Post categories: Liverpool
Phil McNulty | 07:45
UK time, Sunday, 10 May 2009
Liverpool's fans cornered a small plot inside Upton Park and
announced they were going to win the league - it sounded like a
medium term forecast as opposed to an expectation of imminent
success.
Manchester United have it in their power to equal Liverpool's 18
titles inside the next fortnight unless the small repetitions of
pressure applied by Rafael Benitez's maturing team add up to an
unlikely Old Trafford collapse.
It was, however, easy to see why optimism rolled off the
visitors' section in the form of song as Liverpool made light of
a potentially hazardous fixture and turned it into a routine
victory.
The words may read like sacrilege when set against Anfield's old
bootroom philosophies, but if Liverpool do finish second, and that
is still an if, then they can take huge pride and satisfaction from
this season.
Liverpool's pursuit of Manchester United has been transformed
from dogged to thrilling from the moment they
won 4-1 at Old Trafford on 14 March.
And there was never a time when they looked like driving off
down Green Street with anything less than three points once Steven
Gerrard gave them a second minute lead.
Benitez was every inch the man who
was on to something good as he sat relaxed and smiling at Upton
Park after the game, insisting he will be calmness
itself spending Sunday with his family and watching United meet
Manchester City at Old Trafford.
Liverpool had at least given United food for thought - although
even in victory and still harbouring the possibility of a title
triumph, Benitez himself was forced to chew on some unpalatable
statistics.
He was reminded that Liverpool, with only two league defeats
this season, could still finish second despite losing fewer games
than Manchester United.
And there was also yet another reminder of that dip in Anfield form
that cost them 14 points, something which will be pored
over as the killer fact if Liverpool do fail to provoke a late
United meltdown.
Another fact, one beyond the control of Liverpool or Benitez,
was brought into sharp relief as Gerrard and Fernando Torres made
the decisive contributions that established the platform for this
win.
This world-class pair were starting only their 12th league game
together this season, and I asked Benitez how much of a factor this
had been, or could be, when the story of this season is
written.
He knew its significance as he said: "We have scored a lot of
goals from different players, but if we have Gerrard and Torres on
the pitch the opposition is wondering who will score, Gerrard or
Torres? It also helps the confidence of our players if they are on
the pitch with them."
West Ham certainly knew they were on the pitch at Upton Park.
Torres made Gerrard's opener and was fouled by Luis Boa Morte for
the penalty which Liverpool's captain knocked in at the second time
of asking following Robert Green's save.
Torres had left the pitch by the time Ryan Babel scored the
third, but by then Liverpool had given yet another demonstration of
the progression that deserves the feelgood factor currently
surrounding this side.
Liverpool's two league defeats have come at Spurs and
Middlesbrough,
the first an outrageous slice of beginner's luck for the
newly-appointed Harry Redknapp and the
second genuinely the result of a poor performance.
It puts those tame draws at inopportune times into perspective.
I watched many of those performances and there was frustration
around Anfield at Liverpool's inability to dictate terms to
inferior opposition.
No more. Liverpool no longer wait before imposing themselves and
it has given a team that was always the model of efficiency an
extra dimension.
The win at Manchester United, preceded by a
dismantling of Real Madrid, appears to have changed the
mindset of Liverpool's team, and dare we even suggest it, the
mindset of the notoriously stubborn and single-minded Benitez
himself.
Liverpool's unofficial motto, repeated by managers and players
down the years, was: "First is first and second is nowhere."
True enough, but
sometimes you have to acknowledge
progress even when there is no new silverware to place in the
trophy room. This must apply to Liverpool this season,
even if the smart money remains on them ending it empty-handed.
Benitez has an outstanding goalkeeper in Pepe Reina, a solid
defence and a balance in midfield between Javier Mascherano and
Xabi Alonso - absent injured yesterday - that allows Gerrard his
freedom to link with Torres in what has proved an irresistible
partnership.
He must, however, resist the temptation (if any remains) to
replace Alonso with Aston Villa's Gareth Barry in central midfield.
If Barry arrives, the left flank berth should be his first port of
call.
Liverpool need strengthening on the flanks and a new striker
must arrive to cover Torres, who has proved susceptible to a
worrying hamstring injury this season. If there is concern inside
Anfield that he will take himself off to the
Confederations Cup with
Spain once his interrupted season is over, then it is
perfectly understandable.
Benitez, never one to talk down his
own team, believes Liverpool are now United's closest rivals,
irrespective of this season's eventual outcome.
Chelsea may have something to say about that - Arsenal are
currently a very comfortable fourth in the so-called "Big Four" -
but you can see Benitez's reasoning.
And while this was not one of their better displays in recent
weeks, the manner in which a developing West Ham were brushed aside
with the minimum of fuss was another signpost to a successful
future for this Liverpool team.
For West Ham's part, the philosophy of manager Gianfranco Zola
is plain to see, and it is one that will meet with the full
approval of the purists of Upton Park's academy.
Zola will make West Ham pleasing on the eye but he will also try
to add that touch of the Italian defensive steel that he will have
been brought up on.
They were well beaten here, but it is
unfair to make harsh judgements on a team so affected by injuries
to key players.
Just like Liverpool, West Ham United are on the right track
although their eventual destinations may not neccesarily be the
same.
For Liverpool, the title remains a
hope - but even if they have to content themselves with
second place and a share of that record number of title wins with
United, there is genuine reason for optimism that they can make a
serious bid at setting that record straight next time out.