by At this stage of the season, there was only one way to put it. No, it’s not a slip, although that was clearly the case in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United. It was about what followed. And it was, yes, a mind game. It was perhaps the first in years, after a series of very “nice” races between the managers.
It was all the more remarkable because of the circumstances. Liverpool had just drawn a game they should have easily won, and it raised questions about whether this was going to be a pivotal moment in their title run.
Jurgen Klopp was even asked if this would be another one of those episodes when there are few leaves, like 2018-19. If so, these two points could prove more consequential against a vulnerable United. However, Arsenal’s trip to Old Trafford would be even more important.
So, Klopp said what looks very much like a psychological ploy. Admittedly he was asked directly about Arsenal’s trip to United, but his choice of answer was spot on.
“Arsenal is a good football team and if [United] play as today, Arsenal will that game. I am 100 percent sure,” he said.
“I am very sorry to say that but this is a fact. We should have won both games and we didn’t. That’s our fault.”
That is true, but it also has a double effect. It puts more pressure on Arsenal to produce when they go to United, of course. More importantly, it might prompt United to respond, to try and prove to Klopp what they can do in such a game… doing exactly what the Liverpool manager wants.
Many at Old Trafford will of course remember Sir Alex Ferguson doing this time and time again.
You only need to look at the most famous moment from any English title race. The tip to Kevin Keegan “I will love it” was that Ferguson was basically trying to inspire the opposition when they faced Newcastle United.
It should be said that it was much more difficult than Klopp, as Ferguson essentially questioned the motivation of the Leeds United players. However the bottom line was the same: drive another team to try harder in a title race.
“If they had played like that all season, they would have been near the top,” Ferguson said at the time. “They raised their game because they were playing Manchester United. It was pathetic.”
Leeds duly went out and put everything into a game against Newcastle, only to come out narrowly beaten.
If this seems a little too much to read into an offhand answer to one impromptu question at a press conference, well, that’s the stage of the season we’re in.
No result or performance can be judged on its own merits anymore. Everything is in the context of the run-in.
It is both exhilarating and asphyxiating. You can feel the tension in every moment, like when Liverpool had that last attack collected by Andre Onana in the United game.
Hence the sense of chaos in Liverpool games. This is perhaps the only major doubt regarding their title challenge, to go with the relative youth of their team.
Liverpool, like Arsenal last season, allowed almost every game to become a football version of table tennis.
There are clear positives to this, mainly related to resolution and attack potential. Liverpool have made more comebacks than anyone else. They have won more points than anyone else from losing positions this season. You couldn’t rule them out from any single game, which is a powerful weapon when it comes down to it. It can have a direct psychological impact on games. Again, Ferguson knew that well.
The other side of that is that Liverpool always give you a chance. They have not kept a clean sheet since the beginning of March, at Nottingham Forest, and that was only the second in the league this year. That’s two out of 12 games.
The danger is that there will end up being too many games where they run out of time, or become too frantic.
They made the most of that chaos, which is what made their title challenge so exciting. It provides an almost perfect cap to Klopp’s towering tenure as manager, which has been based on misery football.
But that’s the key term. “Almost perfect” – not perfect. Liverpool’s success this season has been doing enough to overcome their flaws at a young age, but those flaws are there.
The big question is whether they can continue to do this indefinitely, and that’s where this question of what kind of race it will be is so important.
Will it be like 2019 from now on, where you can’t drop points, or will it be that open?
Whatever the answer, it’s one reason why Arsenal responded to last season’s chaos by bringing in Declan Rice and protecting him defensively. Mikel Arteta knew they needed a lot more control over games. It also gave Arsenal a distinct advantage, in that goal difference.
Even more than all this, it suddenly feels like Manchester City have come into form. Although both Aston Villa and Crystal Palace tested, the champions responded by scoring four goals twice. They finally declared control.
Liverpool couldn’t do that in the first half against United. They had so many chances, but they weren’t composed enough
And sure, maybe he only needed one of those shots for us to be talking in a very different way, but that’s the point. We’re at that stage of the season where it’s ultimately whether you do it or not, whether you take matters into your own hands or not.
Liverpool just couldn’t make it on the day. It seemed, then, that Klopp tried to exert some influence afterwards.
