Spartak Moscow 1 Liverpool 1 (Sep 25 2017)

 
 
Report by
Dave Usher
 
 
  
Incredibly frustrating but if we’re going to have a game like that when we just couldn’t put the ball in the net then this was the time to have it. It shouldn’t be too damaging in terms of qualification for the knock out stages and leaving the result side there was a lot to be satisfied with.
 
Of course we gave away a bad goal with the opposition’s only effort of any note. That happens every game now. The defence is getting a lot of stick at the moment, much of it deserved, but the back four were excellent in this game. The goal came from a free-kick that for me was never a foul as Coutinho clearly got the ball. That said, if the free-kick goes in the corner you hold your hands up and say there’s nothing you can do about it.
 
It didn’t though, it was in the middle of the goal and Karius has to save that. Klopp got tetchy when the interviewer pointed that out afterwards, and he tried to defend his keeper. That's fair enough as he’s not going to throw him under the bus, but we don’t need to worry about that and the truth is that was shite. 
 
Say what you like about Mignolet, and most people do, but for me he doesn’t concede from that free-kick in a million years. Look, I get why a lot of fans aren’t taken with Mignolet and want him replaced, what I don’t get is how anyone with a working set of eyes would prefer Karius. He’s done NOTHING to suggest he’s any good and in all honesty he’s lucky to be ahead of Danny Ward. That’s two free-kicks he’s let in now that weren’t even in the corner. 
 
I accept that it’s difficult for Klopp and as much as I don’t like rotating keepers, it’s just the way things are now. Plenty of other clubs do it because if you don’t then how can you persuade goalkeepers to sign for you when there’s a chance they won’t play any games? So I understand why Klopp is doing it, and in theory I’m good with it. Where it falls down is that I don’t have any confidence at all in Karius. 
 
That free-kick was the only moment of 'danger' for us in the entire first half, and it shouldn't have even been dangerous as it was in the middle of the goal. The team performance was excellent, we dominated the first 45 minutes and created numerous chances. We only took one of them though, which is ridiculous really. It was a hell of a goal though, beautifully worked between Coutinho and Mané and finished superbly by Phil. 
 
The rest of the game continued in a similar vein that it had prior to the goal; loads of possession, lots of good football, plenty of chances, no end product. There was a spell midway through the second half where it looked like we'd dropped off the pace and ran out of ideas, but we picked it up again and got into lots of good situations. So many times the final ball was garbage, but on the occasions it wasn’t - such as Hendo’s brilliant ball to Sturridge and Trent’s great cross for Salah - we still couldn’t put the ball in the net. 
 
We had enough chances to win five games but it just wouldn’t go in. I’m not concerned by it as I just think it was one of those nights more than anything, but it was really fucking irritating. Not as irritating as the Spartak players continually going down and wasting two or three minutes at a time. Fair enough, the keeper was genuinely injured, but he played on for a good ten minutes before going off so was the five or six minute stoppage while he waited for the cart to come on and take him off really necessary? And even after all that time, the replacement keeper still wasn't fucking ready? I've seen women get ready for a night out quicker than that. 
 
Then there was the other fucker, the one who looked about 50 and who kept going down every ten minutes. Eventually he went off on a cart too, but again, it took a fucking age to get him off. The ref added on 8 minutes at the end, but one of their players went off in that period and took forever to do so. What’s worse is the ref actually stopped the game while we had the ball so he could get the physio on (Hendo went mad at him for that). At least a couple of minutes were wasted, but how much time was added on to the initial 8 minutes? 30 seconds, that’s what. Bullshit that. 
 
Usually in games like this I have the view that we could play all night and not score, but with this one I kept thinking “we’ll put the next one away” so if the correct amount of time had been added on we may have actually won. I’d be a lot more pissed about that if we didn’t have two games with Maribor coming up. Six points there means we’d probably only need a draw from the remaining two games (one of which is against these bums at home) to qualify, so as I said in the opening paragraph, there’s no real harm done here. 
 
Most of the individual performances were good. Both full backs were excellent, Lovren was very solid, Coutinho was lively and Henderson was brilliant, mopping up everything in front of the defence and using the ball superbly. Star man for the second game in row for me. Can was poor though. He got booked early on for a reckless tackle after over running the ball, and he lost it cheaply in the build up to the free-kick they scored from. Not sharp at all, which is disappointing considering how well he was playing a few weeks back.
 
Sturridge is really frustrating too. What happened to the stone cold killer in front of goal who you’d always back to put chances away? He missed some presentable opportunities against Burnley and a few more in this one, including one absolute sitter that he sent into orbit. He looks sharp in general play (albeit greedy as fuck in this game) but we can’t have him missing chances as, let’s be honest here, his finishing is the only reason he’s worth keeping around. He needs to step it up in front of goal, and I expect he will as he’s proven quality. 
 
I’d be seriously tempted to start him on Sunday as Firmino isn’t firing at the moment at all. He ballooned a great chance he’d made for himself by winning the ball in the box and he’d earlier put a header too close to the keeper. He’s got to be more clinical, especially when he’s playing as shite as he has the last couple of games. He’s not doing the things he’s good at, the ball is bouncing off him and he’s not linking the play like we need him to. It’s only a couple of games and too early to be worrying, but we need to see him in form again sooner rather than later. 
 
Overall I don’t see any reason for concern after this and my belief that someone soon is going to have a new arsehole torn for them by our forwards is even stronger after this. It could well happen on Sunday if we get an early goal. There’s going to be a game where everything we hit goes in, but wouldn’t it be nice if the opposition actually had to work for a goal, just for once? 
  

Team: Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Lovren, Moreno; Henderson, Can (Wijnaldum), Coutinho; Salah, Firmino, Mané (Sturridge):