The sacking of Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas may not be a total surprise given two heavy defeats experienced by the club in recent weeks, but it should not disguise the compelling performance by Liverpool in contributing to the demise of the ex-Spurs boss. Brendan Rodgers outfit closed to within two points of Arsenal at the top of the English Premier League with an authoritative display during their 5-0 win at Tottenham. The Merseyside goalscoring machine just continues unabated with Uruguayan Luis Suarez becoming the dominant figure in the blossoming strike force.
Andre Villas Boas
Since returning from a lengthy suspension in September, Suarez has plundered 17 league goals and 8 in the previous 3 matches during which Liverpool have recorded 5-0, 4-1 and 5-1 victories. The Reds are now playing with an assurance and belief which suggests that they are serious contenders for the Premier League title.
Their 5-0 defeat of Spurs may have been helped by the dismissal of Tottenham midfielder Paulinho in the second period, but by that stage Liverpool were 2-0 ahead with long term casualties Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard both absent from the team.
Suarez in particular is scoring goals for fun and some of his individual efforts have been worthy goal of the season contenders, but not all of his strikes can be attributed to his own personal genius. Several other Liverpool players are perhaps beginning to demonstrate their worthiness to follow in the footsteps of previous Anfield greats.
Jordan Henderson was signed from Sunderland as a young raw midfielder and experienced a fairly modest first campaign on Merseyside. Yet this season, he is performing with an increased level of maturity and responsibility which earmarks him not only as Gerrard’s long term replacement in the team but as potential permanent fixture in the England starting eleven.
Alongside Henderson is Brazilian Philippe Coutinho who began to show his undoubted flair towards the end of last season. Despite a niggling injury during much of the current campaign, his direct attacking method of midfield play has elevated him to a virtual automatic choice in that area of the team.
Recent weeks have also witnessed the re-emergence of Raheem Sterling is a serious contender for a regular slot in the team after a rapid introduction to first eleven duties last term. His performance levels were gradually reducing during the later stages of the previous campaign but some time away from the limelight has appeared to rejuvenate the talented youngster and more improvement can be expected in the coming months.
For the next few weeks, Liverpool have an imminent home match against Cardiff City and then two crucial away fixtures at Manchester City and Chelsea. Should the Suarez bandwagon continue to roll throughout that period, then the Anfield team will definitely be worth considering for the Premier League title.