Liverpool's victory against Brentford last Saturday could be a pivotal moment in the title race, and a similar performance against Ipswich Town on January 25 would be enough to secure victory, according to Reds expert David Lynch.
Arne Slot was forced to wait until the 91st minute for his side to take the lead against Brentford, with Darwin Nunez scoring twice in second-half stoppage time to give his team all three points.
With Arsenal drawing with Aston Villa later the same day, the Reds moved six points clear of the Gunners at the top of the Premier League and boast the advantage of having a game in hand.
Lynch was adamant that while the title is by no means won, Liverpool are getting to the point where finishing first looks almost inevitable, comparing the team's win on Saturday with their comeback victory against Aston Villa in 2019, telling Sports Mole: "It was hugely significant that they found a way to get over the line in this one because the comparison to the Villa game in 2019 is really apt.
"That [Villa] game meant Liverpool were five points clear of Man City going into the side's meeting at Anfield. It allowed them to make that gap into eight eventually, and for me, that couple of weeks was where the title was won that season. City didn't really feel that they could catch Liverpool from that point onwards.
"Liverpool score two goals late on [against Brentford], Arsenal fans are gutted, that atmosphere transmits into the stadium. As soon as Villa pull back a goal, doubts creep in. Villa get points and the gap is back to six points with Liverpool having a game in hand. You have to disregard the underlying numbers and statistics and [recognise] the mental impact those moments can have - that that will be hugely significant. It felt like one of those weekends you'll look back at and say, 'that's where Liverpool won the title.'"
Liverpool trailed 1-0 against Aston Villa away from home in the 2019-20 campaign - a season in which they won the Premier League - but scored in the 87th and 94th minutes to take all three points, and the nature of the Reds' victory against Brentford was distinctly familiar.
Liverpool's exceptional Brentford performance
Though Liverpool left it late to open the scoring against Brentford, they undoubtedly merited all three points and could have found the back of the net multiple times throughout the clash.
The Reds produced 37 shots during Saturday's game, matching their record for attempts in a Premier League fixture since Opta started tracking shot data in 2003-04.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch expressed his belief that the nature of Liverpool's win did not reflect the total dominance that they displayed, saying: "Liverpool [were] so dominant, taking so many shots and the way that they completely controlled Brentford's threat for the majority of the game was so impressive, yet it gets to the 90th minute and you're thinking, 'I'm going to have to write or talk about this and try and accentuate the positives'.
"People [were] going to see three draws on the bounce and worry 'is this a little bit of a wobble for Liverpool? Is it falling apart a little bit?' I'm a big believer in the underlying numbers and the fact that they do tell us something.
"Arne Slot made this point after the game, that [when] you look at the XG from the games that Liverpool have drawn recently, and it would have been the same at Brentford even if they'd drawn that, look at how dominant Liverpool were. Look at how good they are at generating good quality shots and giving up very few good quality shots as well. It's clearly a really good football team."
Slot's side created 2.7xG against Manchester United on January 5 and two xG against Nottingham Forest on January 14 while only facing a combined xG total of 1.3 in those games, but the Reds were held to stalemates in both matches despite generating numerous opportunities in front of goal.
© Imago
Why fans should be confident ahead of Ipswich Town fixture
Liverpool are set to welcome relegation-threatened Ipswich Town to Anfield next Saturday, and the Merseysiders will be confident that they can claim victory given the visitors are 18th and were beaten 6-0 by Manchester City last Sunday.
The Reds generated 3.4 xG against Brentford and though they only scored with their 36th and 37th shots of the match, it would be surprising if they did not find the back of the net earlier next weekend if they perform similarly.
Lynch acknowledged the quality of opposition that Liverpool have faced in recent weeks, but told Sports Mole that Slot might not have to be nearly as concerned about the threat of Ipswich, saying: "Forest and Brentford back-to-back is pretty tricky - two sides who you think you're going to dominate them in terms of possession and that's the expectation going into the game, but they want you to do that.
"They're so threatening on the counter. We know how good Forest are on the counter, but Brentford are excellent as well with Mbeumo and Wissa up top. It makes you feel like every time you give up a counter, you lose a bit of belief. Those are the mental tests attached to it, whereas Anfield against [Ipswich] who are struggling this season - a side who've conceded six in the last game - it's a nicer environment to play in.
"It's a real good opportunity for Liverpool to go into that game and back up what they did at Brentford and say, 'OK, we had a little blip, it was a couple of draws back-to-back, but now we're out of it. We're ready to kick on and go and really seize this league title.' It's a kind fixture on paper and I'm sure Liverpool want to prove that."
Liverpool beat Ipswich 2-0 in the reverse fixture in their first game of the 2024-25 season on August 17, and though the first half was closely fought, Slot made changes in the second half and provided his side with the platform from which to dominate the rest of the match.
Lewis Nolan
