"This does not slip,” Steven Gerrard told his Liverpool teammates on the afternoon he felt as close as he ever would to lifting a league title with the club that defined his career.
It was the spring of 2014. His leadership qualities were at their peak. A television microphone picked up his urgent words – “this does not slip” – in the celebratory huddle after a tough 3-2 victory over Manchester City had kept Liverpool before City in the title race.
That season, Liverpool ended up second, their momentum broken by a defeat to Chelsea. City won the Premier League, and would go on to wait several years into the post-Gerrard era at Anfield before Liverpool again became the chief obstacle to their accumulation of more and more titles.
The next one looks imminent, with City leading the table by three points with three fixtures left, and although Gerrard would never say so, Liverpool’s challenge for the 2021-22 Premier League may have just slipped a little too far. They dropped points at home for the first time in 13 matches on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur.
Gerrard is in the unfamiliar position, for him, of hoping Liverpool drop more points on Tuesday, just before the six-month anniversary of his appointment as manager of Aston Villa, who host Jurgen Klopp’s side. Safe to report this will have been one of the more reflective weeks of Gerrard’s so far successful first adventure as a manager in English football.
Last Thursday, he saw the club he left for Villa achieve a hugely significant milestone. Glasgow Rangers, guided by Gerrard to last season’s Scottish league title, reached the Europa League final under his successor, Gio Van Bronckhorst. On Tuesday, Gerrard will be plotting to thwart, as opposition coach, the club he played for more than 700 times – the Liverpool he is expected one day to manage.
“My possible successor?,” Klopp was prompted to wonder on Monday as he discussed Gerrard’s Villa. “Of course, I think it's possible. It's not my decision to make.”
A more immediate possibility is that Gerrard plays kingmaker in the Premier League title race within the next two weeks. Liverpool visit this evening; the last Villa fixture of the season is at Manchester City, whose manager, Pep Guardiola, also drew a comment from Klopp, reacting to the Spaniard’s statement at the weekend that “everyone in the country supports Liverpool, media and everyone”.
“Maybe he knows more than me,” Klopp smiled, attributing Guardiola’s remark to edginess after City’s dramatic exit from the Champions league at Real Madrid last week. “That,” said Klopp, “was obviously difficult to take.”
Klopp’s chief concern is lifting his own players. He reported that they felt “more disappointed than I do” after the draw with Spurs. Liverpool came back from a goal down, had faced a resolute Tottenham, and the Liverpool manager felt he needed to emphasise the positive aspects of a second recovery from deficit in the space of five days. In the away leg of their Champions League semi-final against Villarreal, Liverpool had trailed 2-0 at half time before winning 3-2.
Liverpool 1 Tottenham 1: player ratings
-
LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 6. The Brazilian had very little to do. His defenders left him exposed for Tottenham’s goal. Getty -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 5. The 23-year-old had plenty of possession in dangerous areas but his crossing was too often overhit. He had switched flanks before the Spurs goal and might have got closer to Kane in the build up. PA -
Ibrahima Konate - 6. The Frenchman did well in the air and kept things straightforward on the ground. He was pulled out of position by Kane for the goal. EPA -
Virgil van Dijk - 6. The Dutchman should have followed Kane deeper while the ball was in the air before Tottenham’s goal. He hit the top of the bar with a header from a corner. Getty -
Andrew Robertson - 5. The Scot was in the right back position when Spurs scored and tracked and lost Son. His crossing was ineffective and Tsimikas replaced him in the 64th minute. AP -
Fabinho - 6. The Brazilian was in charge in midfield in the first half but was less effective when Tottenham bypassed him after the break. Withdrawn for Keita with 12 minutes to go. AP -
Thiago Alcantara - 6. The 31-year-old did enough of his trademark stylish passing to catch the eye but rarely looked like unlocking the defence. The killer ball did not happen. AFP -
