And it was all going so well. A little over a week ago, Liverpool were the favorites to win the Premier League and the Europa League. Today, they’re relative longshots to win either one — let alone both of them.
What happened?
They pressed aggressively, which created plenty of opportunities for opponents to break the press. They allowed a lot of opposition touches in the penalty area, which created plenty of opportunities for opponents to generate chances. And they allowed a decent number of opposition chances, which created plenty of opportunities for opponents to score goals. But Liverpool were so effective at every level -- snuffing out counter-attacking opportunities with the press, controlling the counter-attacks that reached the penalty area with great defending, and saving the counter-attacks that turned into shots with great goalkeeping -- that despite having less control of matches than their rivals, they were still conceding goals at the same rate.
That is, until last Sunday.
I was also on ESPN FC Live today to discuss the title race, which — despite the article I just wrote — is not over by any means:
Happy Tuesday, all.
Hi Ryan, first I forgive you, sometimes day drinking just happens to us all, especially when beautiful days start showing up. Second, there was no way a few weeks ago Liverpool were favorites to win the champions league, not because they’re not a great team helmed by one of the best coaches ever, but because they aren’t in this years champions league. 😉
Europa League, not Champions League. Thursday night lights this year. 🫠