Harbinger Of Glory

”Good day, everyone, and welcome to another broadcast of the Premier League here at the DW Area in Wigan.

My name is Martin Tyler, together here with Andy Grey for this crucial fixture in the 11th matchday of the Premier League!”

”Good day indeed, Martin,” Premier League commentator Andy Gray said on the broadcast as the noise from the crowd at the DW threatened to overshadow his words.

”It hasn’t been that long since the start of the season, but we are already close to a third of the way in, in this Premier League campaign!

And I am glad to say that this hasn’t been a boring campaign at all, especially for us neutrals watching from afar. Today we are here at one of the homes of the stories of the Premier League this season!”

”I am glad too, Andy, but here they come,” Martin Tyler said, as the two sets of players emerged from the tunnel into the afternoon light.

”The main characters of this affair in Wigan Athletic and Liverpool.

Ten games into the Premier League season, and the team leading this table is not the one most people in this country would have predicted in August nor ever after they barely scraped their promotion back into the Premier League!”

”It’s remarkable, isn’t it,” Andy Gray said beside him.

”And I keep using that word because I haven’t found a better one. What Shaun Dawson has built at this club is real.

It’s not a hot streak, it’s not a kind run of fixtures, it’s a team that genuinely knows what it’s doing and does it better than the people they’re playing against.”

”Agreed Gray, and yet,” Tyler said, ”here comes the examination, because Liverpool are not Fulham, nor are Liverpool Everton.

We can make the case that Wigan have played against the likes of Chelsea, but this side are a whole different affair.

This is Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and whatever you think of where they are in the table this season, that means something.”

”It does,” Gray said.

”And I’ll be honest. I’ve been sitting here this week thinking about where this goes for Wigan if they get through today.

Because at some point the names they’re collecting start to become something you can’t argue with anymore. You can only watch.”

”Well,” Tyler said, ”we are here to watch. So let’s do exactly that.”

Down the pitch, the Liverpool players moved through the handshake line, exchanging brief greetings with the Wigan side before continuing toward their half.

While they did so, Klopp spotted Dawson on the touchline and immediately moved forward.

He approached with his hand already extended as Dawson saw him and also turned towards him.

”Congratulations,” Klopp said. ”Ten wins. That’s some run.”

Dawson took his hand and smiled.

”Thank you.”

”I’ve watched a few of your games,” Klopp continued.

”You have a very well-coached side, and you make life difficult for people.”

”We’ve had a good start.”

Klopp glanced toward the pitch, where both teams were beginning to spread out for the final preparations.

”Enjoy it,” he said. ”But not too much today.”

Dawson laughed and then shook his head.

”That’s the plan.”

Klopp gave his shoulder a brief pat before stepping away.

”Good luck.”

”You too.”

They parted, each turning back toward his own bench as the stadium continued to roar around them.

On the pitch, Whatmough and Van Dijk met at the centre circle, two centre backs doing the captain’s business.

The coin went up and came down after they had each chosen their sides, and with the outcome decided, they shook hands and walked back to their teams.

”Okay, guys, so we are playing from here to there,” Whatmough said and then indicated when he got close.

The players who were in the process of taking their jackets off nodded and then backed off the pitch to put them away before returning.

Amidst that, Leo was on the edge of the centre circle shaking his legs out slightly, trying to feel light, trying to feel like himself again after the week the malaria had made of things, and the DW was so loud that he could feel it in his chest.

He backed off a moment later when the rest of the players began filing off towards their positions, with him settling right into his place beside Tiehi as the match threatened to begin with Darwin Nunez standing over the ball some distance away.

The official made his last checks, and when he was done, he put the whistle to his mouth before letting it rip.

”And we are off here,” Martin Tyler said on the broadcast as Nunez played it back and Liverpool began.

Opposite them, Wigan settled into their shape and began pressing, and there was nothing reckless about it.

The forwards closed the centre first, forcing Liverpool toward the areas Dawson had identified during the week.

Behind them, the midfield stayed compact enough to prevent the first pass through the middle and yet Liverpool did not look uncomfortable.

They had seen this kind of press countless times before, and this wasn’t any different.

The ball moved quickly between them, often with one touch, sometimes two, but it wasn’t more than that.

A midfielder, specifically Gravenberch, dropped toward the centre-backs while MacAllister moved into space, making it hard for Wigan to track since that meant going out of position.

Suddenly the passing lanes that had looked closed were open again.

”Liverpool have started brightly here,” Martin Tyler observed.

”Wigan aren’t giving them much room, but Liverpool are moving it well.”

On the broadcast, Andy Gray agreed.

”That’s the difference with this Liverpool side. You can press them, but you’ve got to press them together. If one player goes too early, they’ll play through you.”

Andy Gray’s words felt more like a prediction when, just three minutes in, Trent Alexander-Arnold moved inside from right-back and took up a position alongside the midfielders.

Carlo tried following the familiar movement from the right back, but just then he received the ball.

In reaction to that, Carlo slid in trying to block the passing lane between Trent and Salah, but that was never the objective for the English international.

Without a single hesitation, he received the ball, looked up and sent it over the top toward Darwin Núñez.

”And Liverpool might be in here,” Marin Tyler called on the broadcast as the striker brought it down on his chest with Whatmough tight behind him, but O’Shea had already stepped across.

He used his body to win the challenge and knocked the ball back toward Ben Amos, who took one touch and then pounced on the ball, holding onto it like an egg.

At that, the DW responded with a roar.

It was only a defensive clearance, but the crowd treated it like a goal.