TITLE DEED
Ruthless streak will help us retain crown says Robertson
CRYSTAL PALACE 0
LIVERPOOL 7
THE unpredictable nature of this crazy Premier League season reached new heights at Selhurst Park.
But any uncertainty over the favourites for the title is over after a significant week for Liverpool.
The wake- up call at Craven Cottage was followed by seeing off Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham pretenders, then this record away win which also saw the return of Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain.
No wonder defender Andy Robertson hailed the victory as the “perfect” away performance.
Manager Jurgen Klopp was keen to play down the importance of being Christmas No1 after only 14 games of the season.
But this past week feels like a watershed one for the defending champions. Maybe even decisive.
You would not have seen this result coming as Liverpool trailed Fulham at half- time six days earlier either. Neither, perhaps, would Crystal Palace after having held Tottenham in their last home game.
But after four consecutive away draws prior to this, Scotland captain Robertson said Liverpool were using the dreaded Saturday lunchtime kick- off to their advantage, after taking the lead through Takumi Minamino just 129 seconds in.
Robertson said: “We wanted to be ruthless. Palace had also played Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday and they are maybe not as used to it as we are, so we wanted to come out the blocks fast.
“We wanted to come out full of energy and catch them a bit cold and we managed to do that with Taki’s goal.
“It was just about being ruthless in everything we did – counter-pressing, defending, taking our chances.
“It was as close to a perfect performance as you can get away from home.
“Seven goals will be concentrated on but me, Ali, Trent, Fab, Joel and Hendo are buzzing about a clean sheet away from home. And the best sight of all was to see Ox back on the pitch because he has been out. He looked really sharp so we have added an extra body, which is great. We have eight days until the next one, so we might have a couple more back.”
Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson and doubles from Roberto Firmino and substitute Mo Salah punished Palace.
Mane, who may have set another record for the slowest departure from the pitch by a substituted player, clearly wanted more.
Palace skipper Luka Milivojevic said: “They were so clinical. They had eight shots and scored seven goals. They’re a dangerous team on the counter- attack and punished every mistake. That’s the level of the Premier League.”
Robertson, who provided the pass for Firmino’s first goal in a breathtaking counter- attack, has 28 assists since the start of the 2018- 19 season, the same as Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne. The defender said: “Hopefully, there are many more to come. More importantly, I hope for many more clean sheets.”