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Well, it finally happened. Liverpool had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. After a string of poor performances, there was no one to bail them out against Watford. There were no late game heroics, not super sub to save the game. There was no great escape. Instead, there was a feeling of malaise, a lethargy that was palpable. The hunt for the unbeaten season is over.
The always reliable Georginio Wijnaldum had possibly his worst game in a Liverpool shirt. Virgil van Dijk looked more like the most expensive defender in the world instead of the best defender in the world, making the little mistakes he usually never makes. Roberto Firmino’s boots looked like they had been sprayed with a ball repellent instead of the usual glue that keeps the ball so close for his magic tricks.
On a day that Liverpool could have broken the Premier League record for consecutive wins in a season, they lost to a team that was second from bottom. The perfect season is dead.
Long live the perfect season.
Yes, there is now a blemish on the record, but take heart, not all is lost. Liverpool still have a 22 point lead at the top of the table, shrinking all the way to a still ridiculously commanding 19 point lead if Manchester City win the game in hand. Liverpool are having the most dominating season in Premier League history. They have recorded the best start to a Premier League season, recorded the most consecutive home wins, and are still well on pace to smash the record points total for a season. After 30 years, Liverpool are still going to win the league, which makes this season perfect. Four wins from the last ten games is all it will take.
So yeah, yesterday sucked. But just take a second to take a deep breath and put things in perspective. The sky isn’t falling, it just got cloudy for a second. If we know anything about this team of mentality monsters, it is that they will put this game behind them and come back focused on the task at hand. There are 10 games left in this perfect season. Remember to take a moment here and there to savor it.