Mark Lawrenson picks out six Liverpool stars key to imminent title success
EXCLUSIVE: Mark Lawrenson scored when Liverpool beat Tottenham at Anfield to win the 1982 title and has picked out the six gamers he feels have been key this season
Liverpool want only a level in opposition to Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday to win the title – and Mark Lawrenson is aware of all about that. Lawrenson was a part of Bob Paisley’s 1982 group, which beat Spurs at Anfield within the penultimate sport of the season to assert the Reds’ thirteenth title. He headed dwelling the equaliser previous Ray Clemence, on his first return to Anfield, earlier than laying on the second for Kenny Dalglish earlier than Ronnie Whelan bagged the third within the 3-1 win. Lawrenson had change into Liverpool’s document signing – and Britain’s most-expensive defender – the earlier summer time following his £900,000 transfer from Brighton and says that day was key within the group’s growth. “It was necessary as a result of I feel they had been six of us, who hadn’t gained a league,” he informed Mirror Sport.
“Myself, Rushie [Ian Rush], Sammy [Lee], Brucie [Grobbelaar], Ronnie, Craig [Johnston]. Bob made the choice to ring the adjustments, to usher in youthful blood with us. However you continue to had 17 or 18 internationals, all making an attempt to get into the group, and that remained the driving pressure.”
Lawrenson performed in midfield in opposition to Tottenham and says Arne Slot’s engine room of Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis MacAllister has been basic to their record-equalling twentieth title success. “I feel they’re the very best three trio within the league,” he stated. “I don’t suppose there’re any higher they usually hardly get injured.
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“When you keep in mind, after we began the season, everybody was going ‘Gravenberch, he didn’t do very nicely final season’ and ‘the place does he play?’. The three of them have labored it out between themselves and that engine room for me has simply been the very best. “Then, you chuck Mo [Salah’s] objectives into that, Virgil’s [van Dijk] defending, Alisson and that’s why they’re going to win the league.” Lawrenson additionally praised Slot for having the intelligence to not rip up Jurgen Klopp’s squad, regardless that they tailed off in final season’s title race to complete third. “The factor with the supervisor is he’s gone in there and he’s checked out what he’s obtained and thought ‘have you learnt what? We’ve obtained an actual likelihood right here, I don’t must make too many adjustments’. He hasn’t signed anybody aside from [Federico] Chiesa and he’s simply finished little issues. It’s Klopp’s group, isn’t it? “He’s obtained a pleasant manner about him, the gamers clearly like him, you possibly can simply inform. He’s principally everybody’s pal, usually he’s an clever fella who’s checked out it and thought I can work with these gamers.”
Liverpool have cruised to the title, having been high since October, in distinction to the 1981-82 marketing campaign after they languishing in twelfth after shedding at dwelling to Manchester Metropolis on Boxing Day. Paisley responded by stripping Phil Thompson of the captaincy and handing it to Graeme Souness and Liverpool gained 20 of their subsequent 24 league video games to win the title in opposition to Spurs. “After that defeat to Man Metropolis, that was the one time I heard Joe Fagan go completely mad at us,” stated Lawrenson. “Joe tore into us, saying he was sick and uninterested in all this, we ought to be doing it this manner.
“That was the kick up the bottom we wanted and we went on an incredible run. At half-time in opposition to Spurs, we had been 1-0 right down to an absolute worldie from Glenn Hoddle, however Bob was calm, saying Spurs will run out of steam. “I scored with a looping header previous Clem and I didn’t see it go in. I then performed a ball over my head for Kenny to run on to and rating earlier than Ronnie smashed in one other one close to the tip, and that was it!”
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