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Thiago’s misfortune continues
After a faltering start as a Liverpool player, Thiago Alcantara might have felt his moment had finally come.
An encouraging 20 minutes in Newcastle removed some of the frustration that will have been felt by being unable to take flight at Anfield since joining in mid-September.
On the south coast, however, Jurgen Klopp’s surprise inclusion of a player who had played just 155 minutes for Liverpool Red gave him the opportunity to really show his considerable talent.
The Premier League, however, can be cruel. Even for such exalted players as the two-time Champions League winner.
Just two minutes after what is still his second start with the Reds, Thiago conceded a free kick that saw Danny Ings give the hosts their winning goal.
Moments later, he would be booked for a late tackle after play was resumed. This is life in the top flight of English football. Welcome, Thiago.
A clumsy load on Theo Walcott’s back after the half hour mark was also a touch of risk given his previous warning.
Another day, Thiago may have seen his number flash across the board in the second half, but since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had played even less football, the Spaniard stuck around as Liverpool looked for a way back into the game.
Hear Jurgen Klopp’s post-game reaction and more on Blood Red’s post-game podcast HERE
Better days await the former Bayern Munich player and a fit Thiago can open up so many possibilities for a tired Liverpool that they have no inventions today.
Right now though, Thiago’s current misfortune is that he has found his way at a time when his teammates are really struggling.
Vote for your Liverpool player of the match against Southampton HERE
Jota’s return can’t come soon enough
If Jurgen Klopp has had a lot of trouble this season, he hasn’t had to worry about goals.
With 37 sacked in 17 games so far, Liverpool are the Premier League’s top scorer and, in Mohamed Salah, they have the division’s deadliest shooter.
A 7-0 beating of Crystal Palace as recently as December 19 seemed to be the result that would set the real charge to glory in motion.
But those numbers seemed much more optimistic just nine days ago.
Before the surprise draw with West Brom on Dec. 27, the Reds had bagged 36 times in 14 games and a favorable streak of holiday games put them in the driver’s seat to clear them at the top.
Instead of getting a healthy point return in games with West Brom, Newcastle and Southampton, the champions gave up just two.
And in the process, Liverpool have lacked confidence in the face of goal. His only shot on goal at St Mary’s came in the 75th minute when the short-lived Fraser Forster taunted Sadio Mane’s effort.
Forster hadn’t played a Premier League game for most of three years, but Mane, Salah and Roberto Firmino gave him a quiet night at the office.
Klopp will be desperate for Diogo Jota to return to training camp at this rate.
The Portuguese forward had scored nine goals before a knee injury cut him off last month and getting back to top form could be the spark the Reds currently lack.
A great answer is needed
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s face said it all.
When the full-time whistle blew around an empty St Mary’s, the Austrian coach fell to the ground in apparent disbelief before getting back to his feet in tears.
Clearly, this victory represented something of the highlight of the Saints coach’s time on the South Coast.
Even at a time when fans are locked in and football rumbled simply for the sake of a few, wins like this, against the champions, still mean a lot.
It’s something Liverpool are having to get used to. They are, like it or not, a great scalp for everyone in this Premier League.
That has always been the case for a club of its size, but it is as evident as it has always been for the Jurgen Klopp iteration.
In every Reds game, opponents raise it a small percentage in a determined effort to beat the best team in the country.
Liverpool acted like anything but here, but that’s what it still is.
Even with three games to go, his name is still at the top of the table. However, whether you stay there or not is no longer your decision.
Three careless and uninspired performances have opened the door for players like Manchester United, Man City and anyone else who can imagine their possibilities.
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Both Manchester clubs can beat the Reds if they win their respective hand games.
That United visit on January 17 suddenly seems even bigger than it already had and Liverpool must emerge from this eerie lethargy that threatens to completely derail their season.
After toiling through the injury-ravaged and match-congested months of October and November, Liverpool came close to shedding all their admirable work with three incredibly frustrating results of late.
Whatever happens in the FA Cup on Friday night at Aston Villa matters little in the grand scheme, it is the events against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men that have the potential to reinvigorate a season that has collapsed.
Klopp’s men must simply respond.
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