Liverpool are currently going strong. Sitting in the first position on the Premier League table with an eight-point lead above rival, Manchester City. It’s been an impressive run for Jurgen Klopp and the club as they continued it over the weekend with a late 2-1 win against Aston Villa.
Liverpool had gone into the game with enthusiasm as usual but Aston Villa had mounted the necessary pressure on them in the 21st minute, Trezeguet scoring the first goal to put Aston Villa in the lead. The match had then became a tug of war as Liverpool couldn’t allow the loss. A foul from Sadio Mane in the 37th minute had earned Liverpool the only booking in the first half as the match went on to end in 1-0 in the first half break.
Liverpool came back into the second half with their fighting spirit, as usual, looking to level the game but did not find a breakthrough till the 87th minute when Andy Robertson found the back of the net, getting an equalizer for Liverpool.
We all would have thought the match would end in a 1-1 draw until Sadio Mane netted a late finish in the 90th minute, putting Liverpool back in the lead and winning the game for the Reds.
Through all of these, one thing is obvious which is that Liverpool has that fight to get a win even at the last minute. Needless to say, this is not their first last-gasp victory in the last couple of weeks. A die minute goal helped them secure a Carabao Cup victory against Arsenal and now against Aston Villa.
During the post-match interview against Aston Villa as seen on Mirror UK, the team’s midfielder and playmaker, Adam Lallana had spoken about his side’s victory, expressing how he feels with the late win.
“We keep getting late goals. Another two today and one in midweek.
“Then there was my goal at Manchester United a couple of weeks ago. The resilience and character is there in abundance.
“It’s almost like a sixth sense. We knew at half-time that if we could get one goal it could lead to another.
“We got it late but we still had time and, with the deliveries and set-pieces we’ve got in our team, we use it to our advantage. It’s such a weapon.
“Teams worry when it’s late. Even though we weren’t at our best in the first half, we were saved by that never-say-die approach.
“Two goals in the last five minutes. We’ve just got that momentum. We’re just on that path at the minute.”
That aside, Liverpool might be facing challenges during the week as they face Belgian side, Genk in the second leg of their Champions League clash fixed for Tuesday. Jurgen Klopp might be forced to rotate his squad to give room for some changes to take effect.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Divock Origi have both been in impressive form for Liverpool in their past appearances. Naby Keita also isn’t out of it and with that, we could be seeing a 4-2-3-1 formation. With that in mind, let’s take a look into some changes Jurgen Klopp might be making to his squad.
In the defence
The likely combination in the defence is Dejan Lovren paired with Virgil van Dijk as they played against Aston Villa. Another option we might see in play is Joe Gomez. This might be the right opportunity for the Englishman.
It is also very possible for Jurgen Klopp to rest one of his full-backs ahead of Sunday’s Premier League visit against Manchester City seeing as it’s a big game for both sides.
The powerhouse
One change that is almost certain is the recall of Fabinho to midfield after the Brazilian was benched against Villa so to avoid a booking that would rule him out of the City game.
There could also be scope for a complete overhaul of the engine room, with it being a big ask for Adam Lallana to start three games inside a week.
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita are both vying for a start having featured in the same midfield in Genk a fortnight earlier.
Milner, too, is another option for Klopp to consider in midfield.
Conclusion
Jurgen Klopp has a big decision ahead of him to make and it is going to be tough for him but easy or not, it’s a decision he will need to take and the result of it will affect things on a big scale.
