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So that win at Craven Cottage, then. A catastrophic Kolo Toure own goal early, a mostly of dire opening 45 minutes salvaged by an impossibly perfect Steven Gerrard through-ball and exquisite Daniel Sturridge finish, 2-1 to Fulham on a Martin Skrtel error, 2-2 on another hapless Philippe Coutinho shot from the edge of the area that deflected just so, and Liverpool destined for a draw or worse until a clever touch by Sturridge and stupid challenge from Sascha Riether led to another bit of Gerrard brilliance, this time to seal all three points from the penalty spot with even more magic.
That is a very basic explanation for what actually turned out to be a very confusing and complex viewing experience; Liverpool dominated but looked poor for large spells of the match, and on the run of play you'd probably say Fulham at least deserved a point. I won't spend much time feeling sorry for them, though, and neither should you. Liverpool won, and that's the point. Liverpool won. That is awesome.
Which is admittedly a very naive and simplistic perspective. No doubt there's better analysis than winning is awesome, though I'd argue that sometimes it can and should suffice. Last night was one of those times. It started miserable, remained miserable, and then it wasn't. It was goosebump-inducing in a way that Liverpool haven't been goosebump-inducing in far too long. That is awesome.
We'll certainly get much more than that by way of those who do it very well, and it will largely enhance our understanding of what actually happened--what Liverpool did right, what they did wrong, how they could have done better, and how they can possibly prevent their struggles from occurring again. I am not the person to make these types of analyses, but I know that I consume them quickly and gratefully. Understanding things is also awesome.
But I don't know if any analyses could ever help me understand the noise I made when Steven Gerrard gathered his footing before flicking one of the prettiest passes in this or any season into the path of Daniel Sturridge, or why I found it necessary to stand in my office and watch Gerrard's penalty through the reflection in the tiny mirror on my wall, as though not staring at it directly might somehow have an influence. From 5000 miles away.
These things are strange and concerning, but they are also worth enjoying. Sometimes it's okay to just enjoy things.
