Scott Groom explains why Brighton represent the type of test that Liverpool will need to pass consistently this season in order to win the Premier League.
There’s been plenty of talk this season from fans, press and pundits outlining Liverpool as contenders for the Premier League title this season, despite only two games being played of the campaign so far.
Many are tipping Jürgen Klopp’s men to be the ones to test Manchester City’s resolve and nerve and point out very readily Liverpool’s stunning record against The Citizens as proof that they are capable of going toe-to-toe with Guardiola’s side.
Klopp’s record against the ‘bigger teams’ since taking charge at Anfield in 2015 is solid and he has not been found wanting tactically against them too many times at all – but against the so-called smaller sides, the mid-table dwellers, the Reds have sometimes been caught cold.
Liverpool come up against another of those sides on Saturday as Chris Hughton’s Brighton side travel to Merseyside on the back of an impressive victory of Manchester United.
Although last season Liverpool managed to notch nine goals against The Seagulls, nobody is expecting this weekend’s fixture to be a walkover – especially considering their last result against United.
And it is with trepidation that I as a Liverpool fan still approach games like this, as not so much last season, but in those before it, Liverpool have been known to struggle against ‘smaller teams’.
Teams like Burnley, Swansea, Watford, Hull and Everton have proved incredibly resolute and frustrating in the last few seasons, and have prevented Liverpool from breaking them down in the way that we are so accustomed to seeing the Reds do.
Deep-lying midfield and defensive lines of four with well-regimented tactics and an 18-yard box under tighter security than Fort Knox have prevented Liverpool’s master locksmiths from breaking their way through and as a result, made for difficult, irritating viewing for Kopites the world over.
While Liverpool toiled every so often against these teams, their rivals and in particular the eventual champions Manchester City and Chelsea in the last couple seasons simply brushed these teams aside – or found a way to win even when they weren’t at their best.
While last season provided an array of evidence that Klopp had found a way around this particular dilemma, it is still something that niggles away at the back of my mind.
What if it happens again this season? A draw against Brighton here, silly defeat to Wolves there, controversial last-minute equaliser conceded against Southampton there – all of those little points quickly add up into a gap, then a gap becomes a void and before you know it, dreams of a title are over for another year.
So it is in these games that Liverpool need to continue to raise their game like they do for the games against City, United, Spurs and Chelsea when results don’t seem to be as difficult to achieve.
Perhaps the game at Selhurst Park, where Liverpool left with a clean sheet, two goals and three points was an early indication that they can now be resolute and stern at the back while doing just enough to be clinical and incisive at the other end when it matters to get their noses over the line.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the Reds win six or seven games against tricky sides like the Eagles this season. At the end of the day, a win is a win. These are the games that matter, that really make a difference in May and deciding how the table looks at the end of the season.
They’re tough, they’re tricky, they’re frustrating, but Klopp must keep finding ways to win these games if his team are to live up to the hype of being City’s biggest threat this season.
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