We needed this. Needed it badly. While it was premature to be talking about a crisis, there has been a simmering discontent bubbling under with the fans of late, and although it will take more than this to pacify those who are understandably disgruntled, there would have been open revolt if we’d lost again.
The two defeats in a week were a concern, but most of the frustration and anger was about the weakening of the squad we’ve seen during this transfer window. The last two games merely highlighted concerns that were already there. Those results were seen by many as a consequence of our lack of incomings to compensate for the significant outgoings.
Those valid concerns won’t go away just because of a win over Huddersfield, or even a win over Spurs this weekend. They probably won’t go away at all actually. Every setback and poor result we have between now and the end of the season will be attributed to the inexcusable weakening of our attacking options this month. The trick for Klopp is to make sure those setbacks are so few and far between that we begin to talk about the progress on the pitch rather than the lack of spending.
Klopp is taking a huge gamble and only time will tell if it pays off or not. Personally I’m highly sceptical and more than a little pissed off, but the next week or two will be crucial because there’s a chance for us to put some significant daylight between ourselves and the two North London clubs in the battle for fourth place. And fourth now seems to be the height of our ambition after this month. A few weeks ago I was confident of second, but this window has changed all that and just hanging onto fourth will be difficult enough now.
I’m happy with the three points but I don’t think there was too much in the performance to change the perception that we’re going to continue to struggle against this type of approach. We found it hard to create too many clear chances but it at least looks like Klopp has been working on some ways to do it. Twice we saw a diagonal run inside from Mané and a ball over the top to pick him out from Can, and that really ought to have paid off more than it did.
The same ball has seen Salah get in on a few occasions recently too, and it must be something they are working on in training as it’s the one thing we’ve done in the Swansea and Huddersfield games that has worked consistently. The finishing touch has been missing the but it’s been our most productive method of creating chances.
This was a straightforward win in the end but really it’s such a fine margin between this and what happened at Swansea. Was this performance that much better? The result certainly changes how we view performances, hence why the Swansea performance was seen as being completely unacceptable while this is viewed as a good solid professional job. In many respects it was the same performance though, the only difference was the goals and much of that was down to contrasting fortunes (for example, Firmino hits the inside of the post in both games, one goes in the other stays out). Such is football.
Huddersfield understandably tried to copy what Swansea did and for 25 minutes or so it was working. Despite hardly having any of the ball they somehow still had the two clearest attempts. Karius made a save (make a note of that in your diary) to deny Depoitre and was relieved to see a free kick from Lowe go inches wide soon after.
We must have had something like 80% possession by that point, yet they had the two best chances. How many times have we seen that? In fairness that was as good as it got for them as they created nothing after that and we took the lead soon after, albeit in fortuitous circumstances.
Can’s shot from distance was well struck but it was the deflection that allowed it to beat the keeper. We caught a break there, and that’s the difference. Swansea got the bounce of the ball all night against us, whereas Huddersfield didn’t. The margins between a 1-0 defeat and a 3-0 win in this type of game really are fine.
Credit to Can for his performance and credit to Klopp for picking him when the easiest thing would have been to leave him out after his stinker at the weekend. He was the best player on the pitch and seemed to be invigorated by the freedom to get forward.
He’s been playing the number six role recently but his preference is the box to box position. With Henderson available again he got to play where he feels he is most effective and he was the biggest reason we won the game. He scored, he won a penalty, he made some surging, powerful runs forward and created a couple of chances for Mané with terrific cross field passes in behind the defence. Good job by Big Sexy.
The first goal is always important in these games, but more so when we concede it than when we score. If we concede then the job becomes even more difficult, as we found out last week. If we score first though, you still feel like we need at least one more to be safe anyway, as one goal doesn’t change the opposition’s tactics in the slightest.
That crucial second goal came just before half time and was superbly crafted by Firmino, who managed to convince everyone in the stadium (as well as everyone watching at home) that he was going to cut the ball back, only to then lash it in off the near post. Poor from the keeper, but he just got done by the eyes. Bobby loves a ‘no look’ finish doesn’t he?
That goal gave Huddersfield a big problem because at 1-0 they could just keep doing what they were doing and hope for a set-piece. They wouldn’t have opened up until the last ten minutes, but going 2-0 down changes things. At least is usually does. As it turned out, they still didn’t really come out of their deep defensive shell and the second half continued in the same pattern as the first.
It was comfortable, we were passing it around under no real pressure but we weren’t creating too many chances. In fairness, as that stage we didn’t really need to. The best one we had fell to Salah but he spurned an easy tap in with his right foot and instead tried to prod it goalwards with the outside of his left, but only found the side netting.
A bad miss but he made amends soon after when Can won a penalty and he grabbed the ball ahead of Milner and sent the keeper the wrong way. It was an awkward moment initially as Milner clearly believed he was supposed to take it, but the last thing you need in those situations is players arguing over it as it puts too much pressure on whoever takes it. Milner is a consummate pro and he quickly stepped aside to make things easier.
Salah buried the pen but as soon as it hit the net he was pointing at Milner and heading towards him saying “I’m sorry”. It was quite comical really, but it’s only funny because he scored. If he’d missed Klopp would have gone nuts I think, and rightly so.
At 3-0 that was the game over as a contest now and perhaps that explains why we eased off a little and Huddersfield had some decent pressure in the last ten minutes. Prior to that they just couldn’t get out of their own half as our counter pressing was dynamite (it was at Swansea too). Henderson was terrific on his return and Milner and Can were both excellent without the ball. Can was excellent with it as well of course, whereas most of the others were just ok.
Firmino played well enough and put in a hell of a shift as usual, but Salah and Mané weren’t anywhere near their best. The big concern is they have to play more or less every game now because we have so little cover. Ox has been better in midfield than in the front three, so there is no rotation option that allows us to rest ‘the Dangerous Brothers’ without there being a significant drop off.
That said, Mané is struggling at the moment so we might not miss him that much in his current state. We badly need him back in top gear because the next few months are really going to be tough for us. I thought the goal he scored against City would kick start things for him but he just doesn’t look like himself at the moment. The game this weekend should suit him as he enjoys playing against Spurs.
That's a massive game for us now because if we can win we'll open up a significant gap between us and both North London clubs, especially as they play eachother next week.
It's going to be interesting to see what team Klopp selects this weekend, especially in defence where Lovren probably deserves a change alongside Van Dijk. Picking him against Harry Kane after what happened last time would be a big call though, so I'll be intrigued to see what Klopp decides to do with that. I'd expect Wijnaldum to come in for Milner too, as that's the kind of game where the Dutchman regularly shows his worth. Aside from that, I wouldn't imagine there'll be any other changes.
Team: Karius; Gomez, Matip, Lovren, Robertson; Henderson (Wijnaldum), Can, Milner; Salah (Oxlade-Chamberlain), Firmino (Solanke), Mané:
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