No one expected Liverpool, who were on the verge of excitement, to lose 0-3 to Atlanta in the first round of the Europa League. It must be known that Atlanta, the opposite team, is only the 6th ranked team in Serie A. They have not had many outstanding performances this season and have just gone through a losing streak in the rankings. Meanwhile, Liverpool was still sitting at home at Anfield and even so, the team was still defeated. This is truly something that is difficult to accept for many Liverpool fans.
After the match, even coach Klopp and most of the key players said in interviews that the match was too bad. They are like headless flies, toyed with by their opponents. At this time, due to losing 0-3 at home in the first leg, Liverpool’s ability to advance to the Europa League semi-finals has basically evaporated. After all, the point difference is too big and we have to be away at home to Atlanta in round 2.
Some fans may say that Liverpool is good at creating miracles, but the reason miracles are called miracles is because they don’t always happen, and Liverpool is no exception.
But looking at it from another angle, Liverpool’s miserable defeat in this match is not necessarily a bad thing. Even if it was really humiliatingly eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Europa League, Liverpool could still accept it. On the contrary, it is not good news for the two Premier League teams, Arsenal and Manchester City.
Why do you say that? First of all, this season is coming to an end on all fronts.
The championship has entered the fierce stage, the cup tournament has also entered the most fierce quarter-final stage. The competition schedule is getting more and more dense, and the competitive pressure is also increasing. It can be said that this is the most important time in the whole season to test the squad depth as well as the fitness of the entire team.
During this period, many championship-loving teams did not allocate physical strength to each front, the pressure was too great, leading to collapse. For example, teams like Arsenal last season. Liverpool happens to be at such a stage, when there are only seven rounds left in the tournament, they and Arsenal both have 71 points, and Manchester City is behind them and has 70 points in hand.
At the same time, if they want to win the Europa League, they still need to play 4 more fierce knockout matches, and there is a high possibility that they will face Bayer Leverkusen, the team that is undefeated so far this season, in the final. . It can be said that both fronts not only have hopes of winning the championship but also present brutal challenges.
Assessing Liverpool’s overall strength at this stage, there is indeed hope of winning the championship at the same time by spreading efforts on two fronts. But there are more potential dangers than the possibility of them collapsing, because the squad does not have enough depth, reserve strength as well as the players’ on-field performance have recently declined.
Since the team was eliminated by Manchester United in the FA Cup, Liverpool has actually begun to experience some ups and downs. It’s clear that they don’t have strong forward momentum like they did at the beginning of the season. It can be said that, just considering their current form, they cannot be compared with Arsenal and Manchester City.
And after being surpassed by Arsenal in terms of goal difference in the rankings, the initiative to compete for the championship was no longer in their hands. For Liverpool, the situation has reached the point of collapse. In other words, they should have made the choice a long time ago. Liverpool simply cannot manage both the Europa League and the league.
There are indeed rich teams that can win championships on multiple fronts at the same time, but the big premise is that their schedule is very easy on 1 or 2 of those fronts. The ideal situation is to establish an early lead in the league, then focus on the Champions League and other cup competitions, then achieve a triple crown or even five crowns. But Liverpool is in a state of anxiety on both fronts and does not have an absolute advantage, so it is likely that the two teams will not get 1 point.
This is the current situation in Liverpool.
If Atlanta doesn’t wake them up in this match, perhaps Liverpool is still thinking about the dream of winning on two fronts at the same time. But from a practical perspective, the squad on paper and player fatigue make them unable to compete on both fronts.
After the Europa League, there is a high possibility that Liverpool will give up this cup tournament and focus on the national championship, this is their best choice. This is not good news for Arsenal and Manchester City, who still have the mission of participating in the Champions League. After Liverpool focuses on the national championship, it will be very difficult for these two teams to win the Premier League, what do you think about this?
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