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Jurgen Klopp's men could have opened a seven-point lead with a victory over Leicester City at Anfield, but finally had the chance to win a 1-1 draw.
If we are in January, can you imagine how Anfield will be in April and May?
Sloppy in the snow, the charge of Liverpool's Premier League title has suffered here. Rarely a five-point lead at the top of the table seemed disappointing.
It's not disappointing, of course, but after Manchester City's crash in Newcastle on Tuesday, it was the hottest ticket in the city. The door was open for Jurgen Klopp's men to enjoy it. A margin of seven points expected.
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For the first time this season, they have eaten their lines. For the first time this season, they lost points against a team that they would have hoped to win.
Leicester City had already defeated City and Chelsea since the start of the season, and Claude Puel's counterattacks can add another remarkable result to their collection. Indeed, if the visitors had shown a little more quality in the last third, they would have taken the three points.
As for Liverpool, they have to think about a missed opportunity, a night when the weather was bad and their performance worse. Nervous, slow and useless, it was an exhibition that belonged to another era. Klopp hopes that his side will not live like this.
"We take what we get," Klopp said. "And tonight it's a point, it's more than we had before the game and that's good, am I too happy, no, because we wanted to win the game, of course."
Everything seemed so rosy for the Reds when Sadio Mane sent them back after just two minutes, but as was the case for City the night before, they were unable to turn a quick start into a comfortable night.
On a ground slowed by the snow, the game has invaded their game. De Alisson on goal to Mohamed Salah ahead, Liverpool just did not find the foot. The equalization of Harry Maguire, looted at half-time, was almost inevitable.
"Snow is not a problem, it's when it stays on the ground and it was," said Klopp. "The ball has not really rolled, and when you have the ball for 70 to 80 percent of the time, it makes life really uncomfortable."
Anfield had expected a procession, but that was a test. Leicester had a chance to win after the break, while Liverpool failed to spark the kind of finals we expected.
"To overthrow a defending party like Leicester did tonight, we must accelerate, we must accelerate in decisive areas," admitted Klopp. "Sometimes we did not do it, I did not know exactly why, and sometimes we could not do it."
As a result, Kasper Schmeichel was underutilized, even though the local team has the right to ask why the referee Martin Atkinson has not awarded a penalty when Ricardo Pereira hit Naby Keita in the penalty area . "I do not know what he was thinking at the moment," Klopp said. "You have to ask him."
Welcome to a title race, we might say. Liverpool has been close to perfection in the league so far, but exceptional levels are hard to maintain.
City, released after his aberration on Tyneside, can increase pressure by beating Arsenal before Klopp takes his team to West Ham on Monday night.
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Liverpool will have at least James Milner back for that one, and maybe Trent Alexander-Arnold. Jordan Henderson did a great job from behind, but his team lacked control and presence in the middle of the field and was disrupted by Demarai Gray and Co. at the break, especially in the second half. The captain, and surely Fabinho too, will take his natural positions in London.
The result, of course, is that, as disappointing as it may seem, Liverpool has further extended its advantage in the title race. They drew and City lost. They still hold all the cards, though recent games suggest that we are in the afternoons and even more nervous parties by May.
In the end, the Kop sang 'Liverpool, Liverpool' in an act of support and challenge. Their team is still in charge, but it could have been so much better.
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