So, it’s finally happened; Liverpool have lost a league game. Watford’s stunning 3-0 win at the weekend brought an end to a glorious run and plenty of happiness to opposition fans.
Liverpool, who really shouldn’t be all that bothered given their status at present, can turn their attention elsewhere and focus on securing that much-coveted first Premier League crown.
Nobody has come close to matching Liverpool this season but with them now beaten, the ‘undefeated’ title must go to someone and in this case the winners are Birmingham City.
Pep Clotet’s side are currently 13 games unbeaten, with Wigan the last side to beat the Blues with a 3-2 win on January 1st.
The run is an impressive one to say the least, although some way off the club-record 20 game unbeaten run in the 1994/95 season.
This current side will need a big effort and some luck to match that, and manager Clotet says Liverpool’s defeat shows just how hard that will be.
“The streak of the ‘Pool’ shows how difficult it is to be unbeaten,” he told Marca.
“It’s something I would never have thought of because we go game by game, but obviously it fills us with pride.
“We know how difficult it is to find so much consistency in a league so competitive and where so many games are played. Even more so with such a small squad.”
This week sees Birmingham City turn their attention away from that unbeaten run in the league to the FA Cup, with a place in the quarter-finals very much within their grasp.
Having beaten Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City in the last two rounds, they now travel to high-flying Leicester City, who currently sit third in the Premier League.
A win at the King Power will not be an easy thing to manage for a side currently 15th in the Championship, something Clotet is also acutely aware of.
“We know the difference. Leicester are third in the Premiership, but we’re looking to win,” he added.
“We have always valued the Cup, and for the first time since 2011-12, we are in the round of 16.
“It’s time to be pragmatic. Leicester put you under pressure, and you have to be well organised to counteract it and take your chances.”
