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Our Liverpool blogger Dave Tindall examines the contrasting form at home and away of the Reds and takes a look at Anfield’s newest goalkeeping star.
It’s been a strange and unpredictable start to the Premier League, but the sense of normalcy returned this weekend.
Fans, though small in number, being allowed to return to the stadiums was part of that. And how nice it was to see Jurgen Klopp throwing celebratory fist bombs at the Kop after our excellent victory over wolves.
Anfield’s 4-0 victory completed a full series of victories for the big teams. And although it has taken longer than usual, I assume the current top six will become the last six at the end of the season (sorry West Ham and Everton).
The big question, of course, is in what order?
Everyone announced their products this weekend. Tottenham stayed on top thanks to goals from Kane e Son; we continue our ridiculously good home form; Chelsea pushed Leeds aside to show they were serious; Leicester won with a late goal from Vardy; Man Utd came back to win again on the road; and Manchester City continued their inevitable rise in the table with a routine home win over Fulham.
Six predictable wins out of six. Good for the gambler. Bad for the bookmaker.
Latest Title Odds: 7/4 Liverpool, 2/1 Man City, 4/1 Tottenham, 5/1 Chelsea, 16/1 Man Utd, 33/1 Leicester.
Last Monday, Gary Neville predicted that Liverpool would “walk” for the Premier League title if we had more fit players.
I agree somewhat, but it is time to address our greatest concern. He’s going a bit under the radar in all the talk about local records, match congestion, and returning fans. But it is a bona fide issue.
The question? Our way away.
Check the “away” part of the Premier League table and you will notice that all the teams in the top 16 have won more away games than we have. That is a staggering statistic.
And the concern is that it is in stark contrast to the vast majority of our rivals.
Man Utd have won five of five on the road, Leicester have accumulated five wins and a draw, Tottenham have four draw wins, while Chelsea are unbeaten through three wins and two draws. Only Manchester City have had similar fights on absent days as us (G2, D2, L1).
Is it simply due to that old classic called bad luck? After all, Sadio Mane’s last goal at Everton was ruled out for offside while Brighton took a dubious last-gasp penalty to level in our previous away game.
Turn those two draws into wins and we lead the table by four and we have W3, D1, L1 away form. That is quite acceptable when you add it to our home form.
Liverpool are still sensational at Anfield. And, with that Wolves win, we have now won 31 of our last 32 league games at home. Drink that. Scandalous.
I’ll release another stat. We have won six home games this season; no one else has won more than three.
It leads to a very uneven home and away point difference between the top six that I will list here:
Tottenham: 11 at home, 13 away
Liverpool: 18 home, 6 away
Chelsea: 11 at home, 11 away
Leicester: 6 at home, 15 away
Manchester United: 4 at home, 15 away
Man City: 10 at home, 8 away
(It is worth noting that the two Manchester clubs have a match on their hands)
Therefore, Liverpool are the only team in the top six with more points at home than away. Quite unusual.
Of course, you can say that it doesn’t really matter. He adds them all up at the end and wherever they have accumulated, the team with the most points wins.
However, it seems pretty clear that we need to improve our away game. Title winners must show strength on the road.
As a guide, here is the number of road wins the last 10 title winners achieved:
Liverpool 14
Man City 14
Man City 16
Chelsea 13
Leicester 11
Chelsea 11
Man city 10
Man Utd 12
Man city 10
Man Utd 5
I was about to type double figures is a must until I discovered the 2010/2011 Man Utd numbers. That year, they won just five on their trips, but they also managed 10 draws. At home they were relentless with 18 wins and a draw.
They won the title that year with 80 points, nine ahead of Chelsea and Man City. That was similar to Leicester in 2015/16: 81 points and 10 clear.
Maybe we should remind ourselves that the crazy winning points of the last three seasons (99, 98 and 100) were anomalies. This season it can take something in the mid to high 80s. In which case, we are in an excellent position.
And if we want that account to move, it seems like some obvious opportunities arise. The next four teams we will visit: Fulham this Sunday followed by Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Southampton.
We need to talk about Caoimhin
That pun seems to miss a bit if you don’t know how to say the last name of our new goalie star.
It’s pronounced “Qui-veen.” And what’s more, it’s Irish to Kevin. So the headline works after all!
Ironically, someone on the backroom staff got the wrong last name at the Wolves game, missing Kelleher’s second ‘e’.
Regardless, Caoimhin Kelleher is making a name for himself on another level after two excellent displays in the last two games. A clean sheet against Ajax and a clean sheet against Wolves. Made some good stops on both, especially on the late stop to avoid Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar’s header last week.
I admit I was nervous when Klopp pitched it against Ajax. My first impressions were of the Irishman on his back after letting in goals in Cup matches when we sent in the reserve players.
But putting world class players in front of him and what a transformation. He has met the challenge wonderfully well, exuding confidence with both hands and feet.
A big part of the role these days is getting comfortable with the ball at your feet. And, simply put, this is where Kelleher it’s on a different level than Adrian.
Being a former outfield player in his youth has clearly given him the skills and he seems comfortable kicking with either foot.
I really want to like Adrian because he is a good character. But most Reds fans will admit that he has them on the edge of their seats, and not in a good way.
Alisson seems to learn a lot from a goalkeeper’s injuries, so having a reliable No. 2 is perhaps more important to us than any other title challenger.
It’s a fun role, since you know you will spend most of your time at the bank. It suits a happy gaming veteran or a promising youngster and Kelleher seems like the perfect person right now.
He will get another game against Ajax this week and then there is the FA Cup tie at Villa on January 9.
Jurgen’s mood has been a bit dark in recent months due to injuries and hitting his head on a brick wall due to props congestion.
But the rise of Kelleher, the blossoming of Curtis jones and the overcoming of Neco Williams has warmed his heart. Three players on the sidelines last season but who started and staged a convincing win over a very competent Wolves team.
Happy Days. Now … if only we could solve that shape.
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