Liverpool preserved their unbeaten status at Anfield with an impressive 1-0 win over title favourites Manchester City and the Reds are quoted at 2/1 by bet365 to go another full season without losing a Premier League game on their own turf.
Erling Haaland and his pals were expected by many to turn up and roll Liverpool over with the minimum of fuss and return to Manchester with all three points.
What some didn’t take into consideration was Liverpool’s incredible record at Anfield.
The Reds may have lost six games on the bounce behind closed doors during COVID-19, but they haven’t lost in front of their home crowd since April 2017.
Throw into the mix Virgil van Dijk’s record of never losing a top-flight game in 69 appearances at Anfield, as well as the cauldron atmosphere, and you have a formidable defence to breach in more ways than one.
While Liverpool fans – like those of most big clubs – receive their share of digs over the atmosphere created, nobody could question the noise levels on Sunday evening, and the fans certainly played their part in creating one of the games of the season.
But it has been anything but classic Liverpool so far this season, shipping goals left, right and centre and seeing their title challenge as good as extinguished in the first two months of the season.
Despite their struggles, Liverpool have kept their unbeaten record at home intact. They have experienced scares, against Crystal Palace when 1-0 down and reduced to 10 men after Darwin Nunez’s brainless red card, and against Brighton when 2-0 down in the first half.
There have been things out of their control, however, such as dealing with a number of injuries, and while Luis Diaz has made an admirable replacement, the absence of Sadio Mane has at times been glaring, and Nunez hasn’t had the impact Liverpool fans had hoped.
But with City out of the way, it’s unlikely the Reds will go off underdogs for any of their remaining 14 home games.
The Kop will be hoping that the World Cup can provide some respite for Jurgen Klopp and his side, and that the longer Nunez gets under the German, the better he – and they – will look.
And while he had the fewest touches of any of the starting 22 on Sunday, Salah cut a vindicated figure after giving Liverpool the lead; a reminder to his doubters that he’s still got it.
While his hat-trick against Rangers no doubt gave him a lift, ending his five-game Premier League drought – after being denied by Ederson earlier – will have been a major confidence boost.
With Salah showing signs of finding some form and some key players returning to fitness, the Reds are going to be a tough nut to crack at home.
