Former Liverpool star Stan Collymore has warned his old club not to get too carried away after thrashing Manchester United 7-0 yesterday.
The Merseyside giants were in superb form as they scored six second-half goals against their bitter rivals, securing one of their most memorable Premier League victories, and one of the most embarrassing results in Man Utd’s history.
Collymore, however, has written in his exclusive CaughtOffside column about the game and its implications, saying that both clubs would do well not to over-react to the eye-catching score-line.
Liverpool haven’t had the best of seasons overall, and Collymore believes there is still important work that needs doing with Jurgen Klopp’s squad in the summer, while a top four finish is still not guaranteed for this season.
“Don’t get carried away in thinking that this is Jurgen Klopp’s side on their way back and edging towards everything being as it was,” Collymore wrote.
“The point still stands that Liverpool probably need two or three new midfielders this summer, probably a right-back as cover or competition for Trent Alexander-Arnold, and possibly a central defender as Virgil van Dijk’s not getting any younger and I’m not convinced that Ibrahima Konate or Joe Gomez have the quality that they can be the next clean sheet machine for Liverpool like Van Dijk has been.”
He added: “This result can be an amazing shot in the arm for the rest of the season to get them in the top four, but they still need to be humble because one or two results could change things.
“So for both clubs it will help them achieve their games, which perhaps means another trophy for United, and for Liverpool to finish in the top four, but I don’t think either of these will be threatening for the Premier League title next season unless they significantly strengthen in key areas.”
Liverpool fans will certainly hope this can be the start of a better few months ahead, but Collymore ultimately thinks the Reds won’t quite have enough in them to overturn their deficit against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
“Can they turn it around (against Real Madrid)? Yes, they can,” the pundit said. “When you’ve got Mohamed Salah in this kind of form, you always have a chance.
“The key thing is how they start – if they score early on, then it’s game on. My worry is, with the experience Real Madrid have got in the likes of Karim Benzema and Luka Modric, is that Liverpool have to throw everything at them with the hope that they don’t go up and create anything at the other end. That’s going to be almost impossible at the Bernabeu, if it was Anfield I’d be tempted to say yes, but since it’s in Madrid it looks almost impossible.
“I think Liverpool can get a result, but will they get the number of goals required? I can’t see it. I’ve played in games like this, chasing deficits, and this squad of course will remember that special semi-final against Barcelona, but going to Madrid and doing something like that will take a superhuman effort – it will require an early goal, and Liverpool riding their luck, and I think they’ll just be edged out on the night.”