Lucas is in his 10th season at the club, and has been part of a side that has finished second twice.
Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva and Ragnar Klavan
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has told Sky Sports that he believes the side can win the title, but within that belief has issued a reminder that being top of the table at an early stage of the season doesn’t mean you go on to win the thing.
The Reds went a point clear at the top prior to the international break thanks to a 6-1 win over Watford. It took the Reds onto 26 points from their opening 11 games – and they have scored 30 goals in the process.
The Brazilian told Sky Sports: “Yes I think we can with the title. We have had very good results and playing against some very hard teams and we’ve showed that if we perform the way we are at this moment, we believe we can win the title.
“But it is a very early stage. I have been top of the league in other years at this stage around Christmas time and ended up not winning so we have to go game by game and it is a long season.”
The two occasions when the Reds have been top during Lucas’s time with the Reds have been in the 2008/09 season, where they finished second on 86 points to a Manchester United side during one of their strongest periods of dominance, and on second on 84 points to Manchester City in 2013/14 season – where many feel Liverpool should have got over the line.
In both season’s Liverpool got off to good starts, they weren’t far off the pace if they weren’t setting the pace themselves.
Of course, Liverpool were up against very talented sides there in terms of the title race. Both sides found different ways to win – the side from 2008/09 was perhaps unlucky to lose out given they had collated the most points since their last title triumph and they were just up against a very good side in a highly competitive era.
Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva has a shot saved
Though Lucas carries belief in him, his experience of being in the dressing room on two occasions when the Reds went close could prove to be vital. On the other side of the coin, there is a two-time title winner in James Milner in the dressing room too. Jordan Henderson, Simon Mignolet, Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge were all among the side that came so close in 2014.
They certainly believe they have the talent, but there are a lot of players who now have some kind of experience and they need to use it to their advantage and keep their feet on the ground.
There will be bumps in the road, if Liverpool are going to win the league, they are not just going to win every single game until it becomes mathematically impossible for any of the other challengers to catch them. Belief and caution in equal measure could be vital among the squad if they are to sustain their challenge, and maybe even win their holy grail.
Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva with Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp
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