You could tell Liverpool has been burned in the past by the reaction to Manchester City’s late winner against Newcastle United. Coming as it did in mid-January, it should not have inspired such dread, but the fear now is that Pep Guardiola will go on one of his famous post-Christmas winning streaks.
In particular, the impact from the Manchester City bench was alarming. Of course, the goal-and-assist return for Kevin De Bruyne was enough to strike terror into any rivals, but the well-taken strike from Oscar Bobb was just as disheartening. Guardiola’s reaction on the touchline was telling as he leaped into the air with joy.
This unlocked an even older Liverpool trauma. I can still hear the name Federico Macheda being screamed out by the commentator, as a little-known Manchester United youngster completed a 3-2 comeback against Aston Villa to dent Rafael Benítez’s title chances.
Bobb will hope he does not fade into obscurity in the same way — judging by the way he took the goal, he might be fine, although to be fair you’d have said the same about Macheda. But regardless of what lies in store for the Norwegian, he’s helping Guardiola massively in the here and now by giving a relatively small senior squad a genuine attacking option off the bench.
With Bobb’s compatriot Erling Haaland still to return, it seems Guardiola has all the ingredients to get back to grinding out win after win, following a Christmas stutter. But while Liverpool would clearly have welcomed some dropped points, Jürgen Klopp will not be panicking.
After all, as Guardiola pointed out after the game, it is Liverpool who is the form side in the division at the moment. Klopp’s men are flying, with Manchester City the ones playing catch-up — as things stand, a draw at Anfield when the two sides meet would leave things in the hands of the Reds.
Moreover, comparing the two recent games against Newcastle, you’d argue that Liverpool is playing the more effective football, too. The scorelines were similar in the end: 4-2 vs 3-2, and with Klopp’s side boasting the home advantage to boot. But the match at Anfield saw the Premier League expected goals record shattered, whereas Guardiola endured a much more uncomfortable evening.
More than that, though, Liverpool has already had plenty of ‘Bobb moments’ of its own. Manchester City might be starting to develop a stronger bench, with youngsters stepping up and players coming back from injury, but Klopp is already miles up the road.
Liverpool has conjured up a remarkable 30 goal involvements from substitutes already this season, per the Daily Mail. That’s at least 12 more than any other Premier League side — with Manchester City moving up to joint-second after the contributions of Bobb and De Bruyne.
Two of the most memorable came in the equivalent fixture at St James’ Park, where Darwin Núñez turned things around for 10-man Liverpool. At that stage, Manchester City fans probably weren’t worrying too much about any threat from Anfield, but they certainly will be now.
After all, Liverpool is not alone in having had to endure the seemingly inevitable, watching its title rival inexorably come back to find a win. Klopp’s side has gone behind nine times in the league this season, and Manchester City has only been able to celebrate one defeat — and that came via the worst VAR error the division has ever seen.
By December 9, Manchester City would certainly have started to take Liverpool’s threat seriously. There was no doubt some excitement, then, when Crystal Palace took a 1-0 lead midway through the second half. But in the closest parallel to the Bobb moment Liverpool has had, Harvey Elliott snatched it from the bench in stoppage time, after Mohamed Salah had brought things level.
Klopp and Guardiola’s youngsters are separated by just three months, even though Elliott is treated as a senior pro by now. While Bobb is in the spotlight at the moment, Liverpool has already long since weaponized its exciting talent to provide an impact from the bench.
So while it’s understandable for Liverpool to feel a sense of déjà vu, it is better equipped than ever to match Manchester City’s sense of inevitability stride for stride. Klopp can call upon even more game-changers than Guardiola, and the advantage currently still lies at Anfield.
