Some draws feel like a win, others a loss. This one feels like a loss. Liverpool were moments away from going Top-4 on the table, but Richarlison broke Liverpool's hearts with a 90th-minute strike that kept the Reds out of the Top-4 with a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Here are some of the Top Takeaways from a disappointing day at Anfield.
Liverpool Lacked That Killer Instinct
For years, Anfield has been seen as an impregnable fortress. When teams went down by a goal, it was almost impossible for them to get a result. Not this year. The Reds have now dropped 15 points in the 80th minute or later, and the result snaps a five-match winning streak versus the Spurs.
The Reds had plenty of chances to put the game away, even in the first half, but they hit the post and had several other near misses. You got the feeling as the match went along that disaster would strike, and if it had not been for Allison's Big saves versus Richarloson, the goal would have come sooner.
Liverpool never really looked comfortable in the game despite dominating possession. You could feel the supporters at Anfield getting more and more nervous, as if they were almost expecting another late goal to ruin a result, and then it happened again.
A Look On The Bright Side
The point does bump Liverpool up to 5th place on the table, ahead of Chelsea, and the EPL is a virtual lock to receive a 5th Champions League bid for 2026. So if the season ended today, Liverpool would be a UCL qualifier. I know that there will be a lot of hand-wringing and finger-pointing, but moving up a spot on the table is not insignificant.
Szboszlai Does It Again
Dominik Szoboszlai has scored four direct free-kick goals in the Premier League this season, the most ever by a Liverpool player in a single campaign in the competition, with only David Beckham in 2000-01 and Laurent Robert in 2001-02 (both 5) netting more. Even with the goal, though, Szoboszlai admits he is disappointed with the result.
"I think in the first half we played very well. We controlled the whole game, I guess they hardly created any chance, maybe they had one or two headers.
"But I think we were under control. But second half, it seems we go out, and I don't know, we just don't do the same things like in the first half. The question is, why?
But probably we'll sit down together, and this is the most difficult time, but we have to stick together."
“Yeah, it is [a huge disappointment],” Szoboszlai continued.. “I don’t know [what happened with the performance], to be honest, really nothing to say.
“Again in the last minute, I don’t know how many times it happened in the season already. Really, I don’t know what to say. We have to wake up.”
LFC Globe Verdict
Well, that didn’t go as planned. Liverpool were moments away from the Top 4 and then a late goal again. But there are also a lot of positives, including the strong play of Rio Ngumoha and the brilliance of Mo Salah off the bench. I think this shows that the Egyptian King might be better used as a Super Sub in future.
Have Your Say
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Are you focusing on the fact that the Reds moved up a spot on the table or the fact that they dropped two points? Sound off below.