Reds Extend Lead at Top of Table

Well, we all said before this one that we’d welcome a victory and no injuries however it came. Ideally, we’d like it without shaving about seven years off all our life expectancies, but the three points were all that mattered. We talk about going to the well, and these purple-reds clawed their way out with their fingernails, blood, sweat, and tears all evaporated. There wasn’t a lot to like in this, truth be told, and but for one of the last kicks of the game, the narrative would have been completely different. However, a win is a win, and we look at all the lessons learned from a late winner at the City Ground that keeps Liverpool top of the league.

Nunez: The Game Changer

How can you not love this crazy mental bastard!?!? Liverpool had looked pretty blunt in attack all day, and even his introduction didn’t make them more potent. Nunez rattled the side netting not long after his introduction and was keen to give Cody Gakpo a piece of his mind after he failed to square it too. However, cometh the hour, cometh the man, as in the last minute, Alexis Mac Allister dinked a cross to the back post after a corner had broken down, and the Uruguayan forward was there to glance it home. That’s now fourteen goals and eleven assists for Liverpool’s number nine, and boy, how the travelling kop enjoyed that one.

Resilience Beyond Measure

There may well have been better Liverpool teams than this in history, of that there is little doubt. But if this week and this game showed anything, it’s near impossible to remember a team you were as proud of after the Carabao and who showed again just how resilient they are. You can add Forest to Palace, Newcastle, Luton, and many tigers where the reds have grasped something when it seemed impossible. More importantly, you could hear the shoulders slumping of City and Arsenal fans, who must now have that nagging feeling of why won’t these lot just succumb to injuries. What a set of lads we have.

Kelleher: The Unsung Hero

The only real rivals he had in the starting eleven for the man of the match award were Virgil and Alexis, but the big Cork man seems to have grown in stature every game and with the embargo news around Alisson’s injury, he’ll be needed. It’s becoming a recurring description, but Kelleher was immense here, and the save from Elanga when he was one on one proved crucial in the end. Happy to smash his own teammate Konate out of the way when it was needed too, his calmness and assured presence was crucial. Liverpool have a number two keeper who’s amongst the best in the league. Kelleher is a big reason why we sit there tonight.