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Looking Back - January
Liverpool began 2020 with a bang, winning all but one of their seven matches. The only draw came in the FA Cup fourth round match against Shrewsbury Town, which added an extra match to February.
They swaggered into the new year with a 13 point lead in the Premier League and strolled out being 19 points ahead of Manchester City. They have an utterly ridiculous 70 out of a possible 72 points, which means that they only need 24 more points, or eight wins out of their remaining 14 games, to clinch the title.
January was also the month of Curtis Jones, the young Scouse attacker who earned his senior debut in the FA Cup. He scored the winner in the Merseyside derby and also contributed another one against Shrewsbury Town. With the recent success of fellow Liverpudlian Trent Alexander-Arnold still fresh in everyone’s minds, there are high hopes for Jones in the years to come.
The Reds played five Premier League games and managed clean sheets in four of them. Wolverhampton Wanderer’s Raul Jimenez leveled the match temporarily, until Roberto Firmino got Liverpool the winner in the 81st minute.
Poll
Who was Liverpool’s best player in January?
This poll is closed
-
11%
Virgil van Dijk
(25 votes) -
31%
Alisson Becker
(67 votes) -
47%
Jordan Henderson
(102 votes) -
1%
Curtis Jones
(4 votes) -
2%
Mohamed Salah
(5 votes) -
1%
Gini Wijnaldum
(3 votes) -
3%
Someone else
(7 votes)
The Reds only scored 12 goals in their seven games, but when they kept five clean sheets and only conceded three goals in two games in all competitions, those 12 goals were more than enough to get the job done. 15% of you who voted in last month’s poll accurately guessed that Alisson and Adrian would keep five clean sheets between them.
Here’s how January’s goals broke down:
- Mohamed Salah - 3
- Curtis Jones - 2
- Roberto Firmino - 2
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 1
- Jordan Henderson - 1
- Virgil van Dijk - 1
- Sadio Mane - 1
- Own goal - 1
Looking Forward - February
February will see the English Premier League try a winter break for their players, yet somehow Liverpool will still be playing six games. One of them is the replay at Anfield against Shrewsbury Town, which cuts into the winter break. Klopp has decreed that neither he nor his senior players will take time out of their pre-set break to play this game, so Neil Critchley and the kids will be tasked to see them through.
The Champions League knockout rounds begin in February with the round of 16 match against Atletico Madrid. Their league games are light on paper. They’ll be taking on Southampton, Norwich, West Ham, and Watford, the latter three which are battling it out in the relegation zone.
We got to see new signing Takumi Minamino stretch his legs in a few games and Fabinho has returned from injury.
Liverpool’s Full February Schedule:
Sat, Feb 1 - Southampton (h) (Premier League)
Tues, Feb 4 - Shrewsbury Town (h) (FA Cup)
Sat, Feb 15 - Norwich City (a) (Premier League)
Tues, Feb 18 - Atletico Madrid (a) (Champions League)
Mon, Feb 24 - West Ham (h) (Premier League)
Sat, Feb 29 - Watford (a) (Premier League)
Poll
Who will be Liverpool’s top scorer in February?
This poll is closed
-
69%
Mohamed Salah
(108 votes) -
17%
Roberto Firmino
(28 votes) -
0%
Virgil van Dijk
(1 vote) -
7%
Sadio Mane
(12 votes) -
0%
Curtis Jones
(0 votes) -
2%
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
(4 votes) -
1%
Someone else
(3 votes)
Now it’s your turn to sound off in the comments. Will Liverpool extend their lead in the league? Will the kids beat Shrewsbury to meet Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round?