Don’t dream it’s over
It’s Manchester City’s title, but the Reds head to Paris for the biggest club football final in the world.
It’s Manchester City’s title, but the Reds head to Paris for the biggest club football final in the world.
A wise old sportswriter opined many months ago that his Mighty Reds of Liverpool may have to compile in excess of 90+ points and still face the prospect of not winning the Premier League. That same penner of sporting puns has also posited, both regularly and particularly vigorously, that he had a “feeling” about this particular English football league season and whilst he was correct on the first score, his feeling may still be proved so with the conclusion of this ridiculous rollercoaster season in Paris’ Stade de France in six days time.
The title dream is over, a 7th winning of “Old Big Ears” and the European Cup with which we are all in love with remains a possibility in under a week and, for a brief period of time this Sunday afternoon, the dream of lifting a 20th English League title was a very real possibility. It’s the hope that kills you apparently, but for a short while today hope had turned in the direction of expectation. Here’s how the day unfolded:
GOAL! Liverpool 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Pedro Neto 3)
Before the game at Anfield could find any sort of pattern or momentum the visiting “Wolves” grabbed an early lead on just 3 minutes through Portuguese International Pedro Neto. A huge goal kick from Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa evaded the high Liverpool defensive line leaving Raul Jimenez clear to cross simply for Pedro Neto to net for the visitors and thus giving them a shock early lead. The shock could be felt 20+ miles away in Manchester as the City fans celebrated the early goal and early confirmation that as things stood, but with fully 87 minutes still to be play in both games, the title was going to the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.
GOAL! Liverpool 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Sadio Mane 24)
With the score still scoreless in Manchester, Mane’s equaliser was both a welcome nerve settler as well as confirmation that nearly half an hour into this final day, we were all back to where we started. Ibrahima Konate made up for his mistake for the early goal by slipping an incisive forward pass into the dancing feet of Thiago Alcantara and his deft flick released Sadio Mane for a cool finish past Jose Sa in the Wolves goal. Anfield sounded and looked nervous despite Mane’s equaliser and this was due to both the visitors excellent attacking display and the home team Reds utter nervousness.
The nerves should have dissipated 13 minutes later. They didn’t.
But the Reds were on the precipice of the Premier League title.
GOAL! Manchester City 0 Aston Villa 1 (Matthew Cash 37)
A brilliant break from Jacob Ramsey drove his Aston Villa team forward before releasing left wing back Lucas Digne. His cross was brilliantly headed by Matthew Cash through the goalkeeping hands of Ederson in the Manchester City goal, and the two title chasing teams from either end of the East Lancs Road in the North West of England left their respective fields at half-time knowing that the point for the Reds of Liverpool was still not enough even in spite of Manchester City’s 0–1 deficit at the break. With a positive 6 goal differential in their favour Manchester City were still leading the Premier League at this stage, but they were losing and another goal from Liverpool would see them take top spot in the final 45 minutes of this spectacular season.
With 20 minutes of the league season remaining:
GOAL! Manchester City 0 Aston Villa 2 (Phillippe Coutinho 69)
Incredibly, and so very aptly, ex Liverpool midfielder Phillippe Coutinho doubled Aston Villa’s lead and suddenly both of these vaunted best club football teams in the entire world were as nervous as new born lambs. Ollie Watkins missed a glorious chance to extend his team’s lead before flicking a strong header into the path of Coutinho and he simply drilled the ball under Ederson in the Manchester City goal. But with Liverpool being outplayed by Wolves and lucky to still be level at 1–1 nothing had fundamentally changed despite the shock score line from the Etihad Stadium. The Reds still needed a goal to win the League Title.
GOAL! Manchester City 1 Aston Villa 2 (Ilkay Gundogan 76)
Following some good old fashioned English wing play, ex Liverpool Red Raheem Sterling combined with fellow substitute Ilkay Gundogan and his firm back post header flew past Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen. Paradoxically, still nothing had changed. Liverpool still had to score to win (or stand a chance of winning) the Premier League.
2 minutes later, the Blues of Manchester City would score again.
GOAL! Manchester City 2 Aston Villa 2 (Rodri 78)
More wing play, this time from Ukrainian International (and yet another substitute) Oleksandr Zinchenko saw his cross squeeze its way to Rodri on the edge of the penalty area and his instant side footed shot flashed through a host of Aston Villa defenders and into their net. 2 goals in 2 minutes had seen the defending League Champions clawback their single point advantage at the top of the Premier League, and 3 minutes later they all but won the League all over again.
GOAL! Manchester City 3 Aston Villa 2 (Ilkay Gundogan 81)
Manchester City’s 3rd goal in just over 5 minutes again came from Gundogan but was inspired by their talisman Kevin de Bruyne and with the Reds of Liverpool needing just a goal to snatch the Premier League title, now they needed that elusive goal and further favours from ex Liverpool Reds of the past.
GOAL! Liverpool 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Mo Salah 84)
After riding their luck against a determined and very attack minded Wolves, Joel Matip’s fierce header was spectacularly saved by visiting goalkeeper John Ruddy and with the ball pinballing around the 6 yard box, Mo Salah got the faintest of touches as the ball crept across the goal line. The Reds had finally got their goal but they needed yet more favours 20+ miles down the road in Manchester.
GOAL! Liverpool 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Andy Robertson 89)
With the visitors now tiring far more than an already leggy home side, Roberto Firmino squeezed a cross from the dead ball line back to a marauding Andy Robertson and he calmly slotted a perfect finish into the far corner. With mere seconds left plus injury time, the 3 points were now secure for the Reds and they just needed one final flash of inspiration from Aston Villa to draw level at the Etihad Stadium and send the Premier League trophy into the hands of Jordan Henderson and his gallant team of Liverpool Reds.
But it wasn’t to be.
So the two best club football teams in the world finished the day just as they started it, with Manchester City sealing the Premier League title by just a single point. Liverpool, as predicted by a sage old sportswriter, did indeed finish an incredible league season with 92 points and it still wasn’t enough. Nor were their 2 (TWO!) defeats all season, 94 goals scored and a ridiculous positive goal differential of +68.
A sage old sportswriter also noted recently that this season, the very epitome of the cliché of the “price of success” as they’ve played every single possible fixture on their way to two domestic cup triumphs and with the European Cup Final in Paris in just six days time, they are creaking under the weight of their own success. They are looking tired, jaded and leggy and again today rested Mo Salah (substitute) and Virgil van Dijk (unused substitute) and worried glances are being shot in the direction of playmaker Thiago Alcantara as he limped away to join Fabinho on the injury list.
Today was a “free hit” as they always needed a favour from Aston Villa and by jiminy they almost received them in spades. In six days time they face Los Blancos of Real Madrid in the biggest final (for the biggest trophy) of them all.
I still have a feeling as Jurgen Klopp’s fully firing Reds can blow their Spanish rivals away, but they’re limping toward the finish line and need to muster one last enormous effort in Paris in 6 days time.
“Allez! Allez! Allez!”
Thanks for reading. Please see either my archives for a huge volume of articles on Liverpool FC or the following 3 links to my most recently published:
Southampton 1 Liverpool 2
Easy win on the south coast and the title dream is still alivemedium.com
Jurgen Klopp’s “Mentality Monsters” triumph again
Luis “The Kid” Diaz lights up Wembley as the Reds win their 8th FA Cupmedium.com
Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 2
Ugly win keeps the Reds in the Premier League title chasemedium.com