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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Paul Gorst

Well, the last week could hardly have gone better for Liverpool, could it?

After booking their place in the FA Cup final courtesy of a morale-boosting win over Manchester City - a victory that could yet have further ramifications beyond the Cup, from a psychological point of view - it was back to Premier League duty for Liverpool with a convincing 4-0 humiliation of Manchester United on Tuesday night.

The knowing closed-eyed nod of one Liverpool official at full-time suggested they enjoyed the latest Anfield triumph considerably. Some wins, to paraphrase a marketing slogan, mean more.

The atmospheres at both Wembley and Anfield at full-time were two of the best moments of what is shaping up to be an unforgettable season, and if Tuesday night is any barometer of what is to come for the rest of the campaign, it is promising to be one none of us will forget in a hurry.

I was at Anfield for the game against United and I have to say, the feeling of dread and concern was tangible all night from United's perspective. Journalists who cover them regularly spoke openly of the visitors just looking to keep the score down, while there were a couple of frank admissions from two legendary figures that summed it all up on the night.

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As the printed teams were being passed around the press room at around 7pm, Gary Neville was asked by one of the staff members if he wanted one. "No thanks," he responded. "I've already seen the teams, unfortunately!"

He was right to be worried, wasn't he? I also sat next to Paul Scholes in the press box and asked him at half-time, with Liverpool having turned in one of their best 45 minutes of the season and winning 2-0, just who would he take if he could only have one Reds player for United.

A long pause for thought was followed up by a straight-talking, no-nonsense answer that was not one bit complimentary about the collection of players at his former club right now. Sadly, we cannot print the response in full on the family-friendly pages of the ECHO, but he did eventually settle on Virgil van Dijk.

Speaking of chatting to players, it was great to have post-match mixed zones returning this week. Mohamed Salah's measured response to one particular request to stop and chat at Wembley spoke volumes about this Liverpool squad's mentality right now, but we might have to wait until we can reveal all about that, for now.

Van Dijk did stop, however, as myself and a handful of other reporters spoke to the £75m defender about a range of topics, and as ever, the Dutch defender was honest, considered and forthright in his responses to questions over handling Liverpool's jam-packed April, his long-term injury and the Reds' quadruple hopes.

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I'll be looking to speak to more of Liverpool's first-team players between now and the end of the season as they continue to close in on glory, so keep your eyes peeled on the ECHO's pages for those.

One of things that has struck me of late too is just how full of energy Liverpool seem to be. Despite having played 53 games already, the Reds are showing no signs of slowing down. They aren't labouring through games and still look so strong, even at this late stage. A lot of that is down to Klopp's willingness to chop and change and rest and rotate wherever possible. That can only be a good thing.

Next up then is the Merseyside derby and this weekend marks five years since Liverpool last lost in the Premier League at Anfield in front of a home crowd. Everton were one of the six teams to have won away from home against Liverpool last season in the behind-closed-doors era, but Sunday's visit will be a considerably different prospect for everyone concerned.

And then, after that, there's the small matter of a Champions League semi-final at home to Villarreal. It might be a while before we see another run-in like this. Enjoy it, Reds.

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