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  • TLW
    Joe Gomez has a determination to get back in the England squad but to do that he needs to become a regular member of the Liverpool starting lineup.
     
    And there lies the issue for the 24 year old central defender who is yet to start a Premier League game this season due to the excellent partnership of Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip.
     
    Gomez has started once in the Carabao Cup against Norwich and in the Champions League group game against Ac Milan but in the league he has been restricted to cameo appearances against Burnley and Man City.
     
    When Matip was rotated for the match on the weekend against Man United, Klopp surprisingly gave the nod to new signing Ibrahima Konate but the young Frenchman did not let anyone down.
     
    Gomez who missed a large chunk of last season with a knee injury was left out of Gareth Southgate’s latest squad and according to the 90 min website, it has left Gomez somewhat concerned that he will be left out of the 2022 World Cup squad.
     

     
    Gomez is said to have confidence in his ability to be the best partner for Virgil Van Dijk and being a starting central defender for England although he is under no illusion in the amount of work he has to do.
     
    And there is no indication that he is agitating for a move away from the Reds at this stage, however if he continues to be on the substitute bench, he will certainly look at all possible options on the table.
     
    After Liverpool were caught significantly short with long term injuries to their central defenders, it seems highly unlikely that any move will be on the cards before next summer.
     
    While understandably frustrated, in the back of Gomez’s mind he will know how good a position the club is in at this point of time, as well as the fact that a starting opportunity may arise at any stage.
     
     
     
     
  • Where I do even start with this? It’s one for the ages. Biggest win at Old Trafford for over a hundred years or something. It was an absolute fucking beatdown and United were utterly humiliated. The funny thing is we were probably only at about 75%.
     
    We played well but we definitely have another gear we can go to if needed. It wasn’t needed because United are so flawed and we were so clinical on the day. It was billed as Ronaldo v Salah and it did feel like a passing of the torch moment. Any claim to the throne Ronaldo may still think he has was dismissed out of hand by the Egyptian King going into his back yard and taking the fucking piss.
     
    At this moment in time there is no-one in the world better at football than Mo Salah and he proved it beyond doubt on this stage. United might be shite but it’s still Old Trafford and it’s a huge game. The eyes of the world were on it and Mo put Ronaldo over his knee and spanked him.
     
    This was almost surreal at times. That moment when Sky showed a fucking fuming Alex Ferguson and then cut to a beaming Kenny was just iconic. What a fucking moment that was. Kudos to that director, that was fucking phenomenal TV.
     
    In hindsight it’s easy to look back on this and go “yeah, what we were even worried about? That’s how it’s supposed to happen.” Football is rarely like that though and this is a notoriously bad ground for us. We won there last year and although there were no fans there I was hoping that maybe it will have given the players confidence that they can win at Old Trafford. 
     
    City have been horrendous at Anfield but won there last season in an empty stadium. It’s easy for us to say “it means nothing” but clearly it meant something to them because this season they came here and played better than I’ve ever seen play here. 
     
    I was hoping a similar thing would happen with us, and specifically Mo. He’s usually been shite at Old Trafford. Really bad. But he was boss there last season and maybe that changed something in him and gave him confidence to do it again. And he sure fucking did. Wow.
     
    I was neither confident nor pessimistic going into this. I had absolutely no clue what to expect, but when I saw the starting eleven my shoulders did slump a little. Konate in for Matip was a weird one. Protecting Joel makes sense, but it seemed like an odd time to throw Konate in, especially when Gomez is available.
     
    Klopp said they saw something when analysing United that made them think Konate was a good fit for the game. No idea what it was, but they were right because Konate was fucking boss. Looked completely at home and not overawed at all, even though he was up against someone with the reputation of Ronaldo.
     
    The midfield was a concern too. No Fabinho? Fucks sake. He’s one of the first names on the teamsheet in big games as he’s so important. I know United’s midfield is shite, but the quality they have up front is beyond question so you want Fabinho there stopping the likes of Fernandes getting on the ball.
     
    Hendo, Keita and Milner isn’t going to inspire massive confidence in a fixture we’ve found so difficult in the past. Milner shouldn’t have been anywhere the starting eleven having played twice this week already, while it was a big call to retain faith in Naby after what happened in midweek.
     
    The Milner decision was proven to be a mistake but Keita absolutely justified his inclusion. He was boss and was as influential as anybody in what we did in the first half.
     
    I’m made up with 5-0 as beforehand I’d have snatched your hands off for any kind of win and the performance didn’t really matter. Because it’s them, because it’s there, I’d have taken any win I can get.
     
    But if you’re a long time reader you probably know what’s coming next. Yes, there’s a small part of me pissed off that we only scored five. As ridiculous as that sounds, it’s true. The last half an hour was frustrating to me because there were more goals to be had there if we’d pushed for them.
     
    We were arguing about this on post match pod as Paul and Brownie were shooting me down about it. You might agree with them and don’t see this as any kind of missed opportunity because 5-0 was beyond all of our wildest dreams. If you think that, let me ask you a question:
     
    When Pogba got sent off with half an hour to go, if you had the option to stop the game there and then and take the 5-0, or carry on playing to see if we could score seven, eight or possibly even more, would you have settled for the five at that point?
     
