Klopp’s Fab Four are like a bunch of mates down the park scoring goals for fun
a trio of teams who have all been looking over their shoulders.
Only fans with short memories will have forgotten the fantastic job Clement did to keep Swansea up last season, after the reign of his predecessor Bob Bradley (below) turned out to be a tale of square pegs and round holes.
And although the Swans have slipped away from the stylish football they played under Roberto Martinez, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup, I would forgive a young manager for putting pragmatism ahead of flair, if it means winning.
But for Clement, that is going to have to start happening very soon, because I’ve seen this film before and it doesn’t have a happy ending. NOBODY is going to fancy facing Liverpool’s Fab Four in the Champions League draw on Monday.
Nobody is going to relish a date with Manchester City, despite their 227-day unbeaten run coming to an end in a dead rubber with Shakhtar Donetsk.
And nobody is going to write off Manchester United while Jose Mourinho is conducting the orchestra.
With five clubs in the last 16, English football will never have a better chance to reclaim the European Cup. And I’m not discounting Chelsea or Spurs either.
On a huge weekend of derby days in the Premier League, the firepower on display should be like those superpowers parading their military might.
I love watching Liverpool’s front four – Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane – and you have to make them favourites against Everton at Anfield tomorrow. In Sam Allardyce’s world the clean sheet is king, but Liverpool have not lost a Merseyside derby in 14 games and I can’t see Everton’s defence keeping Jurgen Klopp’s attacking arsenal at bay.
Klopp has assembled a frontline to rival anything the Kop has seen in 30 years.
There was John Barnes, John Aldridge and Ray Houghton in the 1980s, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Emile Heskey winning three cups in 2001, and the Brendan Rodgers holy trinity of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling three years ago, but this current forward line excites even more.
The sheer speed of their counter-attacks at Brighton last weekend, and the seven-goal demolition of Spartak Moscow in midweek, was Klopp flexing his muscles.
It is no accident that only Paris Saint-germain scored more goals in the Champions League group stage – Liverpool have one of the most potent attacks in Europe.
Between them, Firmino, Coutinho, Salah and Mane have scored 25 goals and shared 14 assists in the Premier League alone this season. They are like a group of mates down the park who score for fun.
City look unstoppable in the title race. Even when it’s 1-1 with five minutes to go, you know they are going to conjure up a winner, as they did against Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Southampton and yet again last Sunday against West Ham.
You can feel their confidence and energy. Everyone wants the ball and they find a way to win games.
I’m not sure you can say the same about United yet, although their 35 points would have been enough to lead the Premier League after 15 games every season since Arsenal’s Invincibles of 2003-04.
By no means can United’s contribution to the current campaign be branded boring. After all, they have scored four goals on eight occasions already.
But Mourinho is prepared to win points by being cautious where necessary, and I don’t see United being gung-ho in tomorrow’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
I expect them to sit back and place a heavy emphasis on setpieces in the final third.
French star Paul Pogba’s red card at Arsenal last weekend is a setback for them but if Marouane Fellaini comes into the side he could be a key influence.
City are not the tallest side and they will discount Fellaini’s aerial threat at their peril.
United came through a big test at the Emirates with flying colours and I can see them thwarting City again after keeping two clean sheets against them last season.
OF all the frightening firepower on display in the derbies at Old Trafford and Anfield this weekend, who would YOU pick as your front four on current form?
Mine would be Aguero
(City) up top, Mane
(Liverpool) to the left, Sterling (City) to the right and Coutinho (Liverpool) in the middle at No.10.
Tweet me @Robbiesavage8 if you can come up with a more lethal Fab Four from Manchester and Merseyside.
CONGRATULATIONS to Cristiano Ronaldo on his fifth Ballon d’or.
Apart from Lionel Messi, also a five-time winner, no one else has lifted the trophy since Kaka in 2007.
So for a decade we have been privileged to watch two of the all-time greats.
How long before it is awarded to a Premier League player? Since Kevin Keegan at Hamburg in 1979, the only English Ballon d’or winner was Michael Owen in 2001.