Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, coupled with their rivals’ struggles, has got fans believing that a special season could be happening.
Arne Slot now has 14 victories in 16 matches since taking charge at Anfield, with the Dutchman making an enormous impression.
Following a quiet first half against Leverkusen on Tuesday, Liverpool were unplayable after the break, making the whole of Europe sit up and take notice.
Here, This Is Anfield duo Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87) and Sam Millne (@sam_millne) discuss the good and bad of a thrilling night, and discuss whether something memorable is on the cards this season.
The good…
HENRY: Good lord, that was impressive!
I’ll be honest, I was half-asleep at times in the first half – that’s not ideal when you’re live-blogging! – but it was outrageous from 1-0 onwards.
Anfield once again came alive and inspired the team, just like last Saturday, and the football on show was a joy to watch.
I’ve been critical of Diaz’s numbers in the past, but you can’t argue with them this season and he was great all evening.
Salah’s cross to Gakpo with his weak foot was so good, too, and the general technical quality and ferocity off the ball stunned the life out of Leverkusen.
Liverpool are the best team in Europe right now, yet there are more gears still to find!
SAM: Liverpool are top of every league and cruising to wins against some of Europe’s top sides – what’s not to love?
Diaz’s performance through the middle has to be one of the main positives to take away from the night.
Having swayed towards the left at times in the first half, Diaz grew into his central role and showed the qualities of a No. 9 for his run and finish to open the scoring.
With Chiesa and Jota out, utilising Diaz’s versatility could be key to keeping Salah and Nunez fresh during Liverpool’s busy December schedule.
The bad…
HENRY: This wasn’t a night to be negative, but that opening 45 minutes was a snore-fest.
Some tight, tactical affairs can be interesting, but that was plain dull, not that Liverpool necessarily played badly.
I thought Trent had an odd night in possession, but every time he does something wrong I must stop telling myself it’s because he’s decided he’s off to Madrid!
Mac Allister is still a long way from his best, but he was better than he was against Brighton.
The fireworks outside Anfield did my head in, too!
SAM: Unlike Henry, I enjoyed the fireworks and found it amusing to see a German’s reaction outside the Flat Iron after trying to explain the root of Bonfire Night.
In terms of negatives from the night, you would have to be a fierce critic to delve much deeper than to say Mac Allister was anything worse than fine.
The Argentine definitely isn’t hitting the heights of last season, but that isn’t to say he is playing poorly for Liverpool.
By the standards of most other midfielders, he is having a decent season – it’s just that we know how much better he can play!
Was this the night we started to dream big?
HENRY: For me personally, this felt like a big moment in Slot’s reign, and the season in general.
I haven’t always been convinced by some of our performances this season, and have felt as though our record is slightly deceiving.
The manner in which we thumped a team who hadn’t lose away in any competition in 18 months was staggering, though, and I think we can win the lot!
You can feel the momentum growing with each game, and Man City and Arsenal both looking a bit of a mess is only helping matters.
I’m a natural pessimist, so I’m now terrified that my optimism here will lead to dropped points against Villa on Saturday.
If we win that and Man City, and Arsenal fail to beat Brighton and Chelsea away, I will really start to dream.
SAM: It feels slightly strange to say as it has been a couple of years, but Liverpool are the best team in Europe right now!
The Reds are taking everything in their stride and kept the almost-invincible treble-winners, Leverkusen, at arm’s length for 90 minutes, Kelleher only really being called into action once the result was decided.
Given the apparent ease with which Liverpool are dispatching of their opposition at the moment, combined with the stuttering form of their rivals, it would take a colourless character not to be dreaming of silverware in May.
Those dreams might not be being verbalised by everyone yet, but they certainly are beginning to filter into the thoughts of the Anfield collective.
