Match ticket £53
Train £23-70
Bus £4
Tea £2
Taxi (£10/2) £5
Total £87-70
We are back! After a couple of months away from the football scene - with the arrival of one Baby Groundhopper - we headed back to Anfield for a key match against Arsenal. In fact we should have been here for Spurs on February 11th but that was scuppered by a suicide on the line. Today's journey was circuitous, taking us via a bus from Stockport, due to a landslide which had closed Lime Street. We haven't had much luck on recent travels to Merseyside.
Today was actually the first time we had been in the Main Stand Upper. Needless to say the views are impressive and, while the steps are steep, there is much more leg room than the old Main Stand. The views from the main concourse take in the Mersey and a small blue ground in the distance - oh yes, that will be Goodison Park! With Spring on the horizon, the game almost kicked off in the light, with the sun setting over distant terraced houses.
Liverpool approached this game with an intensity and desire that stunned the North London side. Within 9 minutes, they were ahead when Firmino slotted in at the near post. There was a strength to the attacking play which seemed to shock Arsenal. When the Gunners did have a period of dominance, Liverpool held them at bay well and withstood a mini-onslaught, just as they had against Manchester City in December. There are signs that this Klopp side are developing a tougher underbelly, and are starting to adapt to different situations they encounter. Deservedly Liverpool then made it two through the excellent Sadio Mane from a flowing forward move, on 40 minutes.
The arrival of Sanchez in the second period unsettled the Reds for a period, and they saw little of the ball in a fallow 20 minute spell. Danny Welbeck pulled one back on 57 minutes and then suddenly Liverpool looked a bit ropey. But again they stuck to their task and while there was always a feeling that Arsenal could score, they never managed a breakthrough. Then a fine counterattacking move resulted in Winjaldum slotting in right in front of the Kop in the 91st minute of a cracking game. So honours to Liverpool, whose remarkable results against the top teams continues. If only they could beat the Bournemouths and Burnleys of this world!
Our journey back was beset by delays, with a misprint in the bus replacement timetable - and chaos outside Lime Street - meaning we finally got home at midnight. We shall add this to the list of travel disasters which seem to occur on a semi-regular basis these days. But it was all worth it. Waking up the next day with the sun shining I got a definite sense that this was our last game of Winter.
