As it turns out, Liverpool wasn't inevitable… even though Jurgen Klopp clearly saw it coming.
Haar just makes a fuss about nothing
forget Arsenal beat Liverpool, sparking title raceAccording to the biggest story in soccer Sun Monday morning:
Man City have decided to transfer star striker Erling Haaland, but have not yet agreed terms on a new contract with the champions.
That “decision to transfer'' must have taken a long time. Should we keep the player who scored 52 goals when we won the treble? That's a difficult question. There are advantages and disadvantages.
City's “transfer decision'' to retain Haaland despite the fact that he has been at the club for 18 months and has not “yet agreed the terms of a new contract with the champions'' after three and a half years. You'll be shocked to know that it is. He left that deal.
The clock is ticking.
Actually, Liverpool's defeat is not “surprising” or even that important.
Arsenal's defeat of Liverpool was of course an important result, but mirror Because of course there is spin.
Jurgen Klopp realizes what he expected at Arsenal after 'condemning' the departure of Liverpool's stars
Let's unpack this blatant “there's nothing to see here” nonsense from some of the best This Means More pedalers.
First of all, it is clear that manager Klopp did not expect that Liverpool, who had been undefeated domestically since September, would be completely defeated by Arsenal. That's nonsense.
Did he blame Liverpool's stars for his departure? Well, according to The Athletic“Klopp joked that his departure was partly their fault because Liverpool had reached such a high level so quickly that he felt he could pass the baton to someone else.”
Does that joke mean “blame” should be in quotes? No, but this is a mirror and means more clicks.
And Mark Jones is in full Liverpool propaganda mode…
Liverpool were disjointed against the Emirates, managing just one shot on target and struggling to find a rhythm despite Gabriel's arm being gifted with goals. But perhaps that's not so surprising.
That was definitely a surprise, Mark. They have been unbeaten in the Premier League since September and sit top of the table. I was really surprised.
Klopp's side played like a team they haven't played together very often, and that's exactly what they were. A second Premier League defeat of the season is understandable, but the Liverpool manager will know it doesn't have to be a crushing defeat.
His team will now play league games against Burnley, Brentford, Luton and Nottingham Forest before facing Manchester City at a crucial Anfield weekend on March 9th. If they win these four games and beat City, the title will be within their reach. And they can do it.
Well, all they have to do now is win every Premier League game between now and the end of the season. It doesn't really matter that they lost to Arsenal. Phew.
Nothing was lost for Liverpool here, but it looked much more of a work in progress than it had previously. Of course, it wasn't enough to change Klopp's mind, but it was a little more in line with his expectations.
Aren't they “lost”, except for a few things? First, it's a game. And there's a chance to make an eight-point lead. Other than that, everything was as expected.
appear as one
In other places, mirrorProbably after a sports brand writer came across an article by Mark Jones.
A new theory emerges as to why manager Jurgen Klopp will really quit Liverpool at the end of the season
The new theory is that Jurgen Klopp's departure from Liverpool is partly due to his belief that his players no longer need him as much as they once did. It was first broadcast on daily telegraph And after just 10 days, it will “emerge” like a beautiful butterfly.
inevitable
“The best result of Mikel Arteta's career? It's hard to think of anything better than this,” begins Martin Samuel. times.
About four seconds later, Media Watch reported that the Gunners were first seen as potential champions in October 2022, with a 3-2 win over Liverpool, and in January last year, with an eight-point difference. They struggled to pull off a come-from-behind 2-0 win at Tottenham. The champions were limited to just four shots against Bournemouth in March, when they held a five-goal lead, and against Manchester City in October, and the Gunners won 1-0 without the injured Bukayo Saka for the first time in 87 games. did.
But keep going…
It's not just a statement about his team Arsenal, but also about Liverpool.
In the long season of separation, they are not invincible after all. Their march will not go unopposed. Momentum grew and stories spread that Jurgen Klopp's coronation was irresistible. He will take over as arguably the greatest Liverpool manager since Bill Shankly when he faces Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield on May 19. That was decided beforehand. The moment Klopp said this would be his last season in English football, it was written in the stars. We are such romantics.
They've already lost this season, Martin.
And as for this 'parade'…they have literally beaten Norwich City and a rotten Chelsea team since Klopp announced his departure. The idea that they were “attractive” is nonsense.
And of course, it may still happen. Despite Sunday's setback, Liverpool remain top of the Premier League, with two games remaining and a chance to snatch it from Manchester City, but it will still be Liverpool's loss. However, the mystique and certainty have been lost. Arsenal made sure of that.
Is it possible to have both “mystery” and “certainty”? Probably only at Liverpool.
Liverpool haven't lost in the Premier League since September 30th and haven't dropped a point since December 23rd, but the longer that losing streak goes on, the more this sense of inevitability takes root.
However, Manchester City remained the favorites to win the Premier League. That's the only real inevitability here.
Furthermore, while it sounds great that Liverpool have not dropped a point since December 23, it just means they have won four straight Premier League games. Both Bournemouth and Everton have done it without any 'destiny' this season.
Understandably, Arteta does not think of his victory in terms of stopping Liverpool. He will view Sunday's win purely as a sign of the team. It wasn't that long ago that Arsenal faced Liverpool four times in two competitions during the 2021-22 season, but failed to win a game or even score a goal. Between April 2015 and October 2022, the two clubs faced each other 19 times, with Arsenal winning once.
Since October 2022, the two teams have played five times, with Liverpool winning just once.
In fact, since the start of last season, Arsenal have picked up 15 points more than Liverpool. It seems like they may not actually be underdogs anymore.
This was also Arsenal's highest stakes match of the season. If we lose, everything is over. Not mathematically, of course. Even with the loss, Arsenal could still be level on points with Manchester City. However, if the champions win their two games, defeat would leave them eight points behind Liverpool and six points behind Manchester City. And even though you can imagine them overhauling one of those teams, it's hard to see them scratching around with two. The additional 14 points are not necessary.
yes. That's not going to happen, Martin.
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