1/25/25 at Anfield

The 25th of January, 2025, marks the first time I ever went to Anfield to watch Liverpool Football Club. Singing, cheering, and quite a lot of smiling would be a simple summarization.

In the reverse fixture, in the opening match of the season, Liverpool struggled at times to score. However, they eventually found the back of the net twice. This time around, the Reds smothered the newly promoted side, holding on for dear life for top flight football. The score ended four to one, and the addition of three points in the tally for Liverpool.

Arne Slot’s side began with a front three of Díaz, Gakpo, and Salah. In the middle, Szoboszlai was the ten, with Mac Allister and Gravenberch running the pivot. In defense, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold played as fullbacks, and Van Dijk and Konaté played as center-backs. Finally, the Brazillian, Allisson Becker, stood between the posts.

For Ipswich Town, they began with a forward trio of Liam Delap, Jaden Philogene, and Wes Burns. Their midfield three consisted of Omari Hutchinson, Manchester City loanee, Kalvin Phillips, and Sam Morsy. In the back, Leif Davis and Axel Tuanzebe. And as for the center-back pairing, Jacob Greaves and Dara O’shea stepped in. Lastly, Christian Walton stood in goal.

The game immediately started with Liverpool controlling everything, and they never seemed to lose their grip. Szoboszlai struck first for the Reds, following a very nice through ball from Konaté. He carried the ball from 25 yards out to the 18, and slotted it into the bottom right corner with his weak foot. The keeper had a touch, but the ball was driven too hard, and too low for it to matter. 11 minutes in, and it was only getting started for the Reds. Ipswich would have small spouts of possession, but nothing seemed to accumulate. They did everything in their power to feed Liam Delap, but the young striker was constantly overrun by Van Dijk and Konaté.

They were able to hold on longer than the first, but eventually, something had to give way for Ipswich. It was only a matter of time until Salah and his bow-and-arrow celebration made an appearance. From the left wing, Gakpo played a curler through to the back post. Salah then took a neat touch, and hammered it into the net from close range. Walton had absolutely no chance with that one.

Again and again, Liverpool kept on coming. And their third came shortly after, from none other than the man who provided the previous assist. The Dutch winger had been in a great run of form, and it was only continuing. Ryan Gravenberch played a low cross from the right wing, and Szoboszlai flicked it on to the bottom left corner. Walton, who had been having a busy game, made a great save. But, it spilled right towards the penalty spot, where Gakpo had no trouble tapping it in. The score was now three to zero on the stroke of halftime.

In the second half, Ipswich was much more defensively sound. That was what they seemed to be doing at all times, as they could not keep hold of the ball. And again you can only do so much against the league leaders. The man of the hour, Cody Gakpo, made his mark yet again, this time, coming off a cross from Alexander-Arnold. It was the 65th minute, and it was now four to zero, marking three goal contributions for Gakpo.

The rest of the game saw Liverpool take their foot off the gas ever so slightly. They made many attack-minded substitutions, leaving them a bit more open in the back. The only defensive-minded sub being Wataru Endo, put in a shift, however, there’s only so much ground he can cover. This led to a last-minute goal by Ipswich in the 90th minutefrom Jacob Greaves. The final score of the game being, four to one.

Ultimately, I couldn’t have asked for a better first time at Anfield. Liverpool took care of business en route to their potential 20th title, and I was there to witness it. The atmosphere confirmed all the tales of Anfield, and their famous song to begin the match was nothing short of beautiful.

Up the Reds!