This dislike is personal, and its rooted in many causes, all of them based upon them spoiling our party. Not to bang a well-worn drum, but 13/14 was my year, it was the year so many wrongs were supposed to be put right. The year one Uruguayan madman plundered every team in the league – sometimes twice in Norwich’s case – and speared us to that elusive Holy Grail of the title. A year the youthful exuberance of Sterling and Coutinho, dovetailed with the silky Daniel Sturridge and a stately Steven Gerrard, and the Reds weren’t just electric, they were thunder.I have so many good memories of that season, and I’m sure they will be recounted in spells throughout the years, but I don’t have that release of winning the league. The title winning pint, weekender and long hot summer, basking in red glory I have none of those, and it happened at Palace. That game, that result and an electric Uruguayan in tears. I have Palace to thank for that.There’s an admiration for them then, for their rugged drive and gnarliness, and for their capacity to hurt anyone on their day. For his myriad of faults, and they are many, I think Hodgson deserves credit with this Palace side. Well-drilled at the back, strong through the middle and with the pace to make the difference up front, they’re a formidable unit; and they’ve benefitted from his back-to-basics, keep it simple approach. The added X-factor of Zaha, some solid signings and a great support made this a potential banana skin, the difficult second album to the relevant ease and headrush of West Ham.
The Reds then.Selfless, hard-working. Most reassuringly of all: patient. Too often being undone by their own eagerness, an insatiable desire to please and press forward and force the matter. Not so here – the ball moved with precision from one man to another. Openings probed and then probed again. No thunder or raging fire, but a commanding performance with lots to recommend. One thing I missed last week has been the frequent capacity of the team to switch the play from flank to flank in rapid succession.Robertson and Trent pushed high and wide, giving Salah and Firmino free license in between the goal posts as the ball is juggled from side to side, opposition sides distended and dizzy chasing shadows. It’s a lethal new trick, and one that’s hard to see most teams coping with, but it was done effortlessly throughout both sets of ninety minutes this week and last.
The continued evolution of Sadio Mané in the side also offers lots to be excited about. Where Salah and Firmino stayed narrow, he spent a lot of the game out wide. Where they toiled, he was explosive, always available and ready to beat a man. He wasn’t scared to come inside when the situation demanded it, and his drifting from left to right to the centre makes him hellish to mark.His evolution from out-and-out winger to genuine no 10 continues to bear fruit, and his composure for the second goal oozed class, recovering well while rounding the keeper. For all of Salah and Firmino’s continued brilliance, despite this being a rare off day for the pair of them, it’s hard not to look at Sadio as the team’s get out of jail card, its way home. Always there with a goal, always willing to do a job where he’s needed.The attacking link up with Keita was again magical, and he already looks worth every penny. It’s rare to see a player come to club already wearing the air of a star, but in Naby we’ve found just that. He’s already a world-beater, and he offers so much more than we thought we were getting initially.
For me, more vital than his snapping into tackles is his ability to turn and run with the ball, often becoming a direct line from midfield to attack. A gifted dribbler, his composure and recoveries put us through onto goal repeatedly and will be vital throughout the season, both on the counter and against low-block sides. Just throw his name into Twitter whenever you get bored this week to relive that flick.Milner and Wijnaldum too deserve mention, Milner a paradigm of consistency and, for my money, flourishing with the increased responsibility of being captain in Henderson’s absence. Wijnaldum too looks increasingly successful and at home as the midfield pivot and is seemingly intent to quell any talk of him leaving the side in the near future.Where the team struggled in attack, it stood tall in defence. Van Dijk is the best centre half in the league, and he loves being a Red. Enjoy it, let it sink in. His nearest rivals are Alderweireld who looks frozen out at Spurs, and Kompany who is always one bad challenge away from a spell out on the sidelines.
Much like Keita, he brings so much to his game and the team, that it’s hard to break down his contributions into manageable chunks. Classy on the ball? Check. Playmaker? Check. Strong in the tackle and in the air? Check, check. It was truly a masterful display, and his relationship with Joe Gomez was also encouraging, not allowing Christian Benteke or Zaha more than a sniff of goal.There will be bigger challenges than this, of course there will be. Just like last week, there are always caveats, always routes to play devils advocate. But this was a different kind of test for a different kind of Liverpool. No longer solely reliant on attacking artistry up front, but content to dominate the ball through an increasingly star-studded supporting cast. This was consummate, this was professional, a more complex and complicated performance for a more complex and complicated league.It feels like with each game and each iteration of the side, that the manager offers us more glimpses of the road map to our success, and this was another plot point on where we hope we’re all going. Only time gets to tell us if we end up there, but its in moments like these that teams can falter, and titles can be lost. City had a similar moment early last year at Bournemouth, and their late recovery to win that game felt like them putting one hand on the trophy even that early in the season. We can call nothing after two games, especially with thirty-six more challenges to come. But we get to watch this team do this every week in between, and after so long and so many near misses, what a joy that is.Up the RedsJonathon Reid @mrjblade
