2 weeks ago
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Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Reflecting on a volatile week for the Reds.
Liverpool wrapped up a busy week of football better than they started it. That’s factually true even if the Schroedinger’s Game in Hand didn’t turn out to bear the full three point. Which is to say, Liverpool entered this weekend with Arsenal facing a taller order to overcome than when they called time last week.
That being true, though, doesn’t always bear much weight when it comes to emotions. And when you look at results like the one that came in the combustible final Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park, one might understand why some Liverpool fans are feeling a touch morose and, perhaps, a little twitchy ahead of Wolves visit to Anfield on Sunday.
The tantalizing prospect of being 9 points clear of Arsenal - essentially requiring Liverpool lose 4 matches with Arsenal having to be perfect over the rest of the season - was so close that most fans got practically taste it. And that proximity to what feels like could have been an insurmountable gap for any one to match is likely what’s driving the gale-force feelings folks are having.
But the thing I’m remembering is that the result still left us with a requirment for dropped points across four matches on behalf of the Reds. And with Arsenal still required to take the maximum points across those same fixtures to actually pull ahead.
Nothing in life is guaranteed. And as of the writing of this, that gap has fallen a bit as the Gunners beat Leicester City earlier today to come to 4 points of first as we welcome a (brief) return to Shroedinger’s Game in Hand.
It all still remains, though: that Liverpool are still in the driver’s seat of the title race. We’re in mid-February. And, perhaps most importantly, no one expected this.
This season, one supposed to be a transition from one of the best stretches at the club in recent history, is really going so much better than any could have imagined. We are, basically, riding the gravy train. I’m ready to just the let the rest of the season come with open arms.
That’s not to say I’m not emotionally invested - tough not to be given we’re all fans after all. But it’s me just saying that I’m trying to keep things in perspective. Which is, ultimately, that the Reds are still top of the table and with a gap even more commanding than they entered the week with. Time to make sure we keep that pace and let the pressure rest where it really belongs: the ones doing the chasing.
