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02nd Sep 2019

“The only thing it does is illustrate the gap between Liverpool and everybody else”

SportsJOE

Liverpool have come a hell of a long way.

You don’t have to go back too far to think of the fixtures that could trigger any fan on Anfield Road. Palace. West Brom. Villa. Burnley.

Somewhere in the last two years, Jurgen Klopp has made Champions League finals a habit for Liverpool and 97 points the baseline. Somewhere along the way, away trips to Burnley have become routine.

Liverpool don’t see any difficulty in navigating through the league anymore, they just crush everything in their path and, on The Football Spin on Sunday night, Dion Fanning used the biggest talking point of their 3-0 win to highlight their utter domination.

Mo Salah and Sadio Mane didn’t look too happy with each other, the pair disagreeing over who should be scoring the goals. The fact that they have a choice shows how little they now think of these away trips.

“What it illustrates, more than anything else, is how ridiculous this Premier League season is,” Fanning said.

“Because Liverpool are going to Burnley, a place they’ve lost at in recent years, a place that should be one of those fixtures that creates some kind of an obstacle. 

“And the only thing that comes out of the game is people talking about which of the Liverpool players should’ve scored the goals. 

“That’s the gap there is now between Liverpool and Manchester City and everybody else – to varying degrees.

“The only thing you can talk about, really, is why didn’t Liverpool player A pass it to Liverpool player B so he could score the goals that would inevitably beat Burnley.”

Of course, you’re never going to be happy as a fan or a coach, seeing two of your players engage in talk like that, but there’s surplus solace to be found in the idea that Liverpool have transformed the Premier League into lowly Spanish opponents bending over for Real or Barca to spank them.

“It may become something, it may become a bit of friction between them and maybe, as a result, it will diminish Liverpool. 

“But this is a game you’re conditioned to look at and think, ‘this is a tough game’.

“After 2-0, it was done and the only thing that’s left to talk about is Salah clearly wanting the goals he thinks he can get.”

Listen here from 12:20.

 

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