Liverpool Displays Historic Attacking Power Against Cardiff City

Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge Liverpool leads the Premier League in goals scored after 30 games.

The Reds’ tally of 82 is six more than the second top-scoring team, Manchester City. Yes, the same Manchester City that some analysts were calling the world’s greatest attacking team just two months ago. It’s the same Manchester City that has retained the status of “title favorites” since preseason. Impressed?

If not, consider this: Sunday’s 6-3 victory over Cardiff City saw Liverpool smash its club record for goals scored in a single Premier League season (dating back to the 1992-93).

The Reds scored 77 in 2008-09 under former manager Rafa Benitez. That season’s goal tally helped them finish in second place for just the second time in the Premier League era.

The 2013-14 Reds have surpassed their previous best goal output, and they still have eight games left to play. Impressed yet? You should be.

Current manager Brendan Rodgers deserves much of the credit for molding Liverpool into the one of world soccer’s most potent attacking forces. The Reds’ up-tempo passing game is thrilling fans, winning new admirers and, more importantly, earning points in the standings.

Liverpool sits second in the Premier League standings, trailing leaders Chelsea by just four points with a game in hand. Liverpool has won six consecutive Premier League games and is alone in having not lost a league game in 2014 (eight wins out of 10 games).

The attacking quality Liverpool has shown this season is truly historic — not in the sense that it hearkens back to a glorious yesteryear, either. The Reds are creating history before our eyes through a team effort, but forwards Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge lead the way.

Suarez and Sturridge, Liverpool’s vaunted “SAS” duo, are first and second on the Premier League’s top scorers’ chart with 28 and 19 respectively.

Suarez’s quality has been undisputed for the last five years, but he has raised his game to historic levels this season. The Uruguayan scored a hat-trick against Cardiff City, and he is now tied with club legend Robbie Fowler as its top scorer in a single Premier League season. Chances are, Suarez will score again before the season ends and stand alone in that regard. When he does, Suarez will inch closer to the Premier League record for goals scored in a single season, 31, which is held by Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Meanwhile, Sturridge’s progression from hot prospect to potential world-class striker has accelerated since he joined Liverpool from Chelsea in January 2013. The English hitman has scored 33 goals in 42 games for Liverpool.

Liverpool showed an exceptional attacking resilience against Cardiff City by overturning a one-goal deficit on two occasions. Upcoming games against stiffer opposition — Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea — will test Liverpool’s mettle. This season’s data suggests that the potent Reds will score, probably more than once.