    It looked to me like half the team wanted to keep piling forward to score more goals but the other half had their sensible heads on and wanted to play keep ball, take the sting out of the game and make sure we didn’t pick up any more injuries. Those instructions may have even come from Klopp, I don’t know.
     
    I just know it was frustrating because this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something completely unprecedented. All the years we suffered at their hands, all the times their fans taunted us at their place as well as at Anfield. The misery they inflicted on us right throughout the 90s and for another decade after. This was a chance to give them the biggest payback imaginable. Sure, 5-0 at Old Trafford does that to a great extent anyway, but imagine if we’d scored eight.
     
    There was half an hour left and they were completely broken. Their heads were gone and we could have scored as many as we wanted. There was an element of “stop hitting them, they’re already dead” about this. The thing is though, I’d have been kicking that corpse until my feet hurt. Then I’d have pissed on it, set it on fire, and then pissed on the ashes. This is Manchester United. I wanted to absolutely destroy them and five feels like they got away with it a bit.
     
    That’s only a small part of me though. The overwhelming feeling is of massive satisfaction. It’s a result that will be remembered and spoken about for generations to come. Probably this generation’s “5-1 at Goodison” result in many ways, with Mo in the Ian Rush role.
     
    I think what I enjoyed most about this is that it actually went the way it was supposed to based on the current level of both teams. That rarely happens, usually because the inferior side raises their game and the superior side doesn’t perform as they can. Great United teams have come to Anfield and played bang average Liverpool teams and not won, while we’ve gone there knowing we’re miles better than them but just not performed.
     
    This one went exactly how it should have though. It’s fascinating now looking back on Paul Scholes’ comments after they beat Atalanta as he called this one exactly right. He hit the nail on the head instead of putting it between his teeth. He knew what was going to happen if United tried to play the same way against us and he even said it would be three or four nil at half time.
     
    That’s someone giving an informed opinion based on actually watching how a team is playing and analysing their weaknesses. Compare that to Gabby Agbonlahor who predicted a United win based entirely on a narrative; Ronaldo won’t want to be outshone by Salah at home. 
     
    I never dreamed it would go this well for us just because so often we haven’t done ourselves justice, and also because I didn’t think for a second Solskjaer would try to play like that. I assumed they’d sit in their own half, compact, try to restrict the space for our front players and full backs, and then hit us on the break with their speedy attackers, especially in wide areas when our full backs go forward.
     
    Instead they were attempting this half arsed high press where some players would press, others wouldn’t, and they just never got near us. The first goal is amazing. Not because of anything we did, but because of how naive and disorganised they were.
     
    Coming out to press and getting there a second late every time and leaving gaps in the space they vacated. It was too easy for us. Credit to the lads involved in the move, especially Mo and Naby, but that’s pure shite from United.
     
    Just lovely from Mo though, I’m buzzing off the way he’s so often looking to play team-mates in now. There’s been a real maturation in his game this season. He still desperately wants to score but he wants to win trophies even more. He’s making great decisions every week, while still scoring at a rate like never before.
     
    It’s class from Keita too. Lovely run into the space and a cool finish. He started the game well and made a vital interception with only a minute gone. We were potentially in trouble there after giving the ball away cheaply but Naby nipped in to steal the ball back.
     
    After what happened in midweek there was a lot of pressure on him to deliver in this game, and usually he’s folded under that kind of pressure. This time he delivered a top performance. Probably his best since arriving at the club.
     
    He was involved in the second goal when he took advantage of a misunderstanding between Maguire and Shaw to play a lovely little ball into the overlapping Trent, who crossed for Jota to poke him from close range.
     
    I thought that was offside at first and even after a couple of replays I still expected it to be chalked off. The camera angle was really deceiving though and when they draw the lines it wasn’t even that close. 2-0 inside 13 minutes. Dreamland.
     
    But then this happened the other night too and we got pegged back before half time. Maybe that helped this time, with the memory of what happened in Madrid so fresh in the players’ minds they were completely switched on. Or maybe Atletico are just miles better than United.
     
    United are always dangerous though because of the talent in their team. As shot as they were in this game, they had chances. Fernandes misses a great opening when the game was still goalless. They had other moments of danger too. 
     
    Alisson made good saves to deny Greenwood and Ronaldo, but this is who United are. They’ll always have opportunities because good players will have moments in games. Their problem is that is all they have. They aren’t a team, they have no plan, no organisation, no identity. Just a load of really good players doing their own thing.
     
    It was 3-0 when Mo found Naby in the box and then got on the end of an excellent return cross. Unbelievable. United’s heads had gone and so had a good chunk of the crowd. They were leaving in their hundreds, maybe even thousands, before half time.
     
    Ronaldo lashed out petulantly after losing out to Jones, who had replaced the injured Milner. The least surprising thing about this whole day was Milner going off with a hamstring injury. That’s what happens when he plays three times in a week. It happened twice last season where he did his hamstring in the third game of the week. 
     
    Going back to the Ronaldo incident though. He doesn’t do that it if it’s Robbo, Trent, Virg, Hendo or whoever. His ego couldn’t handle being mugged off by a kid he’s probably never even heard of. A scouse kid at that. 
     
