Red brick wall lays foundation for glory

FROM the beginning of February, a look at Liverpool’s goals against column would conjure images of an England batting collapse.

On the first day of the second month, there was a yawning gap between first and second in the Premier League but since Liverpool ground out a 2-0 win over Leicester, the numbers they have produced defensively have enabled the gap to be bridged.

The sequence — 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 — is the epitome of parsimony. Norwich’s Milot Rashica, on February 19, is the only man to breach. We all get fixated with the attacking firepower Liverpool have but the ability to keep clean sheets has proven invaluable.

How it was needed against Watford. It would be wrong to say Liverpool were under the cosh at any point but there is no disputing it was a problematic game.

With Mohamed Salah looking fragile following his World Cup heartbreak with Egypt in Senegal, the onus was on the defence to maintain the sky-high standards that have been evident in 2022.

Since squandering a two-goal lead at Chelsea on January 2, Liverpool have played 19 games in all

competitions and registered 14 shutouts. All the way through this match, you could see how much keeping their goal intact meant to men such as Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Joel Matip.

There were inquests whenever Watford reached the edge of Liverpool’s penalty area, never more so than in the second half when Joao Pedro found himself with a glorious opportunity to alter the course of the title race but he could not maintain his composure and fired wide.

By that point, Liverpool had established a lead. Diogo Jota was the scorer in the first half with a darting header but he was quick to give recognition to the Joe Gomez, whose beautiful cross from the right would have had Trent

Alexander-Arnold admiring. Gomez’s chances to impress this season have been limited. The consequence of not starting for Liverpool means he has slithered out of England contention.

This performance, then, will have done wonders for his confidence. He set one up, but just as important was the decisive header to stop Moussa Sissoko breaking away when Gomez was the last man.

‘Joey was disciplined,’ said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. ‘He’s an outstanding ball player and will play lots of games in his career. This season was tricky but who knows how things can change. He is ready.’

They all are. Keep a clean sheet at Manchester City next week and the chants Kop bellowed about becoming champions will be that more realistic.