Liverpool v Southampton Match Thread

[LeTallecWiz]

Ming - n/a - had nothing to do really.
TAA - 7 - solid performance
Lovren - 8 - I think he would have been MoTM if it wasn't for Salah's goals.
Klavan - 7 - didn't do anything wrong!!! Amazing!
Moreno - 7.5 - Have we really found a solid LB? Can't be ... Must continue to doubt.
Henederson - 6 - He improved in the 2nd half, but his crossing and medium to long range passing was off today. He gets much better when he's pushing up the pitch but with Coutinho (& next year Keita) there, I don't know if he is first 11 material anymore.
Gini - 6 - ok
Coutinho - 7.5 - wasn't great in the 1st half, but really starting finding space in the 2nd half. Nice goal to wrap up his performance.
Mane - 7 - subdued but when he's on the pitch, defenders are fucked. No defense can be comfortable with him AND salah on the pitch.
Salah - 8.5 - MoTM. Goals ... and more goals ... what a signing.
Firmino - 6 - I would have given him a 5, but his tracking back - esp - on the goal gave us so many opportunities ...

Van Dijk - 5

 

[Dreambeliever]

Well one things for certain after today's game.

VVD will be shite for us

 

[gkmacca]

Good performance today, although it still drives me mad how, once we get three up, everyone seems to lose their concentration when they get further chances. We should have scored two or three more but wasted chance after chance.

 

[Modo]

Just watched the highlights, obviously Coutinho and Salah stood out but TAA looked good as well. How did he do?
Looked more like a midfielder than a fullback.

 

[HC]

Mig-7
taa-7.5
klavan 6
Lovren 6
Moreno 7
wini 6
hendo 7
coutinho 7.5
Salah 9
mane 7.5
Firmino 5.5

ox bleurgh
can bleurgh

Games just seem to pass firmino by , not sure he offers much when he's got Salah and Mane cutting in and coutinho driving beyond it car making space for them.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Mig-7
taa-7.5
klavan 6
Lovren 6
Moreno 7
wini 6
hendo 7
coutinho 7.5
Salah 9
mane 7.5
Firmino 5.5

ox bleurgh
can bleurgh

Games just seem to pass firmino by , not sure he offers much when he's got Salah and Mane cutting in and coutinho driving beyond it car making space for them.

Firmino offers something when we something creating.

Thing is with those three behind him (& Lallana still the come back), I just don't see he point in him playing. A proper forward would be better upfront against most of the league, & playing him further back means him replacing either Coutinho, Mane, or Salah, none of whom he is better than.

Not only that, but given how vital it is we score first, an actual real forward is a must against about 17 of the sides in this league, (against the very best sides I concede that having his work rate & pressing so high is definitely an asset, but against the rest I'd prefer genuine goal threat first & foremost.

 

[Markeh]

Haven't seen it mentioned yet, Moreno missed the birth of his (first?) kid to play this match.

Honestly I had a real dislike for him but he's slowly turning it around.

 

[Portly]

klavan 6
Lovren 6

Both centre-backs had excellent games today. Lovren is not greatly appreciated in this forum, while Klavan is considered to be hopeless.

I think your points are influenced by your overall opinion of both players, rather than today's performance.

They were both worth at least 8.

 

[moron]

Both centre-backs had excellent games today. Lovren is not greatly appreciated in this forum, while Klavan is considered to be hopeless.

I think your points are influenced by your overall opinion of both players, rather than today's performance.

They were both worth at least 8.

Are any of us really surprised the defense is holding out better now ? - for the second time in Klopp's reign we are actually giving some protection to the defenders like any contender would have done. In case you are wondering we gave the defense protection at the end of last season to ensure we got 4th place, and we are now sorting our act this season. Our defenders were poor because most of the time they were left to guard the back with the rest of the 8 players going all gung-ho. There is better balance and our front men are fighting duals against opposition.

 

[Red Mullet]

Mig-7
taa-7.5
klavan 6
Lovren 6
Moreno 7
wini 6
hendo 7
coutinho 7.5
Salah 9
mane 7.5
Firmino 5.5

ox bleurgh
can bleurgh

Games just seem to pass firmino by , not sure he offers much when he's got Salah and Mane cutting in and coutinho driving beyond it car making space for them.

Without Firmino we wouldn’t have scored the first goal.

 

[localny]

We improved the defense big time last season near the end, and it seems now we've done the same. But in fairness to JK critics on these boards, it took a ridiculous amount of time, and who knows if we're there yet.