    The offence was probably deserving of more than a yellow but it’s not quite a red so I have no complaint about Taylor’s decision to only book him. He kicks the ball and not the player, even though he knows exactly what he’s doing. Bottom line, because he kicked the ball it’s very difficult to send him off for that.
     
    There was a little skirmish afterwards in which Robbo was wagging his finger at Ronaldo, Fernandes gave a little push to Virg and then big Konate arrived to shove Fernandes out of the way. Ronaldo walked away from it all, with Curtis saying something to him. I’d love to know what it was, but if I had to take a guess it would be along the lines of “you mad, bro?”.
     
    You could see they’d lost whatever composure they had and there was no way they were getting back into this game. They needed the half time whistle to arrive just to try and clear their heads and come up with an alternate plan, but before that happened we killed them stone dead with a fourth goal.
     
    The first few times I watched that I wondered if Mo had actually been looking to put it in the other corner. I think Klopp hinted at something along those lines too afterwards. Having watched it over and over I now think he did exactly what he was trying to do. It’s clinical as fuck.
     
    4-0 at half time, just as Scholesy predicted. Solskjaer responded by subbing Greenwood and sending on Pogba. That right there is a big part of their problem. Greenwood should never have been subbed. Ronaldo was the one that needed to go as it was all hands to the deck and that preening cunt isn’t going to do any dirty work for the team.
     
    And if Pogba is not the answer to anything, unless the question is who is the most over-rated footballer on the planet. Last week he said “something has to change” after they lost at Leicester. The thing that changed was he was dropped, but sending him out there in a game like this when they were 4-0 down was never going to end well for them.
     
    Pogba will have been fuming about that. Not just because he was on the bench, but because he was sent on when they were 4-0 down. Anyone would be pissed off by that, but you still have to be professional and he wasn’t. Within minutes he’d lost the ball in midfield (as he so often does) and it was 5-0. Hendo robbed him and then played the most exquisite of passes to release Mo who did the rest.
     
    I thought he’d over ran that with a heavy second touch but he’s so quick he still got there and re-adjusted his feet to dink it past De Gea for his hat-trick. Unbelievable. What a player. I’m finding it increasingly difficult not to bow to the argument he’s the best we’ve had. I’m not there yet but my feeling is that soon I won’t be able to argue against it.
     
    It was now just a case of how many we’d score, although Ronaldo did think he’d pulled one back with what was actually a really good finish. Shame he was offside hahahaha. If anyone was going to have disallowed at 0-5 I’mm glad it’s him, because none of the others would have give a fuck but this will have pissed him right off as he’s such a selfish twat.
     
    Then Pogba saw red for a wild tackle that saw Naby have to go off on a stretcher. Hopefully it isn’t too serious and it’s just bruising as that would be a massive shame for him if he can’t build on what he did here.
     
    Initially Taylor only gave a yellow but I can see why he did that. He only had one view of it in real time and it did look like Pogba got the ball before catching Naby. With the safety net of VAR in place, refs don’t need to do anything overly hasty now so he’s gone yellow and then waited to hear if he needed to take another look.
     
    As soon as they showed the replay there was never any doubt he was going to overturn that decision. He could have sent Maguire off too for bringing down Jota as he went clean through. Had the scoreline been closer he may have done, but Maguire did get the ball as well as man so again, I can see why he made the decision he did.
     
    He had a good game did Taylor. I was worried about him ahead of this, because why wouldn’t you be? Funnily enough though, United fans can’t stand him either and think he favours City. Maybe he does, I don’t know. I just know that having a Manchester ref in charge of a game involving a Manchester team and a Merseyside team is not a good idea. Fair play though, he was good. This time.
     
    So 5-0 with half an hour left, but that’s how it finished. United will be embarrassed at the result but they should also be massively relieved that this wasn’t a scoreline for the ages. Like Leicester winning 9-0 at Southampton the other year. 
     
    While some fans like me watching on telly were thinking about what might have been, those inside Old Trafford won’t have given a fuck. They were too busy enjoying themselves and rightly so. I’ve been there when we’ve won and other than winning trophies there’s nothing like it. I’ve been there for some bad losses too, so everyone who was in that away end will have been having the time of their life as it means so much. 
     
    We’ve been on the receiving end of taunts from them for decades but the worm has definitely turned now. They’ve gone back into the pack and we’re up there fighting for titles and European Cups. These things go in cycles and it’s important to enjoy while you can because it can change quickly.
     
    It was a shame that Curtis couldn’t put the cherry on the icing when he went through at the end. I’d have been buzzing for him to get one, not least because he’d probably have let Ronaldo know about on his way back for the restart. 
     
    So in closing, it feels fucking great finally see us go there and do what we’re supposed to do. Much of the focus will be on how bad they were but so what? It’s fair comment, they were absolutely shite. It doesn’t take away from what we did though and although it’s taken a while, it looks like the world has finally woken up to the fact we’re still really fucking good.
     
    The post match on Sky was hilarious. Souey and Carra were really giving Neville a hard time and making him squirm as he did everything he could to blame everyone and everything else other than his mate Ole. He looked fucking haunted as he sat there, it was great.
     
    What a man Souey is by the way. Before the game he was needling Neville and then at one point he turns to Carra and says “I told you we’d have a lot of fun today”. Fucking brilliant. The only thing missing was Roy Keane. Imagine what he’d have made of that.
     
