(This entry was originally published on Thursday, March 19th, 2009)
After defeating Real Madrid twice in Champions league and Manchester United 4-1 in premier league this week, Liverpool seems to have been in a sparkling form. With the emphatic victory over defending champion Manchester United, Liverpool has revitalized their hopes of winning first premier league title in 19 years. Winning a premier league title has become a long-standing demand among the Liverpool fans. Liverpool has been pretty much successful in Europe over the last few seasons, but their inconsistent form in domestic league has become a big source of irritation for their fans.
Despite the recent success over Manchester United, Liverpool still have to go a long way to catch Manchester United as they still hold a 4-point lead atop the league table with a match in hand. Now, the question is if Rafael Benitez boys can continue the momentum in the coming months and win the premier league title this season. I must say that Liverpool has a very balanced squad and they can make a stiff competition with Manchester United in the league.
Liverpool has an inspirational captain in Steven Gerrard who can influence the game at any point and has the ability to turn the situation single-handedly in their favor. Fernando Torres also has a great influence in Liverpool and given his excellent scoring form in evidence, I think, Torres must be at his top if Liverpool is to win the title in premier league this season. Most importantly, the Gerrard-Torres combination has clicked for Liverpool and if they can play at their prime, then I think, Liverpool has a very good chance of winning the league title. Liverpool has some other influential players like Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Dirk Kuyt who would also have to play a big role.
Another thing that I rank highly is the recent contract extension of manager Rafael Benitez. The rumor over his contract extension was considered to be a complete distraction for the team over the last few weeks. Now that, he has signed on a new five-year contract, Liverpool players have no other internal issue which could distract their focus. So, this is considered to be a positive sign for Liverpool in the ongoing phase of the season. To be honest, Liverpool’s title hope largely depends on the performance of Manchester United because they still has a considerable lead atop the league table, but the Liverpool fans can now expect that Manchester United would continue their recent dismal show in the coming matches too.
No comments:
Post a Comment