REVIEW OF A MANIC FINAL DAY AND THE HURT OF MISSING OUT

Yesterday marked the conclusion of the Premier League season as Liverpool once again missed out on the title by a single point. For a period, it felt like things were falling in place but a manic five and half minute spell at the Etihad ended the title dream.

Going into the game yesterday we all knew it’s been a successful season no matter the outcome. We also knew City were likelier to hit Villa for six than drop points. However, this knowledge doesn’t soften the blow even a little bit.

Maybe it’s the fact that we went through the full range of emotions including a huge dose of hope. The pre-game welcome of the team bus was passionate as always but the script was turned on its head when Wolves took a shock lead through Pedro Neto after just three minutes.

We trailed for twenty agonising minutes as Villa held firm against Manchester City. Mané’s equaliser transformed despair into hope. It was poignant that it was Sadio who pulled us level. There were similarities to the 2019/20 season where it felt at times like he dragged us kicking and screaming over the line.

For the next thirteen minutes or so, the scorelines at Anfield and Etihad remained level. Villa had resisted the initial wave of attack that Pep’s side inflict on teams. How often do they go 2-0 up inside 30 minutes and just cruise through the rest of the game?

Then came the first big twist in the Reds’ favour. Lucas Digne’s cross was nodded home by Matty Cash as Villa took a shock lead. Two fullbacks had combined to cut City open. Gerrard was exceeding what fate had asked of him.

As news of the goal filtered through to the Anfield crowd and indeed the players on the pitch, the Reds became more frantic. The need to score immediately took over and the game became too stretched, leading to Wolves finding joy on the break.

Alisson came to the rescue before halftime as he made yet another one on one stop to thwart Hwang. Halftime and a reset was needed. We had to stop playing like we were deep into stoppage time at the end of the game. Events at the Etihad had gotten everyone excited and nervous in equal measure.

The second half saw Milner come on for Thiago who had picked up an injury. With a Champions League final in six days, and a league title on the line at the time, it felt like rotten luck. Wolves continued to frustrate with their low block and Liverpool were struggling to take advantage of Villa’s exploits.

It didn’t help that a number of players looked below their usual levels, with Konaté, Robertson, Keita and Jota all frustrating. It also didn’t help that you could tired legs despite the manager ringing the changes in midweek. Diaz looked spent, as did Mané (even though he kept fighting).

Salah was brought on and when he failed to get a shot away after Keita had put him through on goal (owing to an excellent block by Boly), it felt like we were going to suffer the ignominy of failing to capitalise on City dropping points. A minute later, Coutinho put Villa 2-0 up with a classy strike.

The script we all thought was too good to be true was playing out. Once again, the news filtered through to the Anfield crowd and they went crazy. We needed a goal badly, and in that moment it felt like we were one goal away from clinching number 20.

The improbable was happening and it felt like another one of those Liverpool specials where they stare in the face of adversity before triumphing in the end. With it being Origi’s farewell at Anfield, it had one last Origi winner written all over it. Only, he wasn’t even on the bench having been ruled out with a muscle injury.

A title that had not been in our hands since we drew at Etihad had suddenly gone from being willed to us by the gods to slipping away with every tick of the clock. Wolves kept creating chances on the break and Alisson was a one man wall at times. A goal for them would have crushed every single Red soul.

That would have been an even more cruel way to lose the title. As it turned out, City had completed a stunning comeback to score three times in a little over five minutes. A minute after Gundogan had put them in front, Salah scored. His passionate celebration was almost sad to see.

He had no idea Villa had capitulated. He thought he had done it. After a whole lot of talk on his form post-AFCON, he had come off the bench to win us the league, or so he thought. When the fans told him the score in the other match his change in demeanour was heartbreaking.

Robertson added to the scoreline but it didn’t matter in the end. I can’t help but wonder how different things might have been had we scored before City scored their first. It would have spread even more nerves around the Etihad and who knows how that might have affected the players.

We will never know though, and it is another 90+ point season that has been in vain. After the heartbreak of 97 points in 2018/19, surely it was our time to return the favour? That it wasn’t to be is hard to take. Jürgen Klopp oversaw 16 wins, 3 draws and 0 defeats in the second half of the season.

There’s not much else he or the players could have done. They gave it their all. That’s all we can ever ask of them. It was a sad day yesterday but now we have to use the pain as fuel for the Champions League final. We did it in 2019 and we can do it again.

Nothing will soothe wounds better than partying in Paris with number seven. The signs of fatigue and the loss of form of certain individuals, not to mention the injury to Thiago is a cause for concern though. We’ve fallen behind in five of our last six matches in all competitions.

It is a worrying trend as the 62 matches this squad has played this season takes its toll. The lads have been getting through games through sheer grit. That has seen a number of comeback victories recently. Hopefully they can rouse themselves for one final push, one final effort, one final victory. Up the Reds.