Photo: Reuters

There was a moment, after Michail Antonio had pulled one back for West Ham just before the hour mark to make it 3-1, when you could have been forgiven for thinking Liverpool were on the brink of yet another preposterous, mind-melting collapse—the sort that, under Jurgen Klopp’s mostly brilliant reign, has too often marred what should have been a glorious victory for the Reds and their legions of followers.
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Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have had a tendency to start games slowly at times. Unlike his predecessor’s sides—which at their very best would attack the opposition from the opening kick with a furious, face-melting tenacity—Klopp’s teams have often lacked such intensity, instead needing to settle into games before eventually bringing the noise. Usually, the noise arrives; other times, especially against inferior opposition, Liverpool will find themselves struggling against a deep-lying, tight-packed defense for their opening breakthrough. While that breakthrough does indeed arise more often than not, one doesn’t have to look back far to see instances in which it doesn’t, with the Reds forced to make do with a shared point—or worse. Continue reading →