LASK on Thursday
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Oh I think he'll do just fine with the large increase in salary, playing for one of the world's top teams instead of a minnow, in the league he's always dreamt of playing in, alongside world class players and actually having a real chance at winning a trophy(ies). All at 31 when he must have thought his time had gone. I bet he's loving being here and must think he's dreaming.
Trentesque performance from Badger there. MotM for me.
Yeah carrying your team through a relegation battle season after season has its appeal but he's been there done that and has chosen a different experience. I don't think he came here at 31 thinking he was going to saunter into the Liverpool first team.
Clear pen. See pic below (and at around 12 secs in the video), studs up on Diaz's shin, he tried to pull out but too late. Ref was adamant and VAR confirmed it (if he'd have missed his shin then it would have been overturned). It wasn't a leg breaker but a clear foul nonetheless.
Kelleher 6.5 – good distribution, decent on corners and one good save with his left foot. No chance on the goal.
Bajcetic 6.5 – very interesting to see Badger being asked to copy Trent's role to a tee; one moment he was in midfield next to Endo, then he drops into CB with Konate pushing wide. This is as clear a confirmation as any of Klopp's plan for Trent's role this season. Back to Bajcetic, he was a bit rusty in the first half and made a few unnecessary giveaways and fouls. But given more licence to attack in the 2nd, his class was immediately apparent. It will be so fun to see him grow and develop at Liverpool – no matter which role or position, he has the football intelligence to make it his own.
Konate 6.5 – unfussy and dominant; won everything in the air. Subbed with 10 minutes to go as he was on a yellow and to protect his fitness.
Van Dijk 7.5 MOTM – it feels like a slight overkill to praise Van Dijk's performance against the lowly LASK, but he was truly dominant throughout, didn't put a foot or a pass wrong, marshaled the back 4 and won 2 big headers on attacking corners, one of which created a big chance for Nunez.
Tsimikas 6.0 – prior to this game, he only played 4 minutes in the game against Bournemouth, so was understandably rusty, with several poor touches or untimely slips. Was there when we needed him to defend or clear the ball and his set piece deliveries were solid.
Endo 5.5 – don't misinterpret the relatively low rating; he definitely did a few useful things in the game and never stopped trying. But as the game progressed, it started to become apparent that he is probably not the kind of DM we need when playing against a low block, when what you need from your #6 most of all is unerring metronomic passing and ability to snuff out counterattacks through superior physicality and tackling – essentially what Fabinho did for his 3 good seasons. Endo is an experienced player, but how much experience does he have with this kind of football; how many teams ever play against Stuttgart or Japan with a low block? All in all, I think I now see him as a defensive enforcer similar to latter-days Milner, someone who will give you more bite in midfield especially when the game is somewhat chaotic and control of the midfield is contested. The blueprint for games where we expect to dominate was against Villa and we only needed him there at the end to see the game off.
Gravenberch 6.5 – overall very promising. He covers a lot of ground with his long strides; in him and Szoboszlai we now have 2 midfielders fully capable of playing box-to-box. He seems well-suited to Klopp's requirements for LCM position; someone who takes a fair amount of playmaking responsibility and is comfortable receiving the ball under pressure and finding a way to progress the play forward. Showed a bit of inexperience trying to play too ambitiously and quickly when the team was a little bit disheartened after conceding a goal, resulting in turnovers. If Thiago ever gets fit, hopefully he can teach Gravy a few lessons on how to slow the game down.
Elliott 6.0 – maybe a slightly harsh rating for a typical Harvey performance: bright and creative with his passing (a great cross for Nunez in the 1st half and played his part in our 2nd goal), one bad giveaway that led to a dangerous attack, working hard, but he just doesn't have the pace and running power to track back in the way Szobo or (potentially) Gravy can. His strengths and weaknesses are becoming more apparent and settled as he matures. Switched to LCM after Salah came on.
Diaz 6.5 – I might be in the minority of one, but I keep thinking that Diaz might be a more effective and efficient player in the middle than on the left wing. Whenever he gets a bit of green grass on the wing to run into, he holds onto the ball too long without really progressing the play – on the other hand when cutting or drifting into the crowded middle sections of the pitch, he is forced to make decisions faster and he is actually one of the few players we have with almost Suarez-like audacity to try the unexpected and that can lead either to a clear chance or a counter-press opportunity – and his counter-pressing is superb. There is tons of potential to work with, but at the moment despite putting up good goal-scoring numbers, I feel Diaz is also kind of disruptive to our game. Interesting problem for Klopp to solve.
