Why Liverpool can secure Champions League football next season

Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge

So far this season, Liverpool have scored 66 goals in 25 games. Last season, the final goal tally was 71 in 38. Currently, Liverpool are just 2 goals shy of matching Manchester City’s goal total, a side lauded up and down the country for playing attacking football, and scoring an average of 4 goals every home game.

Admittedly, the majority of Liverpool’s goals have come from the Sturridge & Suarez strike force. In the league they have contributed 60% of the overall total of team goals. Despite this, the age old argument that Liverpool rely on Luis Suarez for goals too much cannot be aimed at the club anymore.

Raheem Sterling has shown a lot more composure in front of goal and has netted 5 times in the league, more than double his overall total from last season in less games. Steven Gerard has also contributed his usual goal haul, scoring 7.

The influence of Phillipe Coutinho cannot be understated either. Whilst he has only contributed 3 goals, his work behind the front 3 has been exceptional. There were worries at the start of the season that he may be out of form, but since the turn of the year, Coutinho has found his mojo and has allowed the front 3 to score as many goals as they have.

Another reason Liverpool have been doing so well in the league is because of their goals from set plays. They have scored 17 goals from dead ball situations, with Martin Skrtel bagging a career best 4 goals in a season so far. The dead ball ability of Steven Gerrard must be pointed out, over the years his maturity from these situations has increased 6 fold and now, watching Gerrard curl a ball into the box from a free kick or a corner is akin to that of Andrea Pirlo of Juventus.

The 3-2 win over Fulham demonstrated perfectly how Liverpool are always confident of scoring at least one goal more than the opposition. Last season, points were regularly dropped in matches the club would have been looking to win. A 0-0 draw at Swansea, a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light and 0-0 draws at West Ham and Reading but to name a few.

Whilst this season, points have still been dropped away from home, at Anfield, the club has lost just once all season against Southampton, and drawn once against Aston Villa. Anfield is seemingly once again becoming a fortress.

The goals have obviously helped. Liverpool still look shaky in defence and definitely concede too many goals to be properly considered title contenders. This has gone relatively unnoticed though as the strikers have been getting Liverpool out of sticky situations all season. Liverpool conceded 2 poor goals on Wednesday at Craven Cottage, add to this 3 against Stoke and 2 at home to Aston Villa, the defence is definitely an issue in need of addressing in the summer.

While this could be put partly down to the absence of the solid Mamadou Sakho, it is inexcusable the amount of errors that are occurring at the moment. Champions league football is the aim this season, and that is looking more and more likely with everypassing game. However, if the form in front of goal Liverpool are showing is kept up, talk of the title in the near future would not be met with as many frowns as it would have a few months ago. Personally, I think it is beyond us this season. If the back four is strengthened in the summer, then it is a distinct possibility that we will be up at the top of the table once again.

There I go getting ahead of myself again! One can excuse my optimism with so much confidence around the club right now. This season and next are arguably the two most important for us since the Premier League begun. If we can secure Champions League football this season and next, then who is to say that we won’t be crowned champions in the next few years?

But, like Rodgers has stated many times ‘The club needs to take it game by game’. If the lethal strike force of Sturridge, Suarez and Sterling stay fit and in form, goals will flow for the club. The club has shown that they can deal with the loss of one of these strikers too. When Suarez was banned at the end of last season, Sturridge shone, and when Sturridge was out through December, Suarez claimed the record for the most goals scored in a month.

So who knows where the rest of the season will take us, the league is so open that any one of 5 teams could potentially take the crown. All I know is that if we keep scoring the goals we have done throughout the season, no one would begrudge us a Champions League spot.

By Ben Wells @benwellsap