He was excellent.
Added control and pace, a lot of what Henderson can do is unique to the squad and can see why he is captain especially when the team has a few leaders. Great player to have on bench even when not 100%
Pre Match - Bring On Yer Internazionale (a) - Weds 20:00
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He was excellent.
Added control and pace, a lot of what Henderson can do is unique to the squad and can see why he is captain especially when the team has a few leaders. Great player to have on bench even when not 100%
Yeah, there was a lot of concern in these parts when Fab went off. He wasn't missed, great credit to Henderson really.
I think that inter did everything you want to do against us to give us problems, but you need more pace in attack to really get at us. They got the space they wanted down trents side, which is what every side knows they have to exploit, but even so, Trent could recover, and our cbs were more than a match.
I spent the match hiking 90 mins up up up up up steps to my sunrise location on Huangshan mountain and sat there for another 90 mins (to sunrise) at -12C in a 25 kph wind and snow storm. My clothing meant I was warm but my hands were frozen solid as I was franticly refreshing the pages on 6CM and BBC for updates! I believe I played my part.
And no, the cameras didn't even come out the bag as low cloud meant I couldn't see a thing!
And no, the cameras didn't even come out the bag as low cloud meant I couldn't see a thing!
OK, let's talk about the game. Champions League games are always interesting because of the clash of styles and different football cultures and here Inter were able to pose certain problems for us that we don't usually encounter in the EPL. I rewatched the 2nd half just now because I missed some parts of the game live and on rewatch it was striking how Inter were able to bypass our midfield completely not by trying to hit long passes in behind our high line, as we usually see, but by building exclusively down the flanks. Here's a screenshot illustrating the point:
There is not a single Internazionale player in the middle of the pitch! Inzaghi made a tactical tweak at half-time with LCB Bastoni (#95 at the bottom of your screen) moving to the quasi wing-back role during the build-up, while Perisic joined the forward line, playing on Trent's shoulder (in this case Dzeko happens to be in that position while Perisic is in his own half as he just tracked Salah's run, but the point stands), while the rest of the midfielders (including nominal AM Calhanoglu) drop into a defensive "shield" that is meant to stifle our quick attackers (Ancelotti's Napoli used something similar against us a few years ago). This does not seem all that sophisticated – just keep 4-5 players back at all times, 3 up front and a couple of shuffling wingers to connect both groups, but as with Italian cookery, sometimes simplicity is best. Fabinho, Thiago and Elliott have nothing to do and no one to tackle (I think Elliott should be much closer to Bastoni in this position), the front 3 have no space in front of them if the ball is turned over and Trent is constantly overloaded. A less talented and somewhat pedestrian Inter team was able to cause us serious problems just by the virtue of their tactical plan as well as, it has to be said, impressive battling midfield performances by Vidal and Brozovic. What they lacked in their periods of dominance was decision-making in the final third; whether it was lack of confidence or belief, they literally passed on the chances to land a real blow.
Talking about lack of confidence, I think it's fair to say that despite having a fully fit squad, we don't have many players near their peak form right now. With the exception of the CBs, Alisson and Fabinho, the rest are either recovering from a grueling AFCON or gaining sharpness after an injury or still finding their feet in the new team like Diaz. I think the likes of Ox and Minamino are objectively in a better run of form than Salah and co. at the moment, but of course Klopp knows that he needs to play his stars into sharpness for the decisive battles ahead.
Maybe we should talk separately about Trent. I usually scoff at the English pundits excoriating the defensive side of his game, but on this occasion he has no defence from me. Every single time Perisic squared up to him 1 on 1 he was able to put in a cross or slide in teammate – this was like playing against a training cone. Even worse, the decision-making and positioning were all wrong too – Trent sometimes has these games where he seems to move around in a daze and this was definitely one of them. Like that moment when Van Dijk's clearance landed at his feet and he "crossed" the ball right back into the danger zone, which created a chance for Vidal and led to a sustained period of Inter pressure – what the hell was that about?
Despite all these problems, Trent's ability to spring attacks from deep was still important for us and this is where Klopp is different from other managers – his trust never wavered and instead of berating and taking off his poorly-performing right back, he correctly identified the reasons for his underperformance and created conditions for him to focus on the things he does well. On came Keita who covered the space Trent couldn't and finally was able to block a Perisic cross and Hendo who initiated quick passing combinations that pushed Inter back and allowed Trent to get forward and do what he does best – an assist from a corner (that he won) and a cross after a free-kick (that he also won) that led to Van Dijk's knock-down for the 2nd goal. We were lucky in some moments, like with the Firmino goal that came a few minutes after Dumfries missed a header from an almost identical short corner routine, but ultimately what won us the game was the excellence of the CB pair that allowed us to bend but not break when we were under the cosh, Klopp's calm thinking and the quality we were able to summon from the bench.