    Star man is Mo, obviously. I also want to single out Keita for what he did, and also Konate who looked so comfortable and composed. We’re so strong at centre half right now it’s almost unfair. Look at United and how shit their defenders are. Maguire cost more money that Virg, Joe and Joel combined. 
     
    Bobby was sneakily good too. Didn’t score and only really had one effort on goal, but he was popping up all over the pitch winning the ball back and linking play. Jota was sharp and a constant menace. That left sided role is where he’s best suited and if Sadio is having to fight for his spot that can only be a good thing as it will elevate his game. 
     
     
    Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Keita (Oxlade-Chamberlain) Milner (Jones); Salah, Firmino (Mané), Jota:
     
     
  • 5-0 at Old Trafford!!! Yes, that actually happened. It was billed as Salah v Ronaldo but it wasn't even a contest as the Egyptian King carried on his incredible run of form with a hat-trick to leave United broken and humiliated.
     
    TLW Editor Dave Usher is joined by a sober Dan Thomas and the definitely not sober duo of Paul Natton and Ian Brown to celebrate one of the most monumental results in the modern era of the club. This is a game that we'll be singing about for generations.
     
    Apologies in advance for some of the sound issues but when two of the lads are shouting and singing it's tricky keeping the sound levels even! You don't want to miss this, it's one for the ages. UP THE REDS!!
     
     
  • Liverpool manages to consistently stay at the top of the league tables, no matter what they are. They are usually to be found near the top of the Premier League, if not leading it, and it is not unusual to see them getting ahead in the Champion’s League too. Is there a secret to this? Let’s take a look.
     
    The Best Players
     
    Take a look at the latest Champion’s League betting odds and predictions and it won’t be unusual to find Liverpool leading the pack in some way. The team knows what it takes to continue delivering results, and they work hard to ensure that they are able to be at the top of their game.
     
    This is incredibly impressive when you consider that a lot of the team is older, in terms of football. They are hardly geriatrics, but with other teams signing much younger talent, it is impressive that Liverpool is able to keep up and keep excelling.
     
    It also no doubt helps that Liverpool has some incredible talent on their sides too. Of all of them, Mo Salah is quite the force to be reckoned with. He has been praised as being the best player in the world by many sources, and he has helped to guide the team to many a victory thus far. It won’t be difficult to see him doing the same again.
     
    A Great Manager
     
    A lot of praise also has to be sent to Jurgen Klopp. Even those who are not fans of Liverpool have to admit that he knows his stuff. His tactics and man-management skills have helped to transform the team and have made them into the world-class players that they are today.
     
    His love of the beautiful game is evident, and it has made him into a popular figure in the world of UK football. Even his rivalry with Pep Guardiola, born in Germany and now moved to the Premier League is used as an exercise for him to better himself as a manager. Everything he does, he does for the betterment of Liverpool overall, and this makes him a great professional who is always searching for the next thing he can bring to his team.
     
    The Fans
     
    There is no doubt about it, Liverpool has one of the best fanbases in football. The players are able to perform so well because they know that they have the backing of the crowd. Though many of the teams in the Premier League have dedicated fanbases, none of them are nearly quite so passionate as that of Liverpool.
     
    If you are looking for a community that cares about its footballers and supports them no matter where they might come from, you need only look as far as Liverpool. When the stands at Anfield fill up, you can be certain that they are going to support the boys on the pitch to the best of their ability. Whether they are celebrating a goal or even just egging on Klopp on the sidelines, the Liverpool fans are some of the liveliest out there.
     
    Liverpool is built on three columns – the players, the fans, and the manager and staff. All three of these have to be stable to be able to deliver amazing results, and Anfield is definitely a place where you can see that happening. There is no denying that this is one of the best teams out there, and you only have to look a little closer to see just why. Hopefully, these three will continue to work in harmony for a long time to deliver more epic results for the club! 
  • Monday Oct 18:
     
    So the PL clubs did fuck all to stop the Newcastle takeover but they are getting together to ensure they aren’t allowed to write blank cheques for sponsorship deals paid for by the owners. All except one of course. The one who have built their success on doing exactly that. Even Chelsea under Abramovich never resorted to that vastly inflated sponsorship shit. I’d love to have been there to hear City try to argue their corner on that when the discussions were taking place. They never even had the balls to vote with Newcastle though, they abstained, which is even worse really. 
     
    I just feel like is one of those ‘finger in the dike’ scenarios. The clubs might be able to plug that particular hole but there’ll be all kinds of other holes appearing all over the gaff, especially when Newcastle’s lawyers team up with City’s legal team and get the whole concept of FFP thrown out completely. Because that’s where this is headed. And the more I think about it, the more I suspect the reason that the other clubs didn’t put up more of a fight to stop this happening is because half (or more) of the owners in the league are looking enviously at Mike Ashley and thinking “I wish we could have cashed in like that”.
     
    In more depressing news (for me anyway), Adele is releasing a new single this week as we prepare to face Luis Suarez tomorrow night. It feels like the universe is taunting me now.
     
