Oh Gini Wijnaldum, how much do I love you? I was on the edge of a football breakdown at 45 minutes so thank god he stepped up with that cracking goal in the 46th!
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| Image via The Guardian |
That first half was agonising on Sunday and while you kind of expect that Liverpool these days need time to build themselves up into a game, time is something we didn't really have this weekend. Not when Manchester City are romping home and a Arsenal are somehow still ahead despite having a man sent off!
Thankfully, none of that mattered as in the end Liverpool did find their stride and it was plain sailing from there. The Reds are back in Europe and deservedly so I think.
We've had our ups and downs this season but overall I feel we've had a respectable campaign. Our record against teams in the traditional top four for example was nothing short of phenomenal. Our pitfall of course was against the smaller teams, teams who were extremely hard to break down, we just didn't appear to have a Plan B. When push came to shove though and things got tight during the final run in, it was Jurgen Klopp's men who held their nerve.
So what happens now?
Well, Liverpool are seeded for the Champions League knock out stages which means we will avoid teams like Sevilla and Napoli. We will find out who we face in the two legged play off on August 4th.
Assuming we don't mess it all up, I cannot wait for the group stages that follow and for legendary European nights to return to the glorious Anfield!
Have a great summer folks! Stay tuned to The Liver Bird where a season round up will appear and some news/opinion posts prior to the new season. As always, thank you so much for reading and sharing. This little old blog is a real passion of mine and it would be nothing without you! After starting full time work and finishing Uni last year I can't deny it's been more difficult to juggle blogging with everything else going on but I still love writing about Liverpool Football Club so roll on 17/18! #YNWA