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March Review: A month of progress for Liverpool

By Jackson Sperau

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 12: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates with teammate Jordan Henderson after scoring their team's second goal from the penalty spot during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool at American Express Community Stadium on March 12, 2022 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 12: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates with teammate Jordan Henderson after scoring their team's second goal from the penalty spot during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool at American Express Community Stadium on March 12, 2022 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 16: Diogo Jota of Liverpool celebrates their sides first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on March 16, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 16: Diogo Jota of Liverpool celebrates their sides first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on March 16, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) /

March was a month of progress for Liverpool. The Reds progressed to the quarterfinals in the Champions League and the semifinals in the FA cup. We also made progress in the Premier League as City’s lead has dropped to just one point. Another successful month from this Liverpool side.

It was nearly another perfect month in terms of results — five wins and one loss

That one loss, a 1-0 scoreline at Anfield to Inter Milan in the second leg of the UCL round of 16, definitely stung at the time, but in the grand scheme of things, I believe it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It did end our impressive home unbeaten run that lasted over a year, but there are positives to take away from the result. The Reds didn’t play poorly, they just couldn’t find the finishing boots on the night. And we ultimately did our job — we advanced to the next round of the Champions League. If there was one match to slip up and have a momentary lapse of concentration, this was the match. It’s better to lose in the cup where we can still advance than to drop points in the league.

Liverpool is playing some of the best football on the planet right now and March’s results back that up. We handled our business in the FA Cup fifth-round and quarterfinals — not the most convincing matches but that’s partly due to the heavily rotated sides we put out. We skipped through a tough stretch of Premier League games against West Ham, Brighton, and Arsenal to see us close the gap at the top of the table to one point. The Reds exacted revenge against West Ham and then comfortably beat Brighton and Arsenal on the road. So yes, the level of football is quite high at the moment.

We knew heading into March that we couldn’t make the season this month, but we could certainly break it. There were trap games all throughout March, but Klopp and the boys navigated it exceptionally well.

The goals weren’t flying in this past month, but they were certainly spread out across the frontline. The Reds found the net eight times — Takumi Minamino and Diogo Jota each scored two while Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Bobby Firmino, and Luis Diaz managed to score one.

Perhaps the most impressive side of Liverpool’s play this March was the defense. Alisson and his backline allowed two goals in the six matches, recording four clean sheets. A solid month that brings Alisson’s season clean sheet tally to 22 in all appearances and 17 in the Premier League. Alisson is currently tied with fellow Brazilian Ederson for the league lead.

There is only one major injury concern heading into April, and that is the hamstring of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The initial diagnosis and outlook were bleak as Trent was expected to miss the clash with Man City on April 10, but Klopp has since confirmed that the injury is not that severe, and the 23-year-old will be fit enough to start the Champions League quarterfinal first leg this Wednesday.

Rush The Kop Player of the Month: Trent Alexander-Arnold

This was a tough decision between TAA and Andy Robertson. Both outside backs had a superb month, but we’ll give this one to Trent. The Scouser was a part of all three league clean sheets this month, capping off some impressive defensive performances. TAA put in a remarkable performance against West Ham and is largely the reason Liverpool won that match — he assisted Mane on the match’s lone goal and then had a goal-line clearance when Alisson was caught out. Trent leads the league in assists with 11, Robertson and Salah are second with 10.

dark. Next. Liverpool top the Premier League, Thiago masterclass against Watford

March is now behind us and a grueling April is here — arguably the toughest month in the club’s history. April brings a Champions League quarterfinal tie with Benfica, a potentially league-deciding clash with Man City at the Etihad, a FA Cup semifinal against City, and the first leg of the Champions League semifinal (should LFC advance past Benfica). There is no rest for the wicked this month — LFC plays Benfica twice and Man City twice in the span of 12 days. A pair of derbies against Man Utd and Everton follow that tough stretch. April will determine how successful this season is and may go down as one of the most important months in the club’s history.

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