There is not a single Internazionale player in the middle of the pitch! Inzaghi made a tactical tweak at half-time with LCB Bastoni (#95 at the bottom of your screen) moving to the quasi wing-back role during the build-up, while Perisic joined the forward line, playing on Trent's shoulder (in this case Dzeko happens to be in that position while Perisic is in his own half as he just tracked Salah's run, but the point stands), while the rest of the midfielders (including nominal AM Calhanoglu) drop into a defensive "shield" that is meant to stifle our quick attackers (Ancelotti's Napoli used something similar against us a few years ago). This does not seem all that sophisticated – just keep 4-5 players back at all times, 3 up front and a couple of shuffling wingers to connect both groups, but as with Italian cookery, sometimes simplicity is best. Fabinho, Thiago and Elliott have nothing to do and no one to tackle (I think Elliott should be much closer to Bastoni in this position), the front 3 have no space in front of them if the ball is turned over and Trent is constantly overloaded. A less talented and somewhat pedestrian Inter team was able to cause us serious problems just by the virtue of their tactical plan as well as, it has to be said, impressive battling midfield performances by Vidal and Brozovic. What they lacked in their periods of dominance was decision-making in the final third; whether it was lack of confidence or belief, they literally passed on the chances to land a real blow.
Talking about lack of confidence, I think it's fair to say that despite having a fully fit squad, we don't have many players near their peak form right now. With the exception of the CBs, Alisson and Fabinho, the rest are either recovering from a grueling AFCON or gaining sharpness after an injury or still finding their feet in the new team like Diaz. I think the likes of Ox and Minamino are objectively in a better run of form than Salah and co. at the moment, but of course Klopp knows that he needs to play his stars into sharpness for the decisive battles ahead.
Maybe we should talk separately about Trent. I usually scoff at the English pundits excoriating the defensive side of his game, but on this occasion he has no defence from me. Every single time Perisic squared up to him 1 on 1 he was able to put in a cross or slide in teammate – this was like playing against a training cone. Even worse, the decision-making and positioning were all wrong too – Trent sometimes has these games where he seems to move around in a daze and this was definitely one of them. Like that moment when Van Dijk's clearance landed at his feet and he "crossed" the ball right back into the danger zone, which created a chance for Vidal and led to a sustained period of Inter pressure – what the hell was that about?
Despite all these problems, Trent's ability to spring attacks from deep was still important for us and this is where Klopp is different from other managers – his trust never wavered and instead of berating and taking off his poorly-performing right back, he correctly identified the reasons for his underperformance and created conditions for him to focus on the things he does well. On came Keita who covered the space Trent couldn't and finally was able to block a Perisic cross and Hendo who initiated quick passing combinations that pushed Inter back and allowed Trent to get forward and do what he does best – an assist from a corner (that he won) and a cross after a free-kick (that he also won) that led to Van Dijk's knock-down for the 2nd goal. We were lucky in some moments, like with the Firmino goal that came a few minutes after Dumfries missed a header from an almost identical short corner routine, but ultimately what won us the game was the excellence of the CB pair that allowed us to bend but not break when we were under the cosh, Klopp's calm thinking and the quality we were able to summon from the bench.
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Old Faithful says you're welcome. 😎
Hansern: weird, certainly, but worrying as well, especially coming after the nonsense with Sadio at the AFCON. I don't have a high opinion of football bigwigs as a breed anyway, but this is potentially disastrous.
Yes, indeed. Very worrying and why there should be an official/medical expert that can intervene.
Would you want to play for someone who puts your health at risk?
Disgraceful. He has a duty of care to his players.
Disgraceful. He has a duty of care to his players.
Yeah, that was really annoying to watch.
It’s fine to demand more from UEFA and those running the game to demand more but what about the coaches? Where us their own personal responsibility in this? They are closest to the ground and was obvious the player wasn’t right.
This would never happen in an under 15s game but Simone and Inter have ultimate responsibilty to protect their own.
It’s fine to demand more from UEFA and those running the game to demand more but what about the coaches? Where us their own personal responsibility in this? They are closest to the ground and was obvious the player wasn’t right.
This would never happen in an under 15s game but Simone and Inter have ultimate responsibilty to protect their own.
Not to disagree but they face competing pressures, from which the administrators are further removed, so they're in a position to leave the coaches with no choice.
I’m not saying they those running the game aren’t culpable and the protocols they have in place at the moment are load of BS but he was assessed by Inter meds and under care of Inter coaches.
See local under 15 coaches act with more care immediately than so called elite club coaches. It’s just worrying to see…
See local under 15 coaches act with more care immediately than so called elite club coaches. It’s just worrying to see…
Another that was good to see last night as the Liverpool trio stood on side lines about to come on, Hendo with one last arm around Naby geeing him up before they enterred the fray. You get the feeling Naby is one of those players who needs that regularly. Small things but what a captain he is.
Depends, if he has been assessed and has blurred vision then yes, it’s an important game but Virgil is for life and not just for a single game.
I worry if we continue playing like this, we'll be finding ourselves in the CL final. And probably winning it again. Bummer !
“This, then, was the real value of Klopp’s triple substitution: it was a show of strength, forcing Inter to combat new angles and new tactics just as the relentless physicality of the game was beginning to tell on an aging team. In a way, it was Klopp toying with Inzaghi. Here, try our new £50m winger. Here, try a Champions League-winning captain. Here, try the £60m midfielder we can afford to keep on the bench. Who have you got? Matteo Darmian? Oh. Oh dear.”
From the excellent Jonathan Liew column.
From the excellent Jonathan Liew column.
I find him wrong about pretty much everything. I did like that passage though.
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