GO FOR THE LOT, KLOPP
His incredible side could record the greatest season in Liverpool’s history, so why take liberties in the FA Cup?
THE best move ultimately counted for nothing, but in those breathtaking 20 seconds you saw the wonderful possibilities that exist for Liverpool.
Early in the second half, they found themselves under pressure on the edge of their own area and Southampton’s players were intent on maintaining their press. Then, Alisson Becker played a short pass to centre back Joe Gomez, who in turn zipped it sideways to defensive colleague Virgil van Dijk.
One false move, one heavy touch and Southampton would have been in, but those in red went into pinball mode, passes pinging back and forth, left and right.
Out of tight spaces they went, faster and faster up the field until Mohamed Salah slid a shot into the Kop End net.
To the Egyptian’s frustration, his run on to Roberto Firmino’s pass was wrongly timed by a fraction and an offside flag cut short the celebrations.
The prolonged and thunderous applause, however, did not subside. Quality needs recognition and this Liverpool team is as special as any that have gone before.
Be under no illusion they have the capacity to make this the greatest season in the club’s 128-year history. They have collected the European Super Cup and Club World Cup. The Premier League is destined to be gathered in spring, because despite the best efforts of their rivals, Liverpool are over the hill and far away.
Yet three pieces of silver could conceivably become five and that brings us to the issue of the FA Cup. We know it is the lowest on Liverpool’s list of priorities, but is it so low that it is almost inconsequential?
Jurgen Klopp and his senior players started a week’s break immediately after Southampton had been skewered 4-0 and the responsibility for trying to set up a fifth- round tie has been bestowed on Under 23 coach Neil Critchley, along with a raft of promising novices.
Whether the full squad should be resting is open to debate. Do Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren, who require games after injuries, need to be absent? What about Naby Keita and Takumi Minamino, who would welcome the chance to gain rhythm?
As it is, Liverpool’s kids might be good enough to see off a team who are 16th in League One, but equally they could fall short. If they get through to a fifth-round date with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in four weeks, Klopp is unlikely to change his policy of giving youth its head.
It is admirable but it is not realistic to think that a team with such inexperience could go all the way to Wembley. A peak-strength Liverpool team? Now, that is a different story. If Klopp went full throttle from now until May, the football they are playing means they could win the lot.
This debate has been given an added dimension since last Thursday. A statue of Bob Paisley was unveiled at Anfield last week and he remains the Liverpool manager who came closest to completing the ultimate Treble in 1977.
Back then, appropriately, their closest pursuers for the title were Manchester City. Liverpool became champions by a point, then conquered Europe for the first time, by beating Borussia Monchengladbach in Rome. Only Manchester United, in the FA Cup final, prevented the clean sweep.
To make another comparison, the 1983- 84 team won three trophies in their stunning season, with the League Cup being added to the fourth European crown and third consecutive league title.
They were incredible, but the FA Cup proved beyond them, with Brighton knocking them out 2-0 at the Goldstone Ground. Klopp’s squad of 2020 are so good that these are the standards by which they are being measured.
It just makes you think that, in time, they may come to regret not launching all they have at the FA Cup, because they are capable of achieving something in Liverpool history that stands alone.
We might be only in the first week of February and critics, inevitably, will say it is too early to start talking about Trebles.
But the way Liverpool dismantled Southampton after a curiously passive opening 45 minutes
left nobody here in any doubt that they have the ability to do it. The stars of the show were Roberto Firmino, the artful dodger with a pickpocket’s touch, and Jordan Henderson, whose form gets better to the extent that there is growing momentum behind his claims to be PFA Player of the Year. Henderson scored one and set one up for Salah; Firmino created the other three — one with a backheel that nutmegged Oriel Romeu — for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Salah and his captain, who has now scored as many goals since October 26 (three) as he has in the last three seasons. ‘It is not about closing the book of the season after a win like this and thinking it is done,’ said Klopp, whose words were at odds with those on the Kop who repeatedly sang about how the team was going to win the league. ‘ It is not done. It is all about showing respect for the opposition with the right attitude. Hendo is one example. There are plenty of others. But did he look like the captain of a team who are 19 points ahead? Not for a second. It looked like, “If we lose we are relegated”. ‘That is how the boys were. That is the only way for us to win a game. It is always the same.’ He is right. They keep winning and the lead is now an incredible 22 points. And if Klopp keeps his foot on the accelerator for the next four months, they might achieve something incredible. It would be a shame, then, if they let the FA Cup just slide away.
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 7; Alexander-Arnold 6.5, Gomez 7, Van Dijk 7, Robertson 7; HENDERSON 9 (Lallana 88min), Fabinho 6.5, Wijnaldum 7 (Minamino 81); Salah 8, Firmino 8.5, Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 (Keita 73, 6).
Subs not used: Adrian, Lovren, Origi, Matip. Scorers: Oxlade-Chamberlain 47, Henderson 60, Salah 72, 90. Manager: Jurgen Klopp 7. SOUTHAMPTON (4-4-2): McCarthy 7; Ward-Prowse 7, Stephens 6, Bednarek 6, Bertrand 6; Djenepo 8 (Boufal 82), Romeu 6, Hojbjerg 6, Redmond 6; Long 5 (Obafemi 70, 6), Ings 7 (Adams 70, 6). Subs not used: Gunn, Vestergaard, Smallbone, Danso. Booked: Ward-Prowse, Stephens. Manager: Ralph Hassenhutl 6.5. Referee: Kevin Friend 7. Attendance: 53,921.