Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool FC arrives for the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool FC at Selhurst Park

I was on train with Liverpool fans when Arsenal lost and this is what happened

After Liverpool came from behind once again to win late on against Crystal Palace on Saturday, Theo Squires thinks the Mentality Monsters are back

11 Dec 2023, 05:00 by Theo Squires · Liverpool Echo

I was on the train with Liverpool supporters when Arsenal lost and this is what happened

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As Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott prepared to come on at Selhurst Park, Liverpool supporters were resigned to the prospect of Premier League top spot slipping through their fingers.

It was the 74th minute and the Reds were trailing 1-0 away at Crystal Palace - a side who had won just one of their previous eight matches. Jurgen Klopp’s men hadn’t even recorded a shot on target.

Yet within moments of the pair coming on, Elliott had lured in the foul that saw Jordan Ayew sent off for a second bookable offence, before Jones set up Mohamed Salah for Liverpool’s equaliser.

Come the 90th minute, just after the fourth official had signalled for 10 minutes of stoppage-time, Elliott received the ball from Salah before firing into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to clinch what had looked a previously unlikely win.

Cue elated celebrations as the Reds moved top of the table, albeit courtesy of playing before all their rivals on Saturday. “Liverpool, top of the league! Liverpool, Liverpool, top of the League!” boomed out from the away supporters.

Hours later as the ECHO travelled back to Merseyside, catching the 6.43pm train from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street, supporters were glued to proceedings at Villa Park as nearest rivals Arsenal took on Aston Villa - a side that had already defeated Man City at home earlier in the week.

Admittedly, following the action was easier said than done amid stormy weather conditions outside, unreliable wifi which had a knack of dropping out at the worst possible moment, and plugs that were not working, making it impossible to charge any electrical devices.

Still, through a mixture of social media and Sky Sports and NOW TV mobile apps, the Liverpool supporters found a way to follow every twist and turn during the latter stages at Villa Park - including Kai Havertz’s controversial late disallowed goal.

Come the final whistle, relieved chants of, “Liverpool, top of the league! Liverpool, Liverpool, top of the League!” sang out again from tired fans, ironically as the train passed through the Midlands.

A few hours earlier, the very same supporters would have almost been in disbelief at how their side had turned a dismal performance into a last-gasp victory in the capital. But come 7.30pm, there was nothing temporary about top spot being in the Reds’ possession.

But why the surprise and disbelief? After all, Kopites were made well-aware by Klopp that they had to turn from doubters into believers when he first took over at the club in October 2015.

His ‘Liverpool 2.0’ have quietly established themselves as title-contenders this season, but there is still a sense of caution after a transitional campaign last time out. But with Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United all to visit Anfield over the upcoming festive period, they have the opportunity to make themselves halfway point favourites.

A sign of a title-winning side is being able to win when not playing well. The Reds have done exactly that three times in the past week when defeating Fulham, Sheffield United, and now Crystal Palace. In the process, they have also snatched late victory from the claws of defeat against both the Cottagers and the Eagles.

Elliott’s 91st winner against Palace marked the 17th time Liverpool have won a Premier League match in the last minute under Klopp. Only Arsene Wenger and David Moyes have overseen more in the division’s history. Meanwhile, they have won 18 points from losing positions in the English top-flight this season - comfortably a total emphatically more than any other side.

Meanwhile, Elliott and Jones’ contributions signalled the ninth and tenth time a substitute has contributed to a goal in the Premier League for the Reds this season. Seven have had decisive impacts on games, while four of those have come in the past week.

The table will tell you how the league-leaders have won the most and lost the least games, while boasting the most prolific attack and meanest defence. And perhaps most remarkably, this is without, for the majority at least, even playing particularly well. It is clear that Klopp's side’s best is still very much to come.

Yet, in truth, the manner of these victories is reminiscent of the German’s first great Liverpool side. Such wins instantly bring back memories of Aston Villa away, November 2019, yet a look back over the Reds’ 2019/20 Premier League-winning campaign and so many results are littered with late goals and comeback wins. It is called the stuff of champions for a reason.

Klopp famously labelled that side ‘Mentality Monsters’. But back in September after defeating LASK Linz 3-1 in Austria in the opening Europa League group-game, in another comeback win that was already their fourth of the season in just their sixth outing, the German dismissed the notion that his new-look side had regained such a tag.

“Yes (it is too early)! When I said that phrase (mentality monsters) at that time, it was not that I planned that way,” he said at the time. “I just remember watching a game and thinking, ‘Oh my God, how did they come back?’.

"I understand why you are asking me this. It was not long ago I was being asked about us being 1-0 down, 1-0 down, 1-0 down. I understand that this may come up again some time, but this feels completely different.

"Now it is just that we have changed a few things and turned games around. Staying in a game is a duty and we did that so far, which is why we have turned situations.

"Mentality? That is something we will create. What we have now is a mood. This is a spirit we have created because the boys really like playing with each other. It is a close group."

Three months on with his ‘Liverpool 2.0’ side top of the Premier League table and onlookers again left thinking, ‘Oh my God, how did they come back?’, maybe now Klopp is starting to think differently himself. That mentality has very much been created.

Whisper it quietly, whether the German wishes to admit it publicly or not, but it looks for all intents and purposes that the Mentality Monsters are back.

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