Jordan Henderson - 6. The captain pressed hard and made himself available for the ball but contributed little going forward. He made way for Jota after 55 minutes. Reuters -
Sadio Mane - 6. The Senegalese chased down ballcarriers and led the press but found it hard to open up the defence. Reuters -
Mohamed Salah - 6. The Egyptian had a frustrating night as Spurs doubled up on him. Davies got in the way of his best effort on goal. EPA -
Luis Diaz - 7. The Colombian was his side’s best attacker. He worried Lloris with a first-half shot and scored the equaliser with a deflected effort. AFP -
SUBS: Kostas Tsimikas (Robertson 64') - 5. His distribution and crossing were disappointing. Reuters -
Diogo Jota (Henderson 65') - 4. The Portuguese never really got going and hardly threatened. Getty -
Naby Keita (Fabinho 78') - 5. The Guinean was unable to change the course of the game. AP -
TOTTENHAM PLAYER RATINGS: Hugo Lloris – 7. The Frenchman made two good saves in the first half but had less work than he might have expected. He could do nothing about Liverpool’s deflected goal. AFP -
Cristian Romero - 7. The Argentine was impressive in the air. His blocks and tackles killed off plenty of danger in an aggressive display. AP -
Eric Dier - 8. The 28-year-old gave a commanding performance at the centre of the defence. He led the way in keeping the opposition at bay. EPA -
Ben Davies - 8. The Welshman’s flying interception of Salah’s shot was the highlight of a fine effort. He put his body on the line to protect the goal. Getty -
Emerson Royal - 7. The Brazilian had his hands full against Diaz but held his own. He started the move that led to Tottenham’s goal. EPA -
Rodrigo Bentancur - 6. The Uruguayan was outmatched in the first half but was better after the break. He was unfortunate to deflect Diaz’s shot into the net. AP -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 7. The Dane hit the post before half time but should have done better with a free header in the box in the second period, when he tried to pick out Kane rather than going for goal. AP -
Ryan Sessegnon - 7. The 21-year-old had a difficult start but got better. He found space in the Liverpool area and picked out Son for the opening goal. Sanchez replaced him with 12 minutes to go. AFP -
Dejan Kulusevski - 6. The Swede looked to break quickly and showed some nice touches but needed more end product. He faded and made way for Winks with five minutes left. Getty -
Harry Kane - 7. The 28-year-old dragged the defence all over the place in the lead up to his side’s goal. He was not at his goalscoring best but he played an important role for his side. PA -
Son Heung-min - 7. The South Korean was a constant worry for Liverpool with his movement. He was unmarked when he scored. Bergwijn came on for him in stoppage time. AFP -
SUBS: Davinson Sanchez (Sessegnon 78') - N/A. The Colombian helped secure the point for Tottenham. Reuters -
Harry Winks (Kulusevski 85') - 6. The 26-year-old provided a cross for Hojbjerg that should have led to a goal. PA -
Steven Bergwijn (Son 90'+1) - N/A. The Dutchman worked hard during his limited moments on the pitch. AP
Were those setbacks the symptoms of a slip in what has been a breathtaking run of form since the turn of the year? “It's not possible to be perfect due to the part of the season we are in now,” said Klopp. “We have to keep going.” He still sees the upsides in many aspects of how Liverpool are playing, not least the high energy – “the counterpress is unbelievable, I’m so proud of that” – despite a fatiguing schedule.
Liverpool are still potentially in reach of an unprecedented clean sweep of trophies, with the League Cup won, an FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday, and a Champions League final meeting with Real Madrid two weeks later.
“Why should we stop believing?” asks Klopp. “We both have three games to play. My concern is: How can we win our games? We shouldn't add on points before games are played.”
Gerrard would vouch for that. There were three games to play in 2013-2014 when a title-chasing, top-of-the-table Liverpool team welcomed Chelsea to Anfield. A slip and stumble by the captain allowed Demba Ba to break away and score, the first of two unanswered Chelsea goals. Points were dropped in the next game, too, leaving Gerrard heart-broken.
