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A week in football, or for that matter, in life outside of football is a long time. Last Sunday evening, the most pertinent question at Anfield was how Liverpool would fare as a club after the exit of their influential Brazilian, Philippe Coutinho, who was nicknamed Little Magician for his sublime skills and the ability to see, read and dictate the game.
Klopp's charges were off to Dubai after a fruitful winter after disposing of their rivals Everton in the FA Cup, having capped off an unbeaten festive round of fixtures - the only team other than Manchester City to pick up a bagful of points in this period.
But there lay the catch, the squad had already accepted the departure of Coutinho as imminent and now the onus lay on the rest of the squad to maintain the momentum of the season.
New look Liverpool
Last Sunday night, Klopp's charges showed they are more than willing to cope with the departure of the Brazilian magician. Instead, in his place, up stepped another Brazilian in the shape of Roberto Firmino.
For a considerable period of time, Firmino has been in the shadows, but for any fan following the fortunes of Liverpool, it has been Firmino that has been more integral to Klopp's philosophy than the twinkle-toed Brazilian. To clarify, he is the engine that drives Liverpool’s high-pressing tactics.
A statistical view of the Brazilian's performance this season illustrates that. He has averaged 1.5 tackles per game in the Premier League, while his UEFA Champions League record shows that he puts in 1.3 tackles per game.
However, more than the tackles, it is his ability to recognize when to press and close down the passes, which makes him such a threat in the attacking third. His ability to harrow the City defenders last week was a testament to that.
On the offensive side of things, the Brazilian has already scored 16 goals and has provided 8 assists. More importantly, as Jonathan Wilson pointed out in his piece, “Ferocious Liverpool press home edge over panicking Manchester City”, the team as a whole (especially the front three) were able to recognize the trigger of a misplaced pass or an error in the offing that resulted in the spectacular goals for Liverpool.
Right from the start, Firmino emphasized what Klopp is all about. The high-pressing philosophy of the German has often had its detractors, for a long ball from the back can bypass all that.
But Guardiola and his City team have had success by sticking to their own philosophy of starting the move from the back and were determined to stick to that aspect of their game. At times last week, Ederson did just that in order to bypass the press, but that same tactic was disbanded at the start of the second half when City were hogging possession.
Sticking to Principles
When both managers are intent on sticking to their philosophy of how the game is to be played, it often serves up thrilling football, and Anfield, last Sunday, was a witness to that. Firmino in that aspect, was the key to everything.
The Brazilian, alongside Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah pressed the defensive line and harrowed the City defence into mistakes.
Take for instance the opener, Firmino backtracked to recover the ball and played it to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who bulldozed his way forward before striking an early shot that speared into the bottom corner to give Liverpool an early lead.
Anfield was rocking and suddenly the City team looked vulnerable. However, Liverpool have been the architect of their own downfall in recent times and a diagonal ball in the 40th minute from Kyle Walker led to the freeing up of Leroy Sane, who bamboozled his way past a flailing Joe Gomez to smack a shot of tremendous power past Karius to draw City Level.
Halftime score 1-1 and one could almost feel the jitters at Anfield.
Having ended the first half on the up, City looked to step up their momentum and for a good 10 minutes, it was the visitors who controlled the play with utmost authority which has led to a 15-point difference above their closest rivals.
Football, though, has the habit of changing in the blink of an eye. A tackle to get Kevin De Bruyne of the ball turned to be legitimate and Chamberlain immediately released a ball with the outside of his right boot into the opposition half.
At the time the ball was played, John Stones was in a great position to mop that up, but that didn't deter Firmino. From thereon, it was art and strength on display by the Brazilian, who legitimately shook Stones off of the ball, before chipping an exquisite shot up and above the onrushing Ederson.
As time stood still, the ball ever so slowly curled towards the goal, before hitting the inside of the goal post to give Liverpool the lead as the hapless Danilo could only look on.
Once again, Anfield was on their feet, and the surge of the Reds was underway from kick-off, as City were harrowed into a second mistake. 40 seconds after the second goal, Nicolas Otamendi was caught on the ball and with Mane finding himself in acres of space, he curled a shot which hit the outside of the post.
City sighed in relief, hoping the danger had passed before self-destructing once again. Another mistake this time, led to a repetition of Mane finding himself in space. With his shooting angles covered, the Senegalese only had the littlest of spaces on his left.
The Senegalese didn't make much fuss of it as he rocketed a shot past the City keeper to make it 3-1. Anfield was in danger of overflowing with ecstasy and that joy was further enhanced when Salah, Liverpool's top scorer, found Mane in space.
Ederson rushed out to intercept, and unfortunately for him, his clearance went straight to the Egyptian, who controlled sublimely before chipping the ball into the goal.
Anfield, at that point of time, was in serious danger of overflowing with excitement, such were the scenes of unbridled joy.
Nervy Moments and Resolute Defense
Liverpool should have been home and dry, having led the game 4-1, but once again, defensive lapses resulted in an unnecessarily nervy finish. As Klopp stated towards the end of the game, the inability to close out games is what makes him nervous.
However, the affable German was effusive in his praise of the entire display stating, “Thank God, I have a good team”. He reiterated the fact that the team has to look forward, and deal with the absence of Coutinho.
Instead, he chose to focus on the positives and his elation was more than notable. Liverpool next faces Swansea City on Monday night, who is currently at the bottom of the league table. The Welsh club is enjoying a resurgence of sorts since the appointment of Carlos Carvahal and are only 4 points of moving out of the relegation zone.
One of the criticisms of Liverpool has been their inability to break tightly packed defences. But their last visit to Burnley, where they snatched a winner via Klavan’s header showed that the team are making progress when it comes to breaking stubborn defences.
More importantly, it will be an opportunity for Firmino to take centre-stage and orchestrate things. Liverpool may no more be the 'Fab Four' as has been the case in the first half of the season, but they sure do possess the 'Thrilling Three' and it will be interesting to see how the trio takes their team forward.