    Tuesday Oct 19:
     
    Atleti 2 L 3 Get the fuck in. This result is great and satisfying in the extreme. The performance was a bit meh but that makes it better in some ways. I’d have liked to have played them off the park and battered them but the contentious nature of this one and seeing Simeone losing the plot at the end was great. They’re horrible aren’t they? An absolute mirror image of their manager. They can really fucking play when they want to though and I thought they were really good in the period between going 2-0 down and Griezemann being sent off. 
     
    We didn’t play that well but we’re at such a high level now that good teams can’t even beat us on our off days. We weren’t good against City either but they couldn’t beat us. So far this season feels a bit like when we won the league. Not quite the same because that year we were winning every week whereas this time we’ve drawn three already, but that resilience is there when we aren’t at our best. And when we are at our best nobody is going to be able to live with that.
     
    We’re basically through to the knock outs now barring three unexpected defeats. In the other game Porto beat Milan and are level with Atletico now. Milan are bottom on zero points so if we discount them we have an opportunity to send Atletico into the Europa League. We need to beat them to win the group, then we can lose to Porto and hopefully dump Atletico out. I’d love that. I’d happily lose to Porto if it meant shitting all over Simeone.
     
    Hopefully they end up playing the Mancs in the Europa. That’d be great as I could root for Suarez without any of you fuckers trying to make me feel bad about it. He was a knobhead tonight when he came on but that’s exactly what I’d expect. When he gets on that pitch he’s an absolute cunt and he’ll do whatever it takes to gain an advantage. He’s not going to refrain from that because he’s playing us. He couldn’t even if he wanted to. He’d be like that if he was playing against his own kids. He’ll be a fucking nightmare in a couple of weeks. I just hope he doesn’t injure anyone this time.
     
    Wednesday Oct 20:
     
    More rumours about Sterling maybe coming back and there seems to be a little momentum building with this one as its popping up every few weeks. As I’ve said before, I don’t see how it could happen because of his salary, but IF that was doable and the fee wasn’t too high, I’ve been trying to work out how I’d feel about it. And I’m not sure. I know I wouldn’t hate it, but I can’t say I’d be totally on board with it either.
     
    He’s a great player who does a fantastic impression of a shit one. His shooting is still weak as piss and he’s not very good one v one with the keeper. So he obviously misses loads of chances but he does everything else to a really high level and his football IQ is off the charts. It was sky high even when he was a kid playing for us but Guardiola is so tactically obsessed that Sterling has improved that side of his game even more. Brendan played him in all kinds of different positions and he was effective in all of them because he’s got a great football brain. That’s why he scores so many tap ins, he knows where to be and when to be there.
     
    I don’t bear any grudge about the way he left anymore. His conduct was pretty terrible but he was a kid being advised by a bellend and he was being offered treble the salary we were offering by a team that was winning titles while we were signing Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert. His decision to leave has been vindicated by everything he’s won, although if he had stayed and got to play for Klopp we’d probably worship him now. City fans don’t even like him much and for some reason that annoys me.
     
    It’s funny really because when I heard that City fans had been giving him stick and complaining about him, weirdly I found myself getting a bit defensive about it and having an urge to almost stick up for him. Not because I like him, but because it pissed me off that he wasn’t getting the level of respect he deserved after all he’s done for that club. Do City fans love any of their players? They loved Vincent Company but you get the feeling they’re not really arsed about any of the others. Maybe Silva and Aguero, but none of the current squad get the kind of adulation our players get from us. Everything about City just feels hollow and manufactured these days. The likes of Goater and Kinkladze got more love from City fans than most of these trophy winning superstars get.
     
    Going back to the original question though; would I take him back? It wouldn’t be a signing I’d make because the money would be better spent on buying the next big thing rather than an established player on a high contract with little resale value. I don’t think it makes sense financially (especially if we push the boat out to keep Mo) but if it happened I’d be completely fine with it. I’ve seen some Reds saying he wouldn’t get in the team but I don’t agree. There’s not much to choose between him and Sadio, plus he can also play through the middle. If he was in the squad right now he’d be getting plenty of games. I’d give this one no more than a 5% chance of happening, and even that’s probably way too high.
     
    Thursday Oct 21:
     
    Jesus. Looks like City have their own Sean Cox situation. One of their fans was assaulted against Bruges and he's in critical condition and the suggestion is that even if he comes through he's going to be seriously impacted by what happened. Fucking disgusting. He's just a fella in his sixties, who was minding his own business wanting to watch his team.
     
    The thing with these 'ultras' that really pisses me off, is that they hardly ever fight with the people who would be up for fighting them. I've always thought if knobheads want to go to footy and have a fight, let them arrange it with eachother, go and meet somewhere away from normal people and then have at it. Anyone who gets hurt, it's their own fucking fault. This business of just twatting random, defenceless fellas is just proper reprehensible. I hope they catch who did this and they get what's coming to them. 
     
    Meanwhile, I found this picture on my phone today. I took it a couple of weeks ago and planned to use it in the diary that week but forgot. It’s a quiet day today so I figured what the hell, I’ll still use it.
     

     
    What is it you ask? I was watching University Challenge and I saw this nerd who looked really familiar. I was trying to figure out where I knew him from and then it hit me. He’s some kind of alternate reality Jordan Pickford! Or he’s the twin brother who got all the breaks while Jordan was in the attic being fed fish heads. It’s uncanny though, just look at this brainy twat. He was so much like Pickford I was half expecting him to launch into a tirade of abuse any time a team-mate didn’t get a question right.
     
