Watford played better than Liverpool. Watford beat Liverpool. That's it, and that is all it was and what it should be. But apparently it is not. Liverpool surrendered their 18-game winning streak at Vicarage Road to a Hornets side that were more hungry than them, showed more passion, and simply just made less mistakes on the night. Were Liverpool complacent at times, yes possibly, but since returning from a much scrutinised winter break (so therefore the senior players missed their FA Cup replay with Shrewsbury), the Reds strangely have looked like they have not had any form of an intermission. The league leaders had a tough game at Anfield in December against Nigel Pearson's men, and if it were not for a lack of composure in Watford's finishing, they would have dropped points. Saturday; however was different, Jurgen Klopp's men were sloppy from the first whistle, and Watford took their chances, so therefore there was only going to be one outcome wasn't there.
Watford deserve high praise for their performance, though the concentration of course has mainly been on the champions-elect. It is not right that Watford are not being given more credibility, but that is not what will sell papers, that is not what you can use for click bait. This is all despite the win propelling them out of the relegation zone, albeit just on goal difference, as they sit on 27 points sandwiched between West Ham and Bournemouth. Despite Watford showing signs of improvement since Pearson took over in December, they had not won a league game since a 3-0 away win at Bournemouth on January 12, so maybe Liverpool believed the points were already in the bag. If you did not know where the teams were positioned in the table and you then watched the game, you would not have known Watford were fighting relegation.
Liverpool's performance fell into what it must be said is more or less exactly how they have general played since returning from the Premier League's inaugural winter break. They came through a tough encounter to edge out Norwich in their first game back, thanks to a goal by substitute Sadio Mane. They then did not have a shot on target in an unhappy return to the Wanda Metropolitano, as they lost their first leg in the Champions League last 16 at Atletico Madrid. The Reds not having a shot on target under Klopp for just the second time, the other that being against Napoli in the 2018/19 campaign. They then just edged out West Ham 3-2, after being 2-1 down in the second half. They were not great against West Ham, but they pulled through. with sheer will, persistence and were driven by the Anfield crowd when they eventually woke up. Collectively over those three matches post-break, Liverpool looked lethargic and devoid of creativity. After a break, the whole point is to come back refreshed, so it is all rather bemusing. Last season, they also faltered in February, after taking a break during a gap in the schedule which came about after they exited the FA Cup at the first hurdle away at Wolves. They then went on to draw at home with Bayern Munich in the Champions League, drew 0-0 with Manchester United, but next game they did hammer Watford 5-0 at Anfield. They followed up the Watford win with another goalless draw away at Everton. Now draws away at United and Everton if each were isolated, are far from the worst results in the world. But as Liverpool lost the title by just one point to Manchester City, in hindsight it was the spell that cost them their first league title since 1990. February 2019, was blamed on the fact that Liverpool went for a warm weather training camp in Marbella, this year they decided against warm weather training for the winter break. So why exactly does it seem to an extent that they have had similar performances to last year?
This time around it might just be a mental thing. Watford beating them 3-0 in the way they did could just be what Liverpool needed to go on to greater things. The treble is still a distinct possibility, but the Reds must re-group quickly, as they travel to Chelsea for the FA Cup 5th Round at Stamford Bridge next. They then face Bournemouth at Anfield, before the crucial second leg against Atleti, any continuation of the current form and the holders will not be able to defend their crown anymore when the final whistle blows. Atletico will have a host of players fully fit again for the second leg, and will show no shame with the amount of men they put behind the ball, so Liverpool will need to show something that has been at a premium recently, and that is guile and a creative spark. Add on top of that, the fact they need to be tighter at the back. After starting the season not being able to keep a clean sheet, they then went on a great run of not conceding, but now bad habits are kicking back in from pre season. A high line has been exposed in the last few games, and then there were the individual errors last game too. In the aforementioned Watford humbling, Dejan Lovren should have paid more attention to the ball for Ismaila Sarr's first goal rather than holding Troy Deeney. But then even after that Virgil van Dijk should have closed down Abdoulaye Doucoure's ball into the danger area for Sarr to net. Not to mention the naive high line played on Sarr's second goal, or Trent Alexander-Arnold forgetting what team he was on for the third as he passed the ball to the opposition. These things cannot happen against Chelsea in the FA Cup or when welcoming Diego Simeone's men on March 11th.
The defeat in Hertfordshire also meant not just that the winning run was ended, but Liverpool's unbeaten run was halted at 44 games going back to last season. An amazing sequence that saw Liverpool win 39 of those games and drawing 5 after losing to Manchester City in January 2019. Accumulating 122 points from a possible 132 available is just insane. This has not been treated with as much respect on social media however, with many jubilating over the 3-0 loss. Arsenal fans especially were pleased, as it meant Klopp's men could not go the season undefeated, a feat only done by the Gunners in the 2003/04 campaign. It also mean that Liverpool did overall not get to Arsenal's 49-match undefeated run, still the Premier League's record. Regardless of how much you try to avoid the media, the players would have known exactly what was at stake. Whereas last year the warm weather training may have taken its toll, this time around the same excuse is not prevalent. Maybe the mental side was slightly playing on the teams' recent performances as earlier suggested. So therefore now without any need to think about the record in the slightest, there is now a clean slate. Now they need to go on and win as many games as possible, which could still see the Reds have their best ever individual season in their history. After the fallout from the Watford game, it seems crazy that this can still be the case, but it is indeed a reality. The hyperbolic responses from other sets of fans to what was a terrible result anyway, show how great this team is, and how much everyone had been waiting to be melodramatic in them losing a league game. Yes, I repeat that is all it was, one match! These same people are humbled as soon as they look at the league table again, and see that Liverpool are 22 points clear. Now that is damning, rather than give Klopp and his team props, they will tell you that the league is not as good. This was said with as much vigour when Manchester City ran away to 100 points in 2017/18, but as social media lets you know 'agenda is greater than facts'. People are saying things like 'there is no way they can be the greatest Premier League side now, regardless of how many points they get', all because the Reds cannot go unbeaten anymore. This is even though they can still get more points than Pep Guardiola's men did 2 years ago. If you told Liverpool fans at the start of the season that they definitely were going to win the league for the first time since 1990, they would have bitten your arm off, slapped you in the face and ran around, kissed your feet, and then asked you 'are you sure?', 'are you really really sure?'.
After losing a league title by one point and only losing once, the mental capacity to do what Liverpool are doing is incredible. The term 'mentality monsters', is an understatement. Thi is especially when after the heartbreak of losing the 2018 Champions League final, they bounced back to get to final again, and win it in 2019. That shows incomparable strength, passion and desire, in addition to anything mental. The important thing is for Liverpool to bounce back immediately, there has already been talk from the players that they were embarrassed at what took place on Saturday, and they should have been. When Liverpool did sort themselves out last year, they went on a 10-game winning streak in all competitions before losing to Barcelona. We all know what happened in the second leg to the Catalan giants however. This time around it could well be more of the same, if they do not dwell on the Watford debacle. The league is won, but there is so much more still on the line for the Merseysiders if they apply themselves correctly. If Liverpool can do the treble, or even the Premier League and European Cup double, no one will be thinking about what took place on February 29th.
@DubulDee
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