Ah, well, you win some and you lose some, as the saying goes, and last night there was a gigantic win for Luck and a disappointing loss for Judgement. For once though I am not talking horses but football.
Anything less than victory for Liverpool would have thrown a giant spanner into their title bid. For Southampton, defeat against title challengers is to be expected if not accepted. As the game played out it was clear that Saints, reborn under the tremendous Ralph Hasenhüttl, did not turn up in the mood to accept defeat. Since his arrival, Arsenal and Spurs have been defeated, Manchester United pushed to the wire and now Liverpool given a nasty scare, even if the result looked certain for this spectator as soon as the equaliser was fumbled in.
As so often in sport the game hinged on a ‘what-might-have-been’ of minuscule proportions. What might have occurred had Shane Long made fractionally better contact with that chance for two-nil we will never know, however that was the moment the game disappeared for Saints. The equaliser, that had been in the post, bolstered Jürgen Klopp‘s side and despite starting the second half as they had begun the first the game always looked up for the home side.
However, Long’s miss was not the last significant moment of the game. Mo Salah’s equaliser, worthy of winning any game, was more than just a goal, it was a first goal in two months. The Egyptian’s relief was evident. Three points was important but having Salah back in scoring form could be equally so over the coming weeks.
In the best title race in years most football fans have a preference for either Manchester City or Liverpool. For me it is Liverpool, despite the recruitment of so many Saints over the past few years or perhaps because of my friend @happyaslarry. Either way, I badly wanted Southampton to win last night and for twenty-five beautiful minutes I thought that we might. In the end though, the better team won, and while that is not always the case in individual matches the best team will almost always win the league. That is a question that will be answered over the coming weeks.
No returns for either side yesterday, let’s hope Saturday can be a little kinder to us both.
Here’s a smiling @happyaslarry on today’s selections:
”Big Data - well my job is to do with data. And I work with a girl called Chiara. And I was trying to recollect something as I thought about the pub last night, memory loss being my biggest nightmare when drinking too much! If any of them even place then luck must be declared the winner, Lord help us all! As its Grand National day I now have to turn to my own judgement!”
Luck
Judgement
Starting pots: £50 each.
Luck Yesterday: £0
Judgement Yesterday: £0
Luck total returns: £2.34
Judgement total returns: £15.67
Days remaining: 7
Winners/P&L to £1 level stake.
Luck: 6/-£18.67
Judgement: 7/+£6.83