    I don’t make a habit of watching it by the way. I would if I was smarter but it’s sobering as fuck not knowing any answers while these spotty virgins are smugly getting everything right. At least with Mastermind it was a specialist subject so you’d expect them to know the answers. These nerds know everything about everything though. From chemistry compounds to Ancient Greek philosophy and everything in between. The only things they don’t know are stuff that normal people do. Like sports questions or music, or movie trivia. 
     
    In fact. I’d smash these nerds all over the place if the questions were on those. Like in this one, I only got one right but they didn’t get it. “Which 1990 Guy Ritchie film…” and I shout out straight away “Lock Stock!!”. I was right, but in fairness it could just as easily have been “Snatch” for all I knew. I took a shot and it landed. So fuck you Shelbyville Pickford.
     
    Friday Oct 22:
     
    Mo actually goes on the record with Sky saying he struggles to imagine playing for another club and the thought of ever playing against Liverpool makes him really sad. He looked pretty uncomfortable talking about it but it was clearly pre-arranged that they could ask him about it. That’s how these things work, the reporter knows beforehand what subjects are off limits and it seems to me that this is Mo’s agent putting the ball in the club’s court. It’s not the first example of it either, there have been a few things Mo has said and done recently that seemed like a power play in his battle with the club over his new contract.
     
    By saying he never wants to leave and he’d like to stay here until he retires he’s backed the club into a corner now. We’ve lost players in the past because they wanted to go elsewhere. Alonso, Suarez, Mascherano, Owen, Torres, Sterling, Coutinho…. the club generally didn’t get blamed for those departures because the players wanted out. If Mo leaves because they didn’t give him a contract befitting a player of his standing, fans aren’t going to go for that at all. I don’t see how this deal doesn’t get done now. 
     
    The interview overall was fucking boss though. We’ve been saying it on the pod all season but you can see Mo’s got the eye of the tiger this season. He kept talking about how “I don’t like to hear we are underdogs. We aren’t underdogs, we are Liverpool”. He said it a few times and I definitely think the lads felt slighted by everyone talking about City and Chelsea, and even United just because they spent a few quid and brought Ronaldo back. All that pre-season lack of respect from the pundits about our title chances has defo pissed him right off. One day, when there’s a documentary made about his time at Anfield he’ll be sitting back talking about all this and he’ll be like…
     

     
    Hopefully he can follow up on what he did at Old Trafford last year and we see that Mo rather than the one who stinks the place out there and spends most of the game in Luke Shaw's pocket, nestled next to a Big Mac.
     
    I'm dreading Sunday. Not because United scare me or because I think they're any good. They're pretty average but they have loads of players capable of producing something out of nothing. I expect us to dominate the game but that's the only prediction I'll make, because domination doesn't always equal success against this United side. They rely on moments.
     
    Along with the trip to the Etihad I hate this fixture more than any other. Unlike the Etihad trip though it's not because of any fear of the opponent, it's the fear I have that we won't play the way we can. We're miles better than United but that means fuck all in this game. They've been miles better than us countless times coming to Anfield but we were often able to raise our game, ride the emotion of the atmosphere and turn them over.
     
    That could happen on Sunday for them, or we could go there and play the way we can and snot them all over the place. I honestly have no idea what to expect though. I just want it over.
     
     
    ….and that was the week that was.
  • When you are a strong Premier League team, competing in Europe as well as domestic cup competitions, you are going to find yourself playing a lot of games. This is exactly what awaits Liverpool over the coming weeks as we head to the end of 2021, and while they are used to it, getting the right balance and managing game time is not easy.
     
    Five games come in November and then they will have at least eight in December, nine if the club reaches the quarter-final stage of the EFL Cup. Working out who plays when, navigating through injuries and keeping in contention for all three competitions will be in the mind of Jurgen Klopp, and it is sure to give him a headache.
     
    Is There Too Much Football?
     
    One of the biggest discussions that will come out of this will once again surround how much football is played. The need to have a strong squad has never been as important as it is now, if you are in Europe and you want to win domestic trophies too, you need to have multiple options. Liverpool are used to winning, they’ve won the Premier League and the Champions League recently, and fans expect to challenge every single year.
     
    There is also a question of whether there is too much football for fans. With weekend games plus many in midweek, some fans will struggle to keep up with everything on offer and may choose to digest other football content as a pallet cleanser. There are games like FIFA by EA, and then you have casino gaming as an alternative. The games can still involve football, with live casino games like Football Studio offering the chance to be involved with football-based gaming. 
     
    The casino industry continues to move into areas like sports and football and with sites such as Bonusfinder Ireland listing bonuses and free spins offers, new players can get help when they need it. Just like the Premier League, the casino industry is highly competitive, with many sites reaching out to potential players by offering various bonuses.
     
    While fans can choose to miss a game or two, players can’t. This is unless they have targeted rest games from Jurgen Klopp, which is something he may have to look at as The Redmen get into December especially.
     

     
    Creating a Squad Rotation Plan
     
    Injuries can happen at any point, players can be needed in games you didn’t expect, but putting together a rotation plan may be the best option moving forward. The Liverpool front three of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are top quality, but they will need rest at some point. The reason for signing Diego Jota was to give these three a rest, without losing quality in attack, and this needs to be used when needed.
     
