Liverpool on the verge

Liverpool are on the verge of doing what many at least, if not impossible, thought unlikely at the start of the season. They defeated Manchester City 3-2, and are now on first place, and it seems only Chelsea will be able to threaten them. But with their splendid form it seems, if not impossible, unlikely that Liverpool should mess it all up.

I have to add my own personal experience in this drama. On my way from Liberia to Turkey I passed through London, and went to see the aspiring champions of Liverpool play at West Ham. It was the first time I was ever at a Premier League match.

It was a fascinating experience. West Ham are a club full of traidtions, from their bubble song to their links with the legendary Bobby Moore. I enjoyed the atmosphere at the stadium, although I also found it extremely aggressive and negative. In football terms West Ham is hardly an impressive team, and plays quite primitive football. They started the match well, and it was not entirely just when Liverpool went ahead on a penalty kick by Stephen Gerrard. That said, at this time, Luis Suarez had already hit the bar. But West Ham equalized by Guy Demel in a situation where it seemed Andy Carroll fouled the goalkeeper. Andy Carroll was surely the one West Ham player who gave Liverpool trouble, but in the second half Liverpool played much better, and they fully deserved the victory. Luis Suarez hit the bar again, and they were in control. However, the winning goal was on a more controversial penalty kick, again by Stephen Gerrard, which made the home crowd much more aggressive against the away team.

In the end this was an important step for Liverpool, and I was happy I was there and may be able to say that I saw them play the first time they ever won a Premier League championship.