A flinch towards the ball that drew in Ollie Scarles, a duck to get out of the way of it and a spin and burst that took him away from the 19-year-old. Perhaps his cross on the run with the outside of his left foot was intended for Diogo Jota rather than Luis Díaz, who converted, but it hardly mattered. At the very least the ball had been delivered with an awkward shape that took it away from the goalkeeper into an extremely dangerous area. And it wasn’t about the cross anyway; it was about the turn.
It may be that in two years’ time as a 35-year-old Mohamed Salah clanks about, huffing and puffing, slowing down attacks and generally getting in the way, there will be questions asked about why Liverpool gave him atwo-year extension. But nobody at Anfield on Sunday was doubting the deal. It’s not just that this was Salah’s 55th goal involvement of the season, it was the nature of that spin, the imagination and the execution; there are very few players who could conceive of such a move, let alone pull it off. Even if Salah’s legs do begin to fail him, having a few months more of that improvisational potential feels worth it.
But quite aside from the pleasure of seeing a player capable of doing things almost nobody else can, there is a benefit in Salah’s continued presence in that it makes Liverpool’s rebuild a little easier. Particularlyif Virgil van Dijk signs a new deal, they can get on with their redevelopment with a degree of consideration rather than having to rush to plug two enormous holes.
Some measure of reconstruction, though, is necessary. It’s simultaneously true that very few managers have ever been bequeathed a squad of such quality as that left by Jürgen Klopp for Arne Slot and that, a year on, some refinement is necessary. In part that is because there are certain players – Darwin Núñez and Harvey Elliott – Slot seems not especially to rate, and in part because of a natural process of attrition: age appears to have caught up with Andy Robertson this season, while the cumulative effect of Jota’s many injuries have reduced his impact. Add in the probable departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the extremely sporadic contributions of Federico Chiesa and the fact the squad is short of a specialist holding midfielder and that could be half a dozen players they need to bring in.
Even taking into account the fact that Chiesa was the only signing of last summer, that is a surprising amount of change for a team that have been comfortably the best in the Premier League this season, which perhaps contributes to the ambivalent mood.Liverpoolhave been highly efficient if rarely spectacular, consistent in a season when other challengers have habitually faltered. It’s not their fault if others have fallen away to deny the Premier League a title race, and yet it does inevitably diminish the spectacle. This win was a case in point, a game without much jeopardy despite its dramatic conclusion.
As Liverpool failed to add a second and West Ham began to create chances, the sense was less of anxiety, as it might have been were another team in striking range, than of drift. Even in the three minutes when they were level, the worst-case scenario for Liverpool was of a delay to the inevitable. As it was, Liverpool were good enough to hit the bar even before Van Dijk’s winner, that capacity suddenly to up the tempo one of the reasons they will be champions.
Liverpool may have shown the first indications of fatigue in early February, but Arsenal have never looked capable of taking advantage, winning just two of their last seven league games. The result is that since thetumultuous draw at Evertontwo months ago when the first serious doubts were raised, Liverpool have increased their lead by four points. If Liverpool are approaching the line at pace, it is because the line is moving towards them as they haul themselves towards it.
They are just two wins away now. Were Arsenal to lose at Ipswich next Saturday, Liverpool could clinch the title at Leicester next Sunday, with five games still to play. A more realistic scenario, perhaps, is them sealing their record-equalling 20th title at home to Tottenham on the final weekend of the month (or, given how this season has gone, Arsenal handing it over by dropping points against Crystal Palace the previous Wednesday).
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There might not be a pleasing narrative crescendo but a point is a point whether it is won in August or May. It’s not Liverpool’s fault if others couldn’t live with them long enough to potentially take advantage of fatigue in the run-in. Probably to have the title wrapped up by the end of April is a remarkable achievement.
It is not one, though, that should admit any complacency. There can be no resting on their laurels. Commanding as they have been this season, there is obvious scope for improvement. Football never stops; evolution is perpetual. The good news for Liverpool is that Salah will be part of that process of renewal.