    Other areas are key too, in the middle of midfield and at the full-back positions. Players like James Milner, who is very experienced but not first team members, are the ideal candidates to come in and play games in these positions. This takes the pressure off the regulars, to give rest during a busy period.
  • The Reds head to Old Trafford this weekend to face Manchester United with Mo Salah going up against Cristiano Ronaldo and looking to cement his place as the current best player in the world.
     
    The Egyptian King is tearing it up this season and he will be looking to add to the dozen goals he has already when the Reds face the old enemy on Sunday.
     
    Salah is in the form of his life and it isn’t just the number of goals that has caught the eye; it’s the stunning quality of them that has set the football world talking.
     
    In much the same way you can find the best online casino sites in the UK at www.scotsman.com, you’re going to find some of the goals of the season in Mo Salah’s collection.
     
    While for the last decade or more it has been a two man battle for the mantle of “best in the world”, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi aren’t getting any younger and Salah’s red hot start to the season has seen several pundits suggest he has now eclipsed the legendary pair. Jurgen Klopp added his weight to the discussion too, claiming that nobody is playing better than Salah this season.
     
    That will sting Ronaldo and his galaxy sized ego and he will be desperate to reassert his dominance this weekend. Salah, much like the team as a whole, has often struggled to perform at Old Trafford but he did bag three in two games there last season. There were no fans present in those games and it will be an entirely different proposition this weekend.
     

     
    Liverpool are unbeaten and are rolling long nicely, whereas United’s results have been mixed and even when they’ve won they have often come in for criticism. Their performances have been far from convincing but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has so much talent at his disposal that they can win games just from moments of quality rather than domination. 
     
    Even at 36 years of age Ronaldo is still scoring regularly and he's always been a man for the big occasion. With the Old Trafford crowd behind him and his team-mates this promises to be the biggest test of the season so far for the Reds. They'll face better sides than United, but very few will be as motivated and desperate to upset the Merseysiders' apple cart than United.
     
    Form means very little in these games and Liverpool know as well as anyone that being the superior team does not always count for much in this fixture. For years United were a much better side than Liverpool but they often struggled to get a result, especially at Anfield. 
     
    Now the shoe is on the other foot but Liverpool have usually been unable to make their superiority count and Klopp's record at Old Trafford is not great considering his tem have been considerably than United for much of his time here.
     
    Sunday is a great opportunity for Liverpool to show their superiority over United but they'll need to perform better than they have in this fixture so far and they'll need Salah to prove beyond doubt that he is now the main man in world football.
  • Klopp hates the 12.30 kick offs on Saturday but there’s a lot to be said for winning the early game and then just sitting back and enjoying the other fixtures without any real pressure. If they win, whatever, we’ve already won so it’s not like we need to worry about matching their results, but if they drop points, happy days.
     
    City and Chelsea both won and I’ll get to those in due course. I want to start with the other top four side though. At least they were top four before they were leapfrogged by Brighton and Spurs. I only watch United when they don't win so having seen the score I was looking forward to this one on MOTD.
     
    Leicester haven’t really got going yet this season, mainly due to the defensive injuries they’ve had. Johnny Evans was back for this one though and he stabilises everything back there. Soyuncu looks great when he’s next to Evans, but take Evans away and Soyuncu is so bad he looks like he should be playing centre back for United or Arsenal. He’s been a mess this season.
     
    As for Evans, it’s funny really when you consider that he’s still better than pretty much any defender United have had since they sold him. Varane will probably prove to be the exception to that rule but maybe not as he's never fit. 
     
    United hadn’t really done anything and Leicester had made all the running, but then out of nowhere Greenwood lashed one into the top corner from 25 yards. This is what they do. They just rely on moments of quality. Leicester had been putting together all kinds of nice little intricate training ground moves and then United go ahead when someone just blams one in from miles out.
     
    Greenwood is their best player. I hate those ‘combined eleven’ things as they’re a load of bollocks, but if I’m picking a Liverpool / United one then Greenwood is literally the only player I’d even be considering for a place (he wouldn't get in, but I'd think about it). None of the others are even close, except maybe Sancho but that’s based on reputation rather than anything else. Greenwood though, he’s sensational. The twat.
     
    Leicester continued to make all the running and deservedly levelled through Tielemans. Lovely finish after that Iheanacho cunt robbed the ponderous Maguire. Maddison and Tielemans were running the game and kept finding space behind the United midfield, which was Pogba and Matic. There’s no chance in hell Solskjaer fields that pair against us. It’ll be Fred and McTominay as usual.
     
    Soyuncu made it 2-1 from close range after sub Patson Daka had a shot saved. Again, look at Maguire though, the big fucking statue. In fairness to him he wasn't fit and was rushed back too soon, but this is what he does most of the time anyway. How bad must the rest of their defenders be if they need to rush this big gormless dope back when he's not fit?
     
    United equalised with a long ball over the top that Rashford raced onto and then buried. Hilariously though, within seconds Leicester were ahead again as right from the restart they went straight up the pitch and that loser Ayoze Perez teed up Vardy to shin one home. 
     