Nunez 6.5 – looks like his hold-up play and counter-pressing have both somewhat improved this season. His budding productive relationship with Salah is excellent news for his chances to hold on to the starting spot.
Doak 5.5 – did manage a couple of decent plays, but the gulf in class to Salah at this point seems as vast as the Grand Canyon. Also, not a fan of the Frankenstein haircut – why would anyone willingly do that to themselves?
SUBS:
Gomez 6.0 – professional job once again.
MacAllister 6.0 – nothing spectacular, just played his role.
Szoboszlai 6.5 – fucking thoroughbred of a footballer. Linz players seemed instantly intimidated by his speed and technical ability.
Salah 9.0 – wow. Can't give him MOTM as we were already ahead when he came on, but he was on a different level.
Matip n/a – legend.
Overall it feels like this team is full of potential and quality in depth – Klopp had a luxury of making 11 changes from the team that started on the weekend; they started well, lost a bit of confidence after conceding the rather unlucky goal, but there was enough quality to turn the game around yet again without much fuss. We're not even close to hitting our stride – when that finally happens, watch out!
Oh, and the purple kit is boss.
Bajcetic 6.5 – very interesting to see Badger being asked to copy Trent's role to a tee; one moment he was in midfield next to Endo, then he drops into CB with Konate pushing wide. This is as clear a confirmation as any of Klopp's plan for Trent's role this season. Back to Bajcetic, he was a bit rusty in the first half and made a few unnecessary giveaways and fouls. But given more licence to attack in the 2nd, his class was immediately apparent. It will be so fun to see him grow and develop at Liverpool – no matter which role or position, he has the football intelligence to make it his own.
Konate 6.5 – unfussy and dominant; won everything in the air. Subbed with 10 minutes to go as he was on a yellow and to protect his fitness.
Van Dijk 7.5 MOTM – it feels like a slight overkill to praise Van Dijk's performance against the lowly LASK, but he was truly dominant throughout, didn't put a foot or a pass wrong, marshaled the back 4 and won 2 big headers on attacking corners, one of which created a big chance for Nunez.
Tsimikas 6.0 – prior to this game, he only played 4 minutes in the game against Bournemouth, so was understandably rusty, with several poor touches or untimely slips. Was there when we needed him to defend or clear the ball and his set piece deliveries were solid.
Endo 5.5 – don't misinterpret the relatively low rating; he definitely did a few useful things in the game and never stopped trying. But as the game progressed, it started to become apparent that he is probably not the kind of DM we need when playing against a low block, when what you need from your #6 most of all is unerring metronomic passing and ability to snuff out counterattacks through superior physicality and tackling – essentially what Fabinho did for his 3 good seasons. Endo is an experienced player, but how much experience does he have with this kind of football; how many teams ever play against Stuttgart or Japan with a low block? All in all, I think I now see him as a defensive enforcer similar to latter-days Milner, someone who will give you more bite in midfield especially when the game is somewhat chaotic and control of the midfield is contested. The blueprint for games where we expect to dominate was against Villa and we only needed him there at the end to see the game off.
Gravenberch 6.5 – overall very promising. He covers a lot of ground with his long strides; in him and Szoboszlai we now have 2 midfielders fully capable of playing box-to-box. He seems well-suited to Klopp's requirements for LCM position; someone who takes a fair amount of playmaking responsibility and is comfortable receiving the ball under pressure and finding a way to progress the play forward. Showed a bit of inexperience trying to play too ambitiously and quickly when the team was a little bit disheartened after conceding a goal, resulting in turnovers. If Thiago ever gets fit, hopefully he can teach Gravy a few lessons on how to slow the game down.
Elliott 6.0 – maybe a slightly harsh rating for a typical Harvey performance: bright and creative with his passing (a great cross for Nunez in the 1st half and played his part in our 2nd goal), one bad giveaway that led to a dangerous attack, working hard, but he just doesn't have the pace and running power to track back in the way Szobo or (potentially) Gravy can. His strengths and weaknesses are becoming more apparent and settled as he matures. Switched to LCM after Salah came on.
