Trossard aiming for statement win at Liverpool

The top two in the Premier League go head-to-head on Saturday aiming for the number one spot in the division, and Leandro Trossard feels that a win against Liverpool would really make the rest of the division take notice.

Following last weekend’s impressive win over his former side Brighton & Hove Albion, we head to Anfield as league leaders knowing a win over the Reds would ensure the merriest of Christmases for our supporters, with us sitting on top of the tree on December 25.

However Leandro feels that beating a title rival away from home at a venue where they haven’t lost in the league since October 2022 would show we mean business this season, as we aim to end our 20-year wait for a championship.

Previewing the clash on Merseyside, he said: “It’s always good if you can win against any team, but if you win this one, I think it's more about the statement we will give. I think we have shown that against Brighton and other really good sides how we can play, be so dominant and win the game, and that’s what we want to do as well at Anfield.

“We approach every game wanting to win, and it’s the same for this one coming up. Obviously we know how good they are, especially at home; it's like a special atmosphere but I think if we are at our best we can compete with them at their place and win that game as well.”

We came so close to tasting our first triumph at the famous old ground since 2012 last season as we saw a two-goal lead wiped out by the home side in a game that ended 2-2 back in April.

Leandro came off the bench that day, having scored a hat-trick there earlier in the campaign for Brighton. He feels that the squad learnt some harsh lessons from that experience, which have stood us in good stead going into this campaign.

Reflecting on that match, he added: “I think it’s about game management. If you are 2-0 up, you just can't give it away. We know it's Anfield and with the atmosphere there, they believe and score goals up into the last minute.

“If you are 2-0 up you have to try and keep that and I think that's what we've learned this season as well. Even if we are only 1-0 up, we defend well, and we’re compact and try to break out and we’re doing that really well at the moment.”

Just six points separate the top five teams in the league going into a trio of festive fixtures, meaning the division could look a lot different when New Year’s Eve rolls around.

The Belgian forward is determined that we end 2023 on a high by remaining in the highest possible position, but believes that is tougher than ever given the calibre of teams battling to be the best in the country.

Analysing the title race, he said: “I think this year it's a bit more spread out over the teams, and everyone can beat everyone at the moment, instead of one or two teams sitting at the top competing with each other. That's the nice thing about the Premier League - it's so competitive. We're just happy that we are in a really good spot going into this game.

“We always try to do our own job and that's winning games and that's what we want to do every week - try to win games and be as good as possible. I think we're doing that at the moment, even with the fixtures we have and the amount of games we're playing. We try to manage that and I think we're in a really good moment.”