As Liverpool came to Kenilworth Road to face Luton Town, they did so riding a wave of momentum and positive vibes. Following a frustrating 1-1 draw, the Reds showed flashes of things that still need to be improved going forward. The club will need to respond to this block on their path.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were coming in off of some very comfortable wins in all competitions and various players were stepping up their levels.
Luton Town is definitely a side that a club of Liverpool’s stature needs to be defeating if they are trying to challenge at the top of the table. Those are too valuable of points to be left on the pitch.
As a whole, Liverpool played well enough and created enough chances that should have given them the victory. Unfortunately, their woeful finishing left everyone associated with the club frustrated.
Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah both had clear-cut opportunities but they somehow did not find the back of the net.
Especially Nunez, who was coming off the best finish of his Liverpool career midweek, reverted back to his old self on the day. Tremendous buildup play and endeavor but sadly no end product to go with it.
If you are new to the sport, I can tell you that when a more talented team lets an inferior opponent hang around long enough, they become emboldened and that’s when things become tense.
Such was the case as the Reds could not put Luton Town away and they were thoroughly punished on the break as Tahith Chong finished a beautiful counter to stun the Reds.
Luckily, the truly inspiring heroics of Luis Diaz, in the midst of a family nightmare, came on and put in a 95th minute effort to level the proceedings and avoid a truly crushing defeat. Yet, this draw still feels like a loss.
On a weekend where Arsenal fell and Manchester City laid the gauntlet down, the Reds had no response of their own. We are all very eager to see the week-to-week dominance return.
However, the Luton Town result showed us that while we are very close, there are still some things that need to be cleaned up. This does not mean that I don’t think we are title contenders.
It just shows us what can be improved and if Klopp and Co. can take care of those little bugaboos we could look back at this Luton Town result as a launching point.
Back to the drawing board and moving forward. Get after it Liverpool.