Diaz 6.5 – I might be in the minority of one, but I keep thinking that Diaz might be a more effective and efficient player in the middle than on the left wing. Whenever he gets a bit of green grass on the wing to run into, he holds onto the ball too long without really progressing the play – on the other hand when cutting or drifting into the crowded middle sections of the pitch, he is forced to make decisions faster and he is actually one of the few players we have with almost Suarez-like audacity to try the unexpected and that can lead either to a clear chance or a counter-press opportunity – and his counter-pressing is superb. There is tons of potential to work with, but at the moment despite putting up good goal-scoring numbers, I feel Diaz is also kind of disruptive to our game. Interesting problem for Klopp to solve.
Nunez 6.5 – looks like his hold-up play and counter-pressing have both somewhat improved this season. His budding productive relationship with Salah is excellent news for his chances to hold on to the starting spot.
Doak 5.5 – did manage a couple of decent plays, but the gulf in class to Salah at this point seems as vast as the Grand Canyon. Also, not a fan of the Frankenstein haircut – why would anyone willingly do that to themselves?
SUBS:
Gomez 6.0 – professional job once again.
MacAllister 6.0 – nothing spectacular, just played his role.
Szoboszlai 6.5 – fucking thoroughbred of a footballer. Linz players seemed instantly intimidated by his speed and technical ability.
Salah 9.0 – wow. Can't give him MOTM as we were already ahead when he came on, but he was on a different level.
Matip n/a – legend.
Overall it feels like this team is full of potential and quality in depth – Klopp had a luxury of making 11 changes from the team that started on the weekend; they started well, lost a bit of confidence after conceding the rather unlucky goal, but there was enough quality to turn the game around yet again without much fuss. We're not even close to hitting our stride – when that finally happens, watch out!
Oh, and the purple kit is boss.
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Though Gravenberch and Endo were terrible especially in that 1st half. Elliott started As bad as the other two but grew into the game and was way better than the other two.
Didn't think it was a pen at first, even after the reply but with that pic above it makes more sense why the ref booked him as well
Didn't think it was a pen at first, even after the reply but with that pic above it makes more sense why the ref booked him as well
Ooooh no. Agree with the subs but over the whole game :
Kelleher - 6
Baj - 7
Ibou 7
Virgil - 8
Kostas - 5
Endo - 5
Grav - 6.5
Harvey - 5
Doak - 5
Nunez - 7
Diaz - 6.5
Well, nobody forced him! And he has played in four of the five games that he has been here for (all of which we have won). I would imagine he is happy enough.
Other than the goal Diaz was really poor.
Him and Endo gave the ball away loads of times in the 1st half. Great ball for the assist but overall felt he wasn't worth anything more than a 5. Endo was absolutely terrible though... Elliott started poorly but got better as the game went on. Put in one excellent ball onto the south American Andy Carroll's head who should have at least hit the target.
We really do need to start games better, can't keep starting shit and giving away goals because it will eventually bite us on the ass
On the plus side Gravenberch :
1 Assist
Created the most chances (5)
Was the most fouled player (4) committed 2 fouls.
Made 8 recoveries
45 times in possession
On the other hand :
24/36 passes completed (67%)
Gravenberch lost possession a whopping 17 times – five more than Wataru Endo and four times more than Harvey Elliott (however I'd also say that quite a few passes were 'adventurous' and that may or may not be a good thing).
Highlights
Interview with him post match, admits he was "sloppy sometimes".
Yeah, but also, if we’re going to take some time coming together as a team, then it’s now - Klopp generally rotates first half of the season then sticks to the same team for the business end.
I think it's pretty clear that Klopp is looking at a Gravenberch - Mac - Szobo midfield. Which could be tremendous once Gravy cuts out cutting caught in possession and gets his passing game going, both should happen with a little more time with the squad. Box to box runners both left and right for Mac, Trent, Robbo to find.
That sounds like someone new finding their feet while still developing.
I’m more worried about Endo and whether he’s capable of holding down a regular starting position.
Early days - but he looks out of his depth.
Holy fuck a cowamoly, so our midfield lost possession FORTY TWO TIMES?!?!?!
Curtis, Big Mac, Slobbers midfield with Gravy, Badger & Harvey providing the options and rotations I’m more down with.
And I loved Parma Violets too !
Agreed. It's a nice enough colour but not for a football kit IMHO.
So did I, but I don't want us putting out 11 sweeties on a football pitch.
Oh I'm not sure that's a very 'woke' thing to say !
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