I thought we played ace in the derby, all things considered.
Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion Match Thread
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I thought we played ace in the derby, all things considered.
Yes, and we routinely struggle against these types of teams. But we've also broke down a lot of teams that try to play that way. The best way to do that? Definitely not with Dom Solanke as the spearhead of our attack, and most definitely with Coutinho and Firmino on the pitch. After 10 minutes of the derby, the game was crying out for Phil.
Nah, as you said, Everton parked the bus and had no interest in attacking. Our goal came from a piece of magic, and we created one other golden chance. For the majority of the game we passed it from byline to byline 30 yards from goal, eventually lumping the ball in the box, only for it to be returned to us for us to repeat the cycle. It wasn't very good at all. For the most part, Everton defended comfortably.
Absolutely.
They defended absolutely. It was 11 men defending throughout. They didn't want the ball at all. That is tough for ANY team to create against. We scored a great goal and should have scored at least 1 more. One or two nil is a great result playing againt that level of negativity. A fucking smashing result.
Well we had a better chance of beating that kind of gameplan with our best player and creator on the pitch, and our best striker. Also, a little more ingenuity in midfield would have helped. I think Klopp expected more of a physical battle than he got from them.
I can't believe the Klopp hate starting in here. No manager is faultless, but I wouldn't have anyone else. I think we're lucky to have him.
Well God forgive him if that's what he fucking planned for. What a twat eh?
I've not once called him a twat, so pack that in. And as I've already said on the previous page, I wouldn't swap him for anybody else in world football.
I forgive you then.
In theory it made sense with the amount of games, it was just the game he decided to do it in that was a surprise.
who ?
I know that but who else ?
Frustrating, but that's football. We were absolutely flat until the 60th minute or so – at least the defense was pretty good as last season we would probably lose this game 2:0. Nice 15-minute spurt when we put them under pressure and created a few big chances including a disallowed goal, was ultimately not enough and I have to say on the balance of play draw is a fair result.
Karius 8 – decisive when coming out and made a couple of decent saves and one excellent one. No brain-farts. Can't ask for more really.
Trent 7.5 – on a night when our front 4 seemed out of ideas, he was the one player who always seemed to invent something new. After the formation change and subs somehow got confused and made 2 bad mistakes in the same sequence of play and was promptly hooked by Klopp. Still a good performance overall; I want to see him try to play in central midfield sometime, we need that spark of creativity there.
Lovren 7 – solid
Klavan 8 MOM – he's been really good in the past month or so, probably the best run of form of all our CBs this season. Excellent reading of the game.
Robertson 6.5 – had a lot of the ball and was active, but should have created more for the amount of touches he was allowed to have. Bonus 0.5 for diligent defending.
Can 6.5 – all of our midfielders divide opinion so much lately that sometimes I'm confused what by what standards I should judge them. Can is certainly no Kroos or Modric, but I thought in this game he carried the ball forward well enough, but with hardly any moments of creativity or inspiration, and defended OK. Is that enough for a Liverpool midfielder? I feel like I don't even know anymore.
Wijnaldum 6 – pretty much same as Can, but was slightly less active.
Mane 5.5 – started on his favored right flank and pretty much had a stinker there (not that his "fab 4" teammates were much better); his best moments came when he switched to the left in the 2nd half.
Salah 6.5 – had an aura of danger around him, but ultimately couldn't find a way past a crowded defense. To his credit, kept trying until the final whistle.
Firmino 5.5 – one of those games for Firmino when every decision seemed wrong. Maybe the waterlogged pitch affected his mobility, because he was always a step too late and uncharacteristically could never win a ball without fouling a player.
Coutinho 5.5 – I wish I could give him a higher score, but there just too many passes that were never likely to hit the target and I thought he held on to the ball for too long, trying to force an opening. Again, the waterlogged pitch was probably a factor as most of his passing was straight out of beach football – all flicks and chips as if he didn't trust the ball to roll along the ground.
Subs:
Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 – was a breath of fresh air when he came on, wish he had started.
Solanke 5 – honestly, I thought he was awful. No confidence, clunky first touch; not at all looking like the player I liked so much in pre-season. To be fair, he was placed in a high-pressure situation, trying to rescue a frustrating game for the team. Handball wasn't intentional and I don't know the exact rules, but I think it's kind of common sense that goals that came off an attacking player's hand should not be counted, even if it was an accident.
Gomez n/a
Klopp – I honestly can't figure out this fucker; every time I think I'm starting to catch on to his logic, he makes a turn in a different direction, taking risks when I think he will be conservative, avoiding risk when I want him to be adventurous... OK, I got Karius and Alexander-Arnold right, but there was no way I would have predicted he would choose to rest the Brazilians for Everton in order to play all the "fab 4" against West Brom. Perhaps he was trying to use rotation to guard against the kind of mental fatigue that led to the Spurs debacle after another 7:0 CL win – but in hindsight I guess it didn't help too much. At least we didn't lose – with these kinds of concentration and consistency problems among the players, I actually think it was entirely possible. I guess the inconvenient truth is that the level of performance of the last month or so (excluding tonight) is a peak rather than the norm.
