Liverpool had been unbeaten in their last 29 Premier League matches at Anfield before their disappointing 2022/23 season hit a new, miserable low courtesy of a last-minute defeat to struggling Leeds United on Saturday.
When you consider it was also actually their first Premier League defeat in front of their own fans since April 23, 2017 when Christian Benteke came back to haunt his former employers by netting a brace for Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace, then the feeling of leaving Anfield after suffering a loss feels even worse. It might be rare on this occasion, but you fear it might not be in the weeks and months ahead if recent evidence is anything to go by.
Suffering a second defeat to a team in the relegation places, at kick-off at least, in the space of a week, it was an unexpected and unwanted setback after Jurgen Klopp ’s side had seemingly bounced back from their defeat to Nottingham Forest by winning away in Ajax in midweek.
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Remaining ninth in the table, with just 16 points from their opening 12 games, their fellow 'big six' clubs occupy the Premier League's top six along with the richest club in the world in Newcastle United. Meanwhile, Liverpool sit three points off seventh-placed Fulham, five points off sixth-placed Chelsea, seven points behind fifth-placed Manchester United, eight points behind Newcastle and the top four, and then 15 points off the pace of league-leaders Arsenal.
No wonder Klopp has admitted his side face an uphill battle to even finish in the top four this season following their latest loss. “Yes (I’m worried). That’s actually not my main worry at the moment as I have a lot of other worries,” he told reporters on Saturday. “But, of course, I’m not that dumb that I don’t know about distances and who is up there.
“You cannot qualify for the Champions League if you play as inconsistent as we do at the moment. We have to fix that. Then we will see where we end up. We all know that a lot of things are possible, but for that we have to win football games which we haven’t done that often.”
The last time Liverpool had lost at home in the league came back in March 2021 when Mario Lemina's strike on the stroke of half-time earned Fulham, who would be relegated come the end of the season, a shock 1-0 victory at Anfield. It was no surprise at the time considering the Reds were again in a wretched run of form during an injury-plagued season. Doesn’t that sound familiar.
The defeat to the Cottagers was their sixth loss from their previous eight games and a ninth from their 15 matches in 2021. Meanwhile, it was also their sixth-successive loss at a behind-closed-doors Anfield, during which they scored just one penalty, with that run extending to eight winless games.
Then reigning champions, they had also lost to fourth-placed Chelsea at Anfield just days earlier and, with 10 games left of the season to play, sat eighth in the table and four points behind the Londoners in the Champions League places.
But out of such misery, the Reds reset and enjoyed a remarkable end to the season as they lost just one of their final 13 matches in all competitions (away at Real Madrid as they exited the Champions League) to finish the season in third against the odds. Going on a three-game winning run after losing to Fulham, they'd then lose to Spanish giants Real Madrid before remaining unbeaten for their final nine matches, which included ending the season with a five-game winning run.
Perhaps this can act as inspiration to Liverpool now as they look to reignite their fortunes in 2023. They've done it before, so why not again? While the deficit to the top four might currently be double what it was back in March 2021, they still have 26 games left to play and 78 points still up for grabs.
That loss to Fulham was also rock bottom for the Reds but it signalled a drastic upturn in their fortunes. After the storm comes the rainbow, and they’ll be desperate to ensure they can sink no lower after Saturday’s loss to Leeds.
Of course there have been a number of instances where they have responded after setbacks this season, seemingly turning a corner in the process, only for one step forward to actually prove to be two steps back.
A three game winless start to the Premier League season, culminating in a disappointing 2-1 loss away at Manchester United, was followed by 9-0 thrashing of AFC Bournemouth and last-minute 2-1 win over Newcastle. But a week later and they were losing 4-1 away at Napoli.
Meanwhile, their 3-2 away defeat at Arsenal preceded the 7-1 thrashing of Rangers and 1-0 victory over reigning champions Manchester City, only for Klopp's men to lose to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest the following weekend. And now the response of a 3-0 win away at Ajax has swiftly been stopped in its tracks courtesy of Leeds.
With Napoli at home next up for Liverpool, they at least have the small consolation of knowing their place in the Champions League knockout stages is already secure regardless of what the in-form Italians throw at them. Then comes a trip to Tottenham Hotspur, with the Reds yet to win on the road in the Premier League this season, before their League Cup defence gets underway in the third round at home to Derby County and they finish before the World Cup mid-season break at home to Southampton.
Such a break could be both a blessing and a curse depending on how Liverpool fare in the aforementioned matches, but they can afford no more false dawns if they are to reignite their fortunes. And after waiting 29 matches between Anfield league defeats, as one unbeaten run ends, another could start if the Reds are able to use losing to Leeds as a springboard for the rest of their campaign once and for all.
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