So anyone know what's changed? Anything to give us confidence?

 

[rurikbird]

Without Firmino we wouldn’t have scored the first goal.

Or the 3rd

 

[rurikbird]

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Just watched the highlights, obviously Coutinho and Salah stood out but TAA looked good as well. How did he do?
Looked more like a midfielder than a fullback.

solid performance - don't remember anything he did wrong.
The backline was a 7 overall imo.

 

[rurikbird]

In the press-conference above Klopp implied that TAA started this game so that Joe Gomez can play in Sevilla – it's clear that at the moment Gomez is the first-choice RB and TAA gets starts here and there, especially against weaker teams that defend deep (Klopp didn't say it, but it's obvious from the selection patterns). However, Klopp also said that he was quite impressed by TAA performance and said that it was probably his best defensive performance so far. On its own it probably won't be enough to make him a regular starter just yet, but he is knocking on the door.

In this game he's shown his naivety a few times by lunging too aggressively and getting beaten cleanly on the turn – but every time he caught up with the player who beat him and tackled the ball off them cleanly. He is improving, no doubt.

 

[Frogfish]

5 Ming - n/a - had nothing to do really.
7 TAA - 7 - solid performance
7 Lovren - 8 - I think he would have been MoTM if it wasn't for Salah's goals.
7 Klavan - 7 - didn't do anything wrong!!! Amazing!
7 Moreno - 7.5 - Have we really found a solid LB? Can't be ... Must continue to doubt.
7 Henderson - 6 - He improved in the 2nd half, but his crossing and medium to long range passing was off today. He gets much better when he's pushing up the pitch but with Coutinho (& next year Keita) there, I don't know if he is first 11 material anymore.
7 Gini - 6 - ok
9 Coutinho - 7.5 - wasn't great in the 1st half, but really starting finding space in the 2nd half. Nice goal to wrap up his performance.
8 Mane - 7 - subdued but when he's on the pitch, defenders are fucked. No defense can be comfortable with him AND salah on the pitch.
9 Salah - 8.5 - MoTM. Goals ... and more goals ... what a signing.
8 Firmino - 6 - I would have given him a 5, but his tracking back - esp - on the goal gave us so many opportunities ...

Van Dijk - 5

Interesting comparing your (our) ratings vs. say Kristian Walsh in the Echo (I've added before yours as best I can remember them). I think I'm more on board with Walsh's. We do tend to under-rate performances (some posters clearly have bias) on this forum.

 

[Frogfish]

Just want to comment on our lesser lights because the front four were awesome.

Moreno : man do I owe him an apology. Really, what a turnaround, and if that's on our coaching team .. fantastic. He's no world beater but defensively he really seems to have come on a bomb. Not perfect but far more reliable. Great job lad. I wonder how much this has to do with having such a strong attack that he no longer needs to bomb on as much.

Klavan - gets a lot of shit but has proven to be pretty reliable, even if limited, when called upon. We could be a lot worse off and I'd be happy keeping him as our #4 or 5 CB after next Summer.

TAA - what a future this lad has. Let's not forget he's only 18 years old.

 

[Frogfish]

Mig-7
taa-7.5
klavan 6
Lovren 6
Moreno 7
wini 6
hendo 7
coutinho 7.5
Salah 9
mane 7.5
Firmino 5.5

ox bleurgh
can bleurgh

Games just seem to pass firmino by , not sure he offers much when he's got Salah and Mane cutting in and coutinho driving beyond it car making space for them.

Those ratings are simply not representative of the match. Nobody bar Ming (who still managed to give me palpitations 3 times, in a match where he barely had anything to do) was below a 7. The Firmino rating is surely a joke ?

I also feel that Ox has been showing us (again yesterday) that we have a quality player to come on now when we need to sub/rest one of the front four. Pace, quality on the ball and vision. He could become a very good player for us.

Milner showed his maturity and experience, a good sub when all of Coutinho, Mane and Salah were taken off. And we still looked the better team and dangerous.