Karius 8 – decisive when coming out and made a couple of decent saves and one excellent one. No brain-farts. Can't ask for more really.
Trent 7.5 – on a night when our front 4 seemed out of ideas, he was the one player who always seemed to invent something new. After the formation change and subs somehow got confused and made 2 bad mistakes in the same sequence of play and was promptly hooked by Klopp. Still a good performance overall; I want to see him try to play in central midfield sometime, we need that spark of creativity there.
Lovren 7 – solid
Klavan 8 MOM – he's been really good in the past month or so, probably the best run of form of all our CBs this season. Excellent reading of the game.
Robertson 6.5 – had a lot of the ball and was active, but should have created more for the amount of touches he was allowed to have. Bonus 0.5 for diligent defending.
Can 6.5 – all of our midfielders divide opinion so much lately that sometimes I'm confused what by what standards I should judge them. Can is certainly no Kroos or Modric, but I thought in this game he carried the ball forward well enough, but with hardly any moments of creativity or inspiration, and defended OK. Is that enough for a Liverpool midfielder? I feel like I don't even know anymore.
Wijnaldum 6 – pretty much same as Can, but was slightly less active.
Mane 5.5 – started on his favored right flank and pretty much had a stinker there (not that his "fab 4" teammates were much better); his best moments came when he switched to the left in the 2nd half.
Salah 6.5 – had an aura of danger around him, but ultimately couldn't find a way past a crowded defense. To his credit, kept trying until the final whistle.
Firmino 5.5 – one of those games for Firmino when every decision seemed wrong. Maybe the waterlogged pitch affected his mobility, because he was always a step too late and uncharacteristically could never win a ball without fouling a player.
Coutinho 5.5 – I wish I could give him a higher score, but there just too many passes that were never likely to hit the target and I thought he held on to the ball for too long, trying to force an opening. Again, the waterlogged pitch was probably a factor as most of his passing was straight out of beach football – all flicks and chips as if he didn't trust the ball to roll along the ground.
Subs:
Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 – was a breath of fresh air when he came on, wish he had started.
Solanke 5 – honestly, I thought he was awful. No confidence, clunky first touch; not at all looking like the player I liked so much in pre-season. To be fair, he was placed in a high-pressure situation, trying to rescue a frustrating game for the team. Handball wasn't intentional and I don't know the exact rules, but I think it's kind of common sense that goals that came off an attacking player's hand should not be counted, even if it was an accident.
Gomez n/a
Klopp – I honestly can't figure out this fucker; every time I think I'm starting to catch on to his logic, he makes a turn in a different direction, taking risks when I think he will be conservative, avoiding risk when I want him to be adventurous... OK, I got Karius and Alexander-Arnold right, but there was no way I would have predicted he would choose to rest the Brazilians for Everton in order to play all the "fab 4" against West Brom. Perhaps he was trying to use rotation to guard against the kind of mental fatigue that led to the Spurs debacle after another 7:0 CL win – but in hindsight I guess it didn't help too much. At least we didn't lose – with these kinds of concentration and consistency problems among the players, I actually think it was entirely possible. I guess the inconvenient truth is that the level of performance of the last month or so (excluding tonight) is a peak rather than the norm.
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It’s not bad. Steady 25/26 degrees during day but a touch of a chill in the evening.
And it really is, sadly. As pointed out already, Rodgers has a better record as Liverpool manager games played, points etc. We are just shite.
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Top teams above us are not rotating like we do to allow for future congestion but yet carry on picking up points and ultimately either win the league or finish top 4. City and scum mix it up with maybe 1 or 2 a week. Burnley now sit in 4th, they may drop off a bit but we all thought Leicester would too and well, that’s history. Klopp has fucked up AGAIN!!
Speaks volumes.
We were shite. Agreed.
It was a handball - 100% - but for the life of me I cannot see that as 'intentional'. I think Klopp said if that was a defender in the box, would they have called a penalty? Probably not ...
We were shit though.
It’s due to rain this weekend but no, not really. I have a terrible time with my lovely Irish complexion. Good golf in winter though, I guess that’s something.
I hate that most of our midfielders seems to be shirking their responsibilities in attack and are just relying on our "Fab four".
You see players stopping abruptly even when they have space to attack, pass the ball to Coutinho, and drop back. It's like they are under instructions to cover defensively for him. We no longer have midfielders making forward runs, Gini and Can seems to be just "sitting" and not attacking.
The only player outside of the four who dares to attack is TAA. The rest of them are just tentative and unsure. Even Lovren seems to stride forward more confidently than Can/Gini.
You see players stopping abruptly even when they have space to attack, pass the ball to Coutinho, and drop back. It's like they are under instructions to cover defensively for him. We no longer have midfielders making forward runs, Gini and Can seems to be just "sitting" and not attacking.
The only player outside of the four who dares to attack is TAA. The rest of them are just tentative and unsure. Even Lovren seems to stride forward more confidently than Can/Gini.
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