Klopp progress becomes clear
With more than half of the season to play, this was never going to be an evening to determine the destiny of the Premier League title.
Instead, this was more an opportunity for this latest Jurgen Klopp side – Liverpool 2.0, Liverpool FC Reloaded, call it what you will – to judge their progress since the tactical tweak that was first introduced for last April’s visit of Arsenal.
And that the Reds will have departed Anfield with a sense of regret despite extending their subsequent run to just one defeat in 29 league matches is perhaps the greatest indicator they are firmly on the right track.
Once the disappointment at not beating Arsenal to claim the Christmas number one spot dissipates, Klopp will surely urge his players to embrace the positives.
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Yes, a slow start to the game – which allowed Gabriel to head the Gunners into an early lead and effectively gifted the visitors the initiative – indicates just why Liverpool understandably remain a work in progress. But that a side still missing a number of key players were within the width of the woodwork from beating a full-strength Londoners should inject more self-belief and confidence into Klopp’s squad.
It was apt that Trent Alexander-Arnold, the player who has benefited most from the change in Liverpool approach, was integral in the equaliser, his searching long pass teasing Oleksandr Zinchenko into thinking he’d seen off Mohamed Salah until the Egyptian claimed the ball, cut inside and thrashed beyond David Raya. However, the right-back should have sealed
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