Liverpool seemingly unstoppable

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This article was published 03/01/2025 (339 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was some time ago that we passed the point where the Northwest Derby had meaningful impact on the Premier League table.

Nevermind the title race, the twice-per-season meetings of Liverpool and Manchester United have become contests of regional bragging rights bundled up in historiography — a region and its history, that are still significant enough to make these matches among the biggest in English football.

It’s what happens when one side of an archrivalry goes so long without pulling its weight that, but for the odd surprise, the question isn’t whether the other will win, but by how much.

By, say, seven goals?

That was the damage inflicted by Liverpool not quite two years ago, and when they host United on Sunday (10:30 a.m., FuboTV) they’ll do so having lost just one of their previous 13 league matches, over which time they’ve built an aggregate scoreline of 31-6. Then there’s United’s failure to win at Anfield in their last nine attempts in all competitions — a stretch dating back almost a decade.

But — the counterpoint goes, didn’t the Red Devils beat Manchester City at Etihad Stadium only three weeks ago? Yes, and even a team in total tailspin can pip the odd points from an opponent whose recent results have been almost as bad as their own.

And they’ve been bad. Awfully, painfully bad.

Over the past month, only relegation-destined Southampton have been worse – barely. And promoted Ipswich have been twice as good.

Framed another way, Liverpool will continue to pace the Premier League by at least three points even if they lose this weekend. If United lose, they could surpass the season’s halfway point in 15th spot, just two points clear of Everton and four above the relegation zone. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest Southampton would fancy at least a draw at Old Trafford in two weeks’ time.

Enter the numbers however you will — those seven goals conceded inside the first five minutes, the nine allowed from set-pieces, the 33 minutes played by €40 million striker Joshua Zirkzee before being hooked in Monday’s 2-0 loss at home to Newcastle — but the fact is United are a club with seemingly irreversible momentum, albeit the kind pushing them downward.

That new manager Ruben Amorim has come out and said his side are in a relegation fight tells you all you need to know about the vibes at the club, and we haven’t even mentioned the shocking decline of Marcus Rashford.

Liverpool, too, are dealing with some player drama. Real Madrid have already made a bid for right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, and while the situation is irritating at least the Reds have players actually desired by other mega-clubs. Plus, one way or another it’ll be settled by the end of the winter transfer period.

Everything else on Merseyside is humming along quite nicely, thank-you-very-much. Arne Slot’s steady hand has facilitated a remarkably smooth transition from the Jurgen Klopp era, and despite a summer in which they actually ran a €60-million transfer surplus they’re either among the favourites or favoured outright to win every competition they’re in.

They are winning, and they look like winners.

This is a team, settled in its system and dynamic in its execution, that prepares for and goes into games with the easy confidence of a group that knows it can prevail each time out, and — crucially — do it without suffering. The result is the players, individually and as a collective, are enjoying their football and smiling as they thrash one opponent after the next.

Statistically, Liverpool lead or nearly lead key categories including xG, shots on target, possession and passing efficiency, and then there are the individual performances.

At 32, Mohamed Salah leads the Premier League in goals and assists, the sum of which is an eye-popping 27 goal involvements in 18 outings. Midfielder Curtis Jones is the division’s most useful passer of the ball, and Ryan Gravenberch, flourishing under Slot, continues to show how well he reads the game with his league-high number of interceptions.

His side have been so dominant that, while Amorim entertains questions of relegation, Slot is being asked if he’ll rest certain players against such a weak United team.

Just imagine — resting players against Manchester United, because a rotated squad is likely good enough to beat them. It’s like playing chess without your queen, on purpose.

Maybe that’s as good a metaphor as any for a derby so lopsided it would hardly be a derby if it was first played today.

Liverpool aren’t playing chess so much as practicing their skills without certain pieces, in various scenarios. United, new to board games, is struggling to get the checkerboard out of the box.

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