Liverpool face a tough clash at the Etihad on Thursday as we face Manchester City in the Premier League.
The Reds are unbeaten after 20 games and lead the table by seven points, but that could change if the Manchester City juggernaut gets into gear.
Liverpool have been a bit lucky this season with some calls and games, such as the Everton win, but every champion team needs luck and the Reds have created a lot of their luck too.
There could be fears of a second half struggle but the Reds should be in a better position in the coming months.
The handbrakes could be off for the Reds
The first half of the season did not see many performances similar to the ones from last season. Of course, there were big wins over Red Star Belgrade and West Ham but teams weren’t swatted away.
Liverpool have a grit and determination about them and are getting the job done. The Liverpool Ferrari is on an Autobahn but have a speed limiter on, something that seems to be changing since our win over the Cherries.
Mohamed Salah was brilliant in that game, and even though the score was 4-0, we could have scored more.
The final ball was often miss-hit or misplaced, and the margin of victory would have been far greater in some of the other games had Sadio Mane found his shooting boots.
In fact, we weren’t at our best against Arsenal and still won 5-1. Playing against City or even Tottenham later in the season won’t give us many freebies in defence but the forwards are taking their chances now.
It was great seeing Roberto Firmino get a hat-trick against the Gunners with Salah and Mane also scoring.
In fact, Salah gave up a penalty to allow Firmino to score his third, which shows the spirit in this team.
Jurgen Klopp has done a wonderful job of mixing it around in the festive period with almost all the first-teamers getting minutes, and that should keep us fresh for the second half of the season.
Klopp should also have the likes of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez back from injury later in the month, and that more or less would mean our first-team is ready for the second half of the campaign.
The best way to describe the team at the moment is calling them efficient. The Reds are good in attack but greater in defence, and that has made the difference. We don’t ship in cheap goals and take some of the chances presented to us.
Klopp has the chance of taking the shackles off the Reds now that the marathon has reached its half-way point, and even if we aren’t demolishing teams like we did last season, there is a greater calmness in the team.
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Liverpool aren’t set for the title yet but there is a lot more to come from the side, something that our opponents will find difficult to deal with.
