If Liverpool don’t win the English league title this time around, it will be their 29th straight season without doing so. This will be a particularly bitter pill to swallow since they enjoyed a seven-point lead at the top of the table in January.
The Merseyside club are in second position in the Premier League at the moment and trail current champions Manchester City by a point.
Although it seems they might have blown a golden opportunity to break their trophy drought, Anfield legend Ian Rush feels Liverpool are in just the right position to win the league.
“I’m very happy with the performance at this stage, being just one point behind Manchester City. I’m confident that Liverpool can win the title,” says Rush, the club’s all-time leading goal-scorer, during a chat with Scroll.in.
“Honestly, I think Liverpool are in a better position when they’re not at the top of the league. It’s like being the underdogs. When you’re at the top of the league, everyone wants to beat you. So I think it is better when you’re slightly off the pace and trying to time your run.”
Rush won a staggering 18 trophies, including five English league titles, two Champions League crowns [known as the European Cup back then] and three FA Cups, during his time at Liverpool from 1980–’87 and 1988–’96.
Negative tactics by opponents
In Mumbai as LFC’s ambassador for the Standard Chartered Trophy 2019, Rush explains how negative tactics by some rivals have hurt Liverpool’s current campaign.
“The games against Manchester United and Everton were tough,” he says. “These rivals are out to stop us from winning the league because they’re not in a position to win it themselves. With nine games to go, I think Liverpool have a better run than Manchester City,” he said.
The Reds have struggled in the league since the start of the year, winning just 16 points in their last nine Premier League games, but Rush reckons there’s no need to panic.
“They’re not letting goals in at the moment, which is nice. Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk are doing really well at the back,” says the 57-year-old.
“Then you’ve got the front three, and you have people talk about Mohamed Salah not scoring for five games. But he’s creating chances, so that’s not a problem. If you’re a striker, you should keep creating chances. Because on another day, you’ll score two or three goals.”
Liverpool played out goalless draws against Manchester United and Everton in their last two of three league games. Although they dominated possession in both the matches - 65% at Old Trafford and 58% at Goodison Park - they lacked the finishing touch in front of goal.
Rush believes it’s time for someone from the midfield to step-up and release some pressure from the strikers. “Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are all failing to score. If your ‘keeper isn’t letting goals in but your strikers aren’t firing either, then someone from your midfield has to step up and take more chances,” he says.
“For me, Salah was the best player in the world last season. He was absolutely fantastic. But this year, teams are putting two players on him all the time. And if there are people marking Mane and Firmino, too, then there’s got to be space somewhere on the pitch. So maybe it’s up to the midfield to use that space.
“When a midfielder starts scoring goals, the opposition would want to mark him, which will give Salah more space. So that’s what it’s all about, reading the game when you’re on the pitch to see where the space is.”
Klopp effect
Despite their glorious past, where they won 18 league titles to be placed second in the all-time list, Liverpool have hardly been a force to reckon with in the recent past.
However, they seem to have found their mojo back ever since Jurgen Klopp took charge in 2015.
The German took Liverpool to the finals of the League Cup and the Europa League in his debut season and in 2018, saw his side lose in the Champions League final.
Liverpool are yet to win a trophy under Klopp, but Rush believes the club is heading in the right direction under the former Borussia Dortmund manager. “I think he has done fantastic work. He’s a great manager,” he says.
“People say he hasn’t won anything since he’s come, but I think we’re in a stronger position than we were last year. We’ve got a stronger squad. Even if we finish second in the league this year, I think next season will be very interesting.
“Liverpool are not going to get anyone better. But it is true that we haven’t won anything since he has some, we haven’t really proved anything, so we need to keep at it. For a club like Liverpool, there’s pressure every year. The fans want to win trophies. But as long as they see improvement and the club keeps playing entertaining football, I will be happy.”
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