An Historic Collapse: Liverpool 3 - Crystal Palace 3

photo by tobo	via PhotoRee

 

There's always a danger in writing things off too early, but Scott is ready to throw in the towel on Liverpool's magical season:

 

I can certainly understand keeping the pedal to the medal when you are 3-0 up in order to eat into a goal differential.  And I can even understand keeping that pedal firmly under foot after conceding the first goal.  But after you concede the second, the players, if not the manager, should have locked things down, seen out the game and lived to fight another day.  They simply left themselves too exposed for too long against a quality, in-form side that had completely seized the momentum.

Many will argue that the title was lost in the Chelsea bus parking lot.  While that will likely prove technically true, it really felt lost when Liverpool capitulated in record time to yield a 3 goal advantage to Tony Pulis’ surging Crystal Palace.  If I was angry after losing to Chelsea, I felt a depression verging on the clinical after Monday’s game.  It is difficult (at least for now) to appreciate a guaranteed Champions League place when a silver chalice has been ripped from your hands.

After yesterday’s 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa by City, it seems even more silly that the Reds poured forward in a futile attempt to make up a yawning gap of goal differential.  But there I was, high-fiving both kids as we mentally calculated after each of the first 3 Liverpool scores.  And man were they looking like they would score 5 or 6.  A one-touch volley pass after the third was cause for overwhelming confidence.  Then we all nodded knowingly when Brendan Rodgers brought on a like-for-like substitute of Philippe Coutinho for Raheem Sterling, rather than a more defensive Daniel Agger.  Oh, in hindsight, what I wouldn’t do for a Daniel Agger around minute 78.

In the end, it is more likely than not that City will win at home against West Ham and all the second-guessing will be moot.  But moot is not mute and so the Liverpool haters will have their say.  All I have to say is that the greatest of teams have suffered temporary setbacks before surging to brilliance and, with Champions League cash to splash around, Liverpool have a very real chance of being even better next year.  YNWA!

 

This is farlieonfootie for May 8.