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Villa away. Two words that have had a whole new meaning within Liverpool’s collective psyche since November 2, 2019.
Today, Liverpool is back. Back on the site of one of the most significant results in the modern history of the club. Everyone has their own moment when I knew Liverpool were going to go all the way, but if there was a victory on the road to the Premier League title that captured every emotion imaginable in 90 (+6) minutes, this was it.
Frustration, anguish, despair, hope, relief, euphoria: it was all there, running through the veins that day. As the clock struck 86 minutes and 30 seconds, Liverpool faced the very real prospect of a crushing defeat in morale.
Roberto Firmino had already drawn in the first half, only to be erased after the VAR review for offside by an invisible margin. Trezeguet’s goal, meanwhile, was also at the limit, but he allowed himself to be planted. In the second half, Adam Lallana had blown a great opportunity when he seemed easier to score. It was one of those games where it seemed like fate was conspiring against Liverpool. Try as they might, nothing came out.
At the same time, Manchester City had just come back to beat Southampton at the Etihad. If City won and Liverpool lost, the gap at the top would have narrowed from six to three. Even a draw would have cut Liverpool’s lead to four points, with City arriving at Anfield the following weekend with a chance to lay down the hammer. It was precious terrain that they couldn’t afford to lose, having been hit by such distressingly thin margins in 2018/19.
So once Andy Robertson came like a steam train to the rear post, converted Sadio Mané’s center adrift with three minutes plus stoppage time, there was a complete and utter refusal to settle for a draw. Liverpool knew they had to keep the door firmly locked at City, and to do so they had to find a way to turn a point into three by any means possible.
When Trent Alexander-Arnold failed to hit the wall with his free kick in the 94th minute, he did not drop his shoulders or accept that it was not Liverpool’s day. Instead, he intentionally trotted toward the corner flag knowing he had to get his next drop-off location. And so he did.
In Robertson’s recently published book, he specifically highlights how Liverpool had detected a pattern in Villa’s set pieces defending that often left space at the near post. It was no accident, then, that Alexander-Arnold hit him in this precise area, detecting Mané’s sprint run perfectly.
The header itself was sublime, because Mané not only had to look through the goal with such precision, but he did so while taking a full boot in Jonathan Kodjia’s face, an image that epitomized bravery and victory at all . It costs the mentality that underpins Liverpool’s journey to the title.
Rarely does a victory feel so seismic in meaning beyond the immediacy of the three points earned. Liverpool emerged that day with an aura of invincibility around them, reinforcing the belief that they could overcome virtually any adversity to achieve their ultimate goal.
The added momentum built up from snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in that way carried directly into the City game and served as an immensely powerful benchmark for the remainder of the season. Had it not turned out the way it did, the course of history may well have followed a completely different path.
Today, just over 11 months later, the stakes feel just as huge, especially in light of City’s humiliating loss to Leicester last weekend. Maintaining the 100% record before the international break with the Merseyside derby to follow is imperative, although it is unlikely to be easy against a Villa team that started the season in excellent form.
Time to go there and do it all over again. Preferably in a more comfortable way than last time.
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