 

[rurikbird]

Ming 6 – a couple of slightly nervy moments, but, on the positive side, he came off his line quickly a few times. Barely tested otherwise.
TAA 7 – Klopp said it was his best defensive performance so far. Still was beaten a couple of times due to being over-eager, but always got back and won the ball back cleanly.
Lovren 7.5 – excellent all-around performance.
Klavan 6.5 – looked solid and untroubled alongside Lovren. Maybe the pre-match hand-wringing from some fans was a bit unfair to our 2nd and 3rd choice CBs.
Moreno 6.5 – Solid and energetic as always, but I wish his crosses were a bit more deliberate sometimes.
Hendo 7.5 – it's strange, some people thought he was poor or mediocre, while others said he was excellent. I'm in the latter camp – I thought his energy and defensive work was really sharp yesterday; him and Firmino set the tone on pressing. Decision-making on the ball was also better than in recent games.
Wijnaldum 6.5 – disciplined, but uninspired performance, too cautious with his passing at times.
Coutinho 7.5 – was a bit quiet initially and struggled to shake off the excellent Romeu, but gradually grew into the game and showed some inspired moves. Extra 0.5 for the pass of the match to Salah.
Mane 7 – his match sharpness clearly not there yet, but he kept going and also improved in the 2nd half. The reverse pass to Firmino for 3rd goal was sublime.
Salah 9 MOTM – What can you say that hasn't been said? He is absolutely flying at the moment; every touch brimming with confidence. Just a few weeks ago he was still "the new guy" trying to fit in, now his teammates look at him like he's a leader and one of the stars of this team. Whenever we need to find a breakthrough, he delivers.
Firmino 7 – quite a few fans who were at the game actually thought he had a monster of a performance, dominating the game with his energy and movement off the ball. Crucial contribution on 1st and 3rd goals. If only his finishing had been just been a tad sharper...

Klopp – switched back to 4-3-3 and was proven right. Rested Gomez and decided not to risk Lallana. Feel for Sturridge, who was left on the bench, again.

 

[Molbystwin]

Some overly harsh words said about Firmino in here...

His link up play and passing is sublime and his pressing as well. Yes it would be nice if he got more goals but the chances he carves for himself as well as others shouldn’t be overlooked, he is a really good fucking player and he is playing really well.

It is a shame that his shot went past the post but if it had gone in it was a fucking Worldy in terms of getting into the position to do it. Not to mention of course that it was his blocked shot that Coutinho drilled in for our third goal.

I remember early doors that Salah was missing loads of easy chances but fucking hell we were wrong about his lack of finishing ability, if Firmino can improve that also then we will have a truly fucking evil forward line.

After an excessively miserable whinge festival to start this season it’s nice to see us just winning fucking games without even hitting top gear and with key players returning we might well be really flipping nifty this year....

I enjoyed that.

 

[Modo]

Imagine how good we could be with a decent striker.

 

[Insignificance]

Imagine how good we could be with a decent striker.

Name me 2-4 which are decent and affordable?

 

[Modo]

Name me 2-4 which are decent and affordable?

That's why I said imagine. We have to go for Dolberg.

 

[i_rushie]

Or the 3rd

Look at who Van Dijk had clattered into and was caught in two minds about following into midfield, just before Salah’s run in behind for the second goal.

 

[KopRed]

The entire team was good, except for..
Ming.

He had literally nothing to do except cleaning up some overhit balls by Southampton. Yet he had 1 situation where he got an easy back pass stuck under his legs with a striker bearing down on him. He got lucky for that.

Another where the winger got free on the right and his only option was to cross. It was hit closed to Ming and he was always the favourites to it. He somehow got caught flat footed and barely managed to flick it away, only just.

Forster was equally rubbish mind. You will find it hard-pressed to find a match where 2 international keepers were the worst players on the pitch.

 

[doctor_mac]

The entire team was good, except for..
Ming.

He had literally nothing to do except cleaning up some overhit balls by Southampton. Yet he had 1 situation where he got an easy back pass stuck under his legs with a striker bearing down on him. He got lucky for that.

Another where the winger got free on the right and his only option was to cross. It was hit closed to Ming and he was always the favourites to it. He somehow got caught flat footed and barely managed to flick it away, only just.

Forster was equally rubbish mind. You will find it hard-pressed to find a match where 2 international keepers were the worst players on the pitch.

Forster is looking really rubbish these days.

 

[Portly]

Forster is a massive cunt.

That, and the attempt by the Southampton fans to drown out the singing of "YNWA" (which always fails) made me especially keen to hand them out a sound beating.

Nowadays Southampton seem quite a cuntish outfit.

 

[Woland]

That's because most of them are us and something about Barcelona

 

[Woland]

 

[moron]

Imagine how good we could be with a decent striker.

I looked around for the best striker in Europe at the moment. Results came back with some bloke names Salah. I then stopped searching after realizing he already plays for us.