If this opening season struggle continues any longer, Liverpool will be out of the title race before September. Darwin Nunez gets sent off on his Anfield debut as Liverpool draw another game to go four points behind City.
Will Liverpool still finish 2nd in the Premier League this season? Yes. Is this dreadful start they are having going to really hurt them come May/June? You better believe it.
Liverpool, despite their dominating possession (73% vs. 23%) and shooting stats (24 shots vs. 7; 4 shots on target vs. 3), really didn’t get that much pressure on Vincente Guita’s goal.
This game was almost identical to their opening day weekend draw against Fulham as Crystal Palace scored first (just like Fulham), their defense held firm against Liverpool’s offensive pressure (just like Fulham’s did), but Liverpool’s title winning offense was finally able to break through and salvage a point (again, just like how they eventually broke down Fulham).
Liverpool will always have more than enough quality to dominate possession, shots, passes, etc. against the mid-table and relegation-level teams, such as Fulham and Crystal Palace, but their forwards have obviously not gelled during the offseason and preseason. And that should be EXTREMELY concerning for Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool supporters. If they can’t score regularly, they won’t finish in the Top-4.
That is just how good the Top-5 teams (Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal) in the Premier league have become.
I guess Sadio Mane’s departure may be a little more difficult to overcome than previous thought.
Anyway, there was one key difference that made this game nothing like the Fulham one: Darwin Nunez’s IDIOTIC red card.
What was he thinking? Did he really believe the referee and VAR would not see his headbutt into Joachim Andersen’s face? Well, seeing how VAR missed two egregious fouls in the Chelsea-Tottenham game yesterday, maybe he did.
But that doesn’t excuse Nunez’s naivety. Yes, it is true Andersen was baiting him into doing something rash, as only a few seconds before the two clashed in the middle of the box, but Nunez stupidly took the bait. And it is also true that Andersen should be considered for an Academy Award after that dive, but, again, Nunez should never have given him the chance to dive.
Fortunately, Liverpool’s other South American phenom, Luis Diaz, quickly counted the Nunez red by scoring a fantastic goal as he dribbled past three Palace defenders to curl a shot around Guita from the edge of the box. Nevertheless, Liverpool just didn’t have enough players or attacking power needed to break through Patrick Viera’s Palace defense as the game finished 1-1.
This Manchester United game has just gotten a lot more interesting.
With Liverpool’s €80M striker now out for three games, as it was a straight red card, this team is going to have to radically adjust without Nunez’s goal threat when they face the Red Devils. The days of just being able to interchange the front three with five or six quality players is over as Robert Firmino is past his best, Sadio Mane left for Bayern, and Nunez is now suspended.
I still think Liverpool will be able to thrash United (as every team is capable of that these days), but I’m no longer betting on it. I’m predicting the North-West Derby will be a close 2-0, or 3-1 affair now that Nunez has been suspended, Liverpool are reeling off two disappointing results, and United NEED a win for Erik ten Hag. Still, Liverpool should win.
As for keeping pace with City, they’re making it almost impossible by dropping another two points. City looked unbelievable against Bournemouth as they put four past the newly promoted side without Erling Haland scoring a goal. The four points that now separate the sides may be the deciding four points that seals the title for City over Liverpool for a second straight season.
With Liverpool and Manchester United both desperate for a win (but for COMPELETELY different reasons), the upcoming North-West Derby is shaping out to be the most important early season Premier League game in a long time.
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