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After a difficult first few months of the season, Liverpool settled in well. As the busy month of December approached, the players found form at the right time. They needed it to get through the festive period in a quest to reach the top four of the Premier League.
The Reds were banging in the goals left, right and centre over the next few months. Their attacking potency laid the foundation for a successful season in the league and in Europe. The period from November to March was extremely important as Liverpool found their form and improved their consistency in the league.
Mohamed Salah pulled away from the pack in these months, as he became an unstoppable monster. The PFA Player of the Year was Liverpool's main threat throughout the season, especially in the aforementioned months.
[You can read part 1 of this Liverpool review here]
November
Liverpool continued their recovery from their September slump with a 3-0 win at home to Maribor, and a 4-1 thumping at West Ham. Mo Salah was the star of the show, popping up with goals aplenty. He continued from where he had left off after the international break, in another 3-0 win against Southampton.
Meanwhile, the defence let the team down again as Sevilla fought back from 3-0 down, to draw 3-3 in the penultimate Champions League group game. Alberto Moreno was especially poor, and he would be replaced in the side by Andy Robertson soon afterwards. Salah scored again as the Reds were held to a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Anfield.
Liverpool completed the month with an emphatic 3-0 win at the bet365 Stadium. Salah was a substitute but still scored a brace to send Stoke City packing. The Egyptian winger was on fire and did not look like stopping at all. The Liverpool train moved forward, with a German conductor and an Egyptian driver.
December
Liverpool had a gruelling seven Premier League matches in the month of December, and they coped with it pretty well. It started with another away thumping for the Reds. A 5-1 win against Brighton was highlighted by a brace from Roberto Firmino and a piece of genius from Philippe Coutinho.
Coutinho captained Liverpool to the second round of the Champions League, as he scored a hat-trick en-route to a second 7-0 win of the season, this time against Spartak Moscow. However, the goals at Anfield dried up for the time being as the Reds drew home games against Everton and West Brom in quick succession.
Liverpool went back to winning ways with a 4-0 victory against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. The Reds were in fine goalscoring form away from home. That continued during a highly entertaining 3-3 draw against Arsenal. A 2-0 lead was nullified during five minutes of madness, which saw Arsenal come from behind to lead 3-2. Firmino scored to end the game 3-3.
Coutinho scored his last goal for Liverpool on Boxing Day, as the Reds beat Swansea City 5-0 at Anfield. The attacking midfielder scored seven goals during his last month as a Liverpool player, perhaps saving the best for last. The calendar year was completed with another Mo masterclass. Salah scored a terrific brace as the Reds came from behind to beat Leicester City 2-1 at Anfield.
January
Liverpool started 2018 with a crucial 2-1 win at Burnley, with center-backs Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan combining to score a 93rd-minute winner. Both of their places in the team were under threat though, as Liverpool finally secured a £75 million transfer for Virgil van Dijk. He proved to be an instant hit as he scored a late winner in the Merseyside Derby, in the third round of the FA Cup.
Liverpool's next game blew away everybody watching, as they ran rampant against the runaway league leaders. A stellar spell of three goals in five minutes saw Liverpool lead Manchester City by 4 goals to 1. However, nerves kicked in and 4-1 quickly became 4-3 to set up a grandstand finish at Anfield. The Reds managed to hold on and end City's unbeaten run in the league. All four goals scored by Liverpool were of the absolute highest quality.
The Reds were brought back down to Earth soon after as they were stunned by Swansea in a 1-0 defeat. Things became worse as a calamitous first-half for the entire goalkeeper and defence saw West Brom send Liverpool out of the FA Cup, winning 3-2 at Anfield. The crisis talks were quietened, as Liverpool returned to winning ways with a 3-0 win at Huddersfield.
February
February was another month filled with goals for Liverpool. The month started with a spicy affair at Anfield, as controversy dominated the late stages of Liverpool's 2-2 draw against Tottenham. Mo Salah scored at the start and the end of the game, with a rocket from Victor Wanyama in between. But an extremely late and dubious penalty decision for Spurs saw Harry Kane salvage the game at the absolute death.
The Reds shrugged it off soon enough though, as Salah and Firmino linked up to seal a 2-0 win at Southampton. After that, Liverpool travelled to Porto to play the Champions League Last 16 first leg. The Reds' front three were all on top form that night, as Liverpool beat Porto 5-0 away from home.
Sadio Mane scored a brilliant hat-trick to seemingly kill the tie off. The month ended with another routine Anfield victory, as Liverpool beat West Ham 4-1. Salah, Mane and Firmino were all linking up to another level and destroyed teams throughout this period. All three of them are equally important to the club.
March
Liverpool started March like how they finished February, a routine win at Anfield. Rafa Benitez's Newcastle United played well and was pretty solid for most of the game. But the brilliance of Liverpool's front three was just too much for them to handle. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was outstanding, as he had been during his first season at the club.
A 0-0 draw in the second leg against Porto was followed by an upsetting defeat at Old Trafford. The Reds were out-fought by Manchester United as they lost 2-1 to their long-time rivals. This was probably Salah's worst game in a Liverpool shirt, as he just was not able to get going.
He recovered well though, as he netted his first Liverpool hat-trick against Watford. The Reds won 5-0, with four of them scored by Salah. He rediscovered his Midas touch and would be crucial in the final two months of the 2017-18 season. All the goals and great performances in the middle of the season would mean nothing if Liverpool couldn't get the job done and achieve their targets for the season.