    Daka then wrapped it up in stoppage time with a back post tap in from a corner. United aren’t good dealing with set-pieces at all and hopefully that’s something we can capitalise on this week. A Matip winner would be nice.
     
    Daka has started like a runaway train. He followed this up by scoring four in a Europa League win in midweek. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s any good as he’s a player we were strongly linked with before he went to Leicester. I hope he does well, not least because it will limit the minutes of Iheanacho, meaning I don't need to be reminded of what he did every time I fucking look at him. 
     
    Pogba’s interview afterwards was… I don’t even know how I’d describe it as I don’t really care. “We need to change something” he said, while clearly just not looking at all arsed about what’s going on there. Why would he though? He’s running down his contract to either go to PSG or Real Madrid so he doesn’t give a fuck. Maybe if Solskjaer gets the push and United offer him enough cash he’ll sign, as he’s one of those new breed of ‘superstar’ players who are more arsed about their endorsement deals and having a high rating on FIFA than they are about maximising their talent. See also Neymar.
     
    As I said last time, these are strange times for United who only ever seem to be one bad result away from mutiny. They’ll be ticking along nicely but as soon as they have a bad result all hell breaks loose and it’s all “#OleOut.
     
    It happened again in midweek when they found themselves 2-0 down to Atalanta. They came back to win the game, just as they’d done in their last CL home game too, but the knives were out massively at half time. That was a good result for us I think. I’d rather face them when they aren’t completely desperate and under massive pressure to get a result. If they’d lost to Atalanta they’d have been really dangerous this weekend. They are still dangerous, but they’re under a bit less pressure after that comeback and I feel better about that than I would if they’d lost.
     
    I’m taking nothing for granted this weekend because we’ve been so bad at that stadium for so long that form and class doesn’t really come into it. We’re a vastly superior team to United but there have been plenty of times in the past when it’s been the opposite and we’ve still been able to turn them over. They’ve got a frightening amount of talent in that squad and that’s what they rely on. They aren’t well coached, they aren’t particularly well organised or hard to play against, but they’ve got Ronaldo, Sancho, Fernandez, Pogba, Greenwood, Cavani and Rashford, all of whom can produce something brilliant out of nowhere.
     
    So while I can laugh at them having their pants pulled down by Leicester, don’t take that as me dismissing them ahead of this weekend as I’m not that stupid or cocky. I can say Manchester United are shite, but that doesn’t mean I’m saying that they aren’t capable of beating us this weekend, because they absolute are if we turn in our usual Old Trafford stinker.
     
    There is a lot of talk now about whether United are even good enough to make the top four. I’d say that Leicester are probably the only threat to them on that front, but Brendan’s side always seem to get bogged down with injuries and just miss out. I don’t see anyone else posing a threat to United for fourth though.
     
    I enjoyed them losing and I also got a kick out of what happened at Villa Park. I have no love for either Villa or Wolves and would have taken pleasure in either of them losing. I don’t really have a preference but Villa were at home so them losing meant more disappointed fans, and then there was the way they lost. Hilarious.
     
    They played really well and led 2-0 courtesy of goals from Ings and McGinn. Saiss pulled one back with ten minutes to go, Coady added another soon after and then Neves won it with the last kick of the game with a wickedly deflected free-kick. So fucking funny. Any time Villa fans are left upset is cause for celebration. Knobheads.
     
    Traore was brilliant. He might have scored the goal of the season (if you discount anything scored by Mo of course) when he ran from inside his own half past four challenges, but his finishing is just horrible. He just goes for power every time and it went straight at the keeper. If he could finish he’d be incredible, but he can’t so he plays for Wolves. He ran Villa ragged though.
     
    Brentford gave Chelsea all they could handle and were really unlucky to come away with nothing. Chilwell got the only goal of the game with Chelsea’s only shot on target (Brentford had seven) but Chelsea’s keeper was their best player by a mile and he managed to keep Brentford out. He was helped by the woodwork and defenders clearing off the line too. Brentford are fucking good.
     
    Burnley had a good win this weekend when they avoided conceding their usual five at the Etihad. Just the two this time. City’s opening goal was well worked but Bernardo would have been offside if Tarkowski had a brain. What the fuck is he doing dropping back onto his own line like that instead of holding the line with the rest of the defence? Shite that was. Fair enough doing that when your keeper is out of position or if you’re covering a side of the goal he can’t reach, but he just dropped back to where Pope was, and when he made the save Bernardo was there for a tap in.
     
    Burnley actually caused City some problems, which never happens usually. McNeil released Cornet but he shot straight at Ederson. Brownhill then shot wide when he should have hit the target. City eventually extended their lead with a thumping De Bruyne finish but 2-0 feels like we've made up three goals on them. Then again, we only put five past Watford whereas City usually bag eight, so that's evened itself out.
     
    Leeds’ bad start continued as they lost at Southampton, who finally picked up their first win. Broja got the only goal of the game. No idea who he is, never seen him before, but it was a nice goal that was really well made by the lively Redmond, who was at the heart of everything good Southampton did. He’s the new Andros Townsend him. There are four or five games a season where he looks like one of the best players in the league, but the rest of the time he’s just average at best.
     
    * just checked and that Broja is on loan from Chelsea. Of course, