Ends on a Whimper
[Everton 2 – 0 Liverpool]
After today, whatever title challenge the Reds could have still mounted is over. Is it worse because the definitive smackdown was delivered by the Goodison crew? I’m not sure. Not to take anything from Everton, but just like with Palace and Atalanta, this wasn’t about them. Liverpool, a team who looked to remarkably poised all through March, rescuing results game after game with a sense of inevitability, a champion’s ability to make the right thing happen at the right time to keep the pressure on… simply lost its mojo.
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For a team so dependent on its spirit, this was too much to overcome.
There was a moment only a month ago when it looked like the Reds just might go on a historic quadruple run. It was all based on extremely fine margins, but it didn’t look like it was going to end. And then it suddenly did, a collapse that, at this point, can certainly be deemed historic. Everyone will go looking for explanations, so let me offer an unusual one: I suspect that it was tied, to a degree, to the return of so many senior players from injuries.
This may sound counter-intuitive, but necessity is the mother of invention, and the coaching staff had found a way to use their extremely limited resources effectively. It looked shaky throughout, but it worked. Then the rhythm got disrupted with the return of a lackluster Salah, a rusty Trent, an insecure Jones, an extremely shaky Konate, and so on. Everyone needs a bit of time to get back into the swing of things, but there was no such time getting into the business end of the season, and in the meantime, Liverpool lost their edge, and with it their confidence.
Today’s game was exemplary in that things weren’t clicking and the team looked fresh out of ideas. Given another game or two, I’m sure the machine will get rolling again – the Fulam outing showed the capacity was still there – but it no longer matters.
It’s a bittersweet ending to a wonderful era.
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There is nothing to do about it now, except make sure to not lose to Spurs so the team can retain a position in the top-4 and get back to the Champions League next season. Congratulations to Everton on managing to stay in the League even after a significant point deduction. Good luck to Arsenal and City, who, I predict contrary to most, are both going to drop points over the next few days, which may well make today’s outing even more painful.
Oh well. We’ll get ya next year.
