Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has explained how Liverpool altered their approach in the second half against West Ham to move one step closer to securing the title.
The Reds dominated with ease for long stretches on Wednesday night, without really causing endless problems for the beleaguered home side.
A few half-chances came and went and Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot, but the opening 45 minutes was an exercise in patience and concentration for the Reds.
It was never a question of losing the match, but one or two changes had to be made at the break to ensure some of their best attacking football was on display.
The No. 15, who eventually scored the killer second goal, says the players needed to rediscover the energy and movement in the final third which usually makes them so irrepressible.
“At times I think, especially in the first half, maybe things got a little bit static or robotic,” he told the club website after the game.
“We struggled to remember patterns of play and things that have got us success, so we came in at half-time a little bit disappointed with ourselves and disappointed with the fundamentals, the movements and the things that we work on to create space and go in the right direction.
“In the second half we had more moments where that was working a bit better. We won the ball back a bit quicker and a bit sharper, but we were sloppy as well at moments so we can improve on that.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain also paid tribute to the players at the other end of the side, noting that everybody enforces the high standards expected in everybody else – noting, in fact, that this is very much a team.
“Our goalkeeper, Ali, he is top drawer and with those boys behind you they get you out of a bit of trouble at times and we need that from time to time.
“We have people like Hendo, who just keeps us going, keeps pushing and keeps the standards high. We are barking at each other all game and are never satisfied, but I think after the second goal went in, overall, we controlled the game mostly.
“We had a few chances – Mo hit the post and there were a few other moments when we could have maybe killed the game off – but in the end we saw the game out well.”
Alisson himself doubled down on the club mantra for the season, saying it’s all about looking to the next game and making sure we tick each one off as it comes.
“We always said, and we are always saying, we are focused on the next challenge and the next game,” he said.
“We are already focused on the next game that we have on Saturday. The next challenge is the most important of the season. We’ll try to do our best to win everything.
“We know our qualities and we know how far we can go but we can only go far if we do big performances on the pitch. The Premier League is top level so you cannot stop and you just need to keep going.”
On his own involvement in the game, which saw Ali make several crucial saves after long periods of inactivity, he replied that’s exactly the type of moment he prepares for.
“I’m used to doing that. I only keep training and keep doing my best to be in the best shape when the ball comes to me to make the save.
“I think the boys help me a lot on the pitch and I also say when the defender is close enough to the ball it’s difficult for the striker to kick the ball. You need to kick quickly and then you cannot produce too much quality and this helped me a lot.”
Elsewhere, Trent and Mo must have been talking about hitting the woodwork…
https://www.instagram.com/p/B767HZyJ6fP/
Andy Robertson had a cheeky plan to rewrite his own record books, while for Adrian it was familiar surroundings:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B768gdjhyf3/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B768TDtoJPz/
Gini and Naby noted we have merely ticked off one more box en route to glory:
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And Firmino just gave us a superb couple of photos of he and Ox celebrating our second goal:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B76-LazlNYY/
Now it’s just two days to rest and recuperate while planning how to get past Southampton back at Anfield, with the Reds playing host on Saturday in the Premier League.
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