Liverpool starting to show signs of consistency

Liverpool‘s 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur was their third league win in a row; the first time they have won three games in succession since April/May 2011, when wins against Newcastle, Birmingham and Fulham made Reds fans believe the turbulent season could end up with a Europa League spot. This was something which seemed far-fetched when Kenny Dalglish took over the managerial reign from Roy Hodgson in January the same year.

In the end, a loss against Harry Redknapp’s Spurs at Anfield ended The Reds’ strong finish to the season, and with it their hope of European football. But it did not change the fact that the team had showed enough to create optimism and expectations ahead of the following campaign.

Sunday’s game was not equally crucial in terms of maintaining hope of midweek fixtures under the Anfield floodlights when 2013/14 kicks off. There is still a lot of football to be played this season, and little is decided in terms of who will get a place in next season’s Europa League – which realistically has to be Liverpool’s target. However, in many ways this was a more important game for both fans and manager, in terms of the fans believing in this long-term project, and also to maintain the momentum and the confidence within the squad.

As the season has progressed with no wins against the top six – the teams Liverpool want to consider their equals – it naturally has become a talking point within the media and among supporters, and probably a rather big and annoying monkey on the back for both players and manager. That is why these three points could end up meaning something more than just the points: Liverpool beat a top team after going behind, the momentum continues and they are firmly within touching distance of European football next season. Triple whammy.

After a mixed start to the season as far as performances were concerned, and a general inability to string together a sequence of good results, Liverpool have gradually improved and evolved into a more cohesive unit – especially in attack. This is partly down to the addition of January signings Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho, who both have added new dimensions to a team that often seemed overly reliant on the continued brilliance of Luis Suarez.

But some of it must also be attributed to the development of the team as a whole, and it looks as if the effort that has been put in on Melwood week in-week out throughout the campaign is starting to pay dividends. Brendan Rodgers has said all along that the team would perform better the second half of the season, and so far he has been proven right.

The next step now is to continue this improvement and extend the good run they have started, and make sure they do not let complacency become an issue when they play Southampton at St. Mary’s on Saturday. The win against Spurs was a huge one, but it means little if they are unable to back it up by repeating the effort the next few games.