WATCHING Liverpool this season has been like watching Mike Tyson in the late 80s.
You knew he was going to knock out his opponent eventually — but never knew when.
Similarly, you know Liverpool are going to score at some point. It could be in the 80th minute or the 90th minute but it’s coming, and it’s going to be memorable.
As an opposition team playing against them right now, it must be terrifying – waiting for that knockout punch that will inevitably hit you and hit you hard.
When you win those sorts of games as a player, you’re in the dressing room thinking: ‘Job done’.
But if you’re Arne Slot, the coaching staff, the analysts watching the games back, there could be a bit of concern over how sustainable this sort of form is.
And they would be right, it is unsustainable — you’re relying on moments of magic or mistakes from the opposition to leave that door ajar for you.
Their Champions League opener against Atletico Madrid was a prime example. Going 2-0 up and then needing another late goal when actually they should have scored six or seven in that first half.
It should not have needed that header from Virgil van Dijk in injury time. Maybe this group of Liverpool players are buying into the hype.
Everyone on the outside thinks now with the squad they have and their summer business that the Premier League title is already wrapped up. And that sort of mindset could be really dangerous.
But if you look deeper, there is a reason that Liverpool are getting results like this at the moment.
They had one of the most disruptive pre-seasons out of all their rivals.
They were pushing to sign Marc Guehi until the last seconds of the window and failed, while getting Alexander Isak over the line was as stressful as it comes.
Compare that to the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City — who practically had their squads confirmed and ready well before deadline day.
That’s why Slot has been trying to manage the minutes of a lot of players, bringing off Isak after 58 minutes against Atletico and doing the same with Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong in the Premier League too as they get up to speed with English fitness levels.
The question we all need to be asking is: How good are Liverpool going to be when it all clicks? That’s why Slot will not be too concerned with these late goals.
Just like Sir Alex Ferguson never batted an eyelid when his Manchester United side did the same.
Isak looks in desperate need of match fitness, but what happens when he gets going?
What happens when Wirtz hits top form? What happens when Frimpong and Milos Kerkez start flying forward as wing-backs?
Slot knows that when everyone is fit and firing, they will see off games sooner rather than later and they will romp to victories.
That’s why I think Liverpool winning a second title on the bounce is inevitable — just like Tyson flooring everyone that was in his path.
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