be celebrating on the 12th May!
C'mon you Reds!