Liverpool look for consistent end to season
To secure Champions League football next season, Saturday’s match-winners Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum know it’s a pattern Jurgen Klopp’s men must buck.
With only Manchester City left to play of their top-six rivals, there will be a greater expectation for Jurgen Klopp’s side to hold onto the top-four spot they have now regained.
However, all five of the Reds’ Premier League defeats this season have come against sides in the bottom half of the table, and six of their remaining matches against teams in similar positions.
Wijnaldum has wrestled with the dichotomy, highlighted in the 3-1 win over Arsenal five days after a shocking performance in the 3-1 defeat at Leicester.
“Is it about pressure? You have more pressure in the bigger games than the smaller ones and we deliver in the bigger games,” said Wijnaldum.
“We have to make sure at the end of the season we are there (in the top four). We have to have a good run and be confident we can finish in one of the spots but if we are going to do it like we did before, playing well and then playing bad again, then it is going to be tough for us to come in the top four.
“You can’t afford to lose games. It is always possible that you will not win but it is the way you play the game. You must play with the same intention: to win the game and give everything you have.”
Mane admitted they cannot afford any more inconsistency. “We have 11 games so we will try to concentrate on them all,” said the Senegal international.
“It was very important for us to win this game because last Monday’s game was disappointing.
“For us it will be very important to be consistent now if we are to go up another level. We have to work hard.”
Klopp believes such lurges in performance are part of a development process that looks so promising on evenings like Saturday.
“I’ve said a few times now, I don’t like the fact that inconsistency is part of the deal in development,” Klopp said.
“Usually you win games and you lose against the big teams because at the beginning, when they are at a higher level, they are smarter and more experienced and you lose the games.
“We’ve chosen another way but it’s still part of the deal and we know that we have to keep on going — and we will.”
Much of the blame for Arsenal’s defeat and appalling first-half performance was laid at manager Arsene Wenger’s door after he chose to drop 20-goal top scorer Alexis Sanchez.
The Chile international did not appear until the start of the second half — by which time the Gunners were 2-0 down to goals from Roberto Firmino and Mane.
Sanchez provided the assist for Danny Welbeck to pull one back but despite an improved performance, Wijnaldum clinched the result for Liverpool in added time.
Wenger admitted the switch backfired. “Yes, but I felt that in the first half the strikers suffered because we didn’t dominant in the midfield and in the second half you could see that it was easier because Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud were much better, so it’s always debatable.”
“The thinking was that we had to go more direct and I wanted to play two players who were strong in the air and after that to bring on Alexis Sanchez in the second half.
“We did go direct in the first half. We didn’t create any chances and we didn’t make enough of our corners.
“The collective performance was not good enough in the first half and that is the more rational explanation.
Defender Hector Bellerin admitted Arsenal had greater problems than the absence of the Chile international.
“We’re very frustrated with how the game went. After the tough weeks we’ve had the team should have gone onto the pitch, motivated and ready from the start. In the first half it didn’t feel like we were ready and then we went 2-0 down. We got one goal back and had a chance to make it 2-2 but sometimes it’s too late.
“We need to realise that it’s just not the way to go. We need to push harder, to start the games with a better attitude, and just go for it because we showed that when we go for it and want something we can do it.
“It doesn’t matter about the other team, when we have the ball and push hard, we can score goals. It’s up to us to start the games with that desire, that motivation, and then we can get good results.”
Mignolet, Clyne, Matip, Klavan, Milner, Wijnaldum, Can, Lallana (Lucas 90), Mane (Alexander-Arnold 90), Firmino, Coutinho (Origi 80).
Karius, Lovren, Moreno, Woodburn. Booked: Can. Goals:
Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin (Sanchez 46), Xhaka, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi, Welbeck (Walcott 74), Giroud (Perez 74).
Gibbs, Gabriel, Ramsey, Ospina.
Robert Madley
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
