Fairy Dust
Weird one.
Let’s start with Jota; he got all the good chances, scored one of them, looked lively, and yet you can’t have watched the game and not wonder why he didn’t end on a hat-trick. Jota knew it, as his rueful shake of the head illustrated after the final whistle, in a game where he scored the only goal. And yet the goal he did score was worth all three points. Jota did everything right, except when it mattered, except the one time it did matter. Like, can you be best and worst at the same time?
Weird.
The move that led to that goal, within the opening ten minutes, was a sublime training ground exercise, but if we’re honest, Jota should never have gotten the opportunity, except that Clyne and Guehi looked, in that moment, like they were taking a much needed nap. This strange affliction led to a number of appetizing moments for the Reds, and also to some comical ones, such as the one when a completely free Clyne sleepwalked the ball for several seconds until it rolled into a corner before he woke up (too late).
That, too, was weird.
Ref Simon Hooper is next. It’s not that he had a bad game, per se; he got most his calls right. But, apparently under whatever spell was affecting proceedings, the way he used the yellow card was just plain awkward. The ones he did give (on both sides) were incredibly soft; then, when the game heated up and especially following Alisson’s unfortunate early injury departure (seems like Kelleher will get plenty of time between the sticks) and the yellows should have been flying, he seemed to have decided it was time for his own afternoon nap.
Beyond adding to the strangeness, it made little sense.
Or take a gander at man-of-the-match Virgil Van Dijk. He dealt with some seriously difficult moments in that way only he seems capable of pulling off. But then, towards the end, he let an unchallenged header slip right past his head, almost doing for Palace what they could not do for themselves. Kick 100 balls like that at Virgil, and I bet he would head back 99 of them. In a game where he was excellent and at times sensational, that one flub really stood out, as if the fairies had to sprinkle some of their dust on him, too.
Curtis Jones gave a lovely performance in place of Szoboszlai, and should be given the starting role for a while. Gakpo was great on the left, and Tsimikas, after a nervy start, dialed things in and had a nice game. Gravenberch played to his usual standard, which these days means he was exceptional. And in another unusual moment, Endo shithoused Palace towards the end near their own corner flag in a way that had me rubbing my eyes and wondering if I hadn’t mistaken him for Robbo. I didn’t know Endo had that kind of gamesmanship in him.
Fairy dust.
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Jaros got his premier league debut in trying circumstances, and Eze gave him the best gift he could have gotten on Palace’s most dangerous moment, by giving the young keeper a chance to stop his strike. Jaros took it well, and you could see his confidence growing. From that moment onwards, it didn’t look like Liverpool were going to give away their slender lead, and indeed they didn’t.
And so it is that Liverpool will remain top of the table after this weekend.
We know that the real tests are yet to come.
Still, it sure is nice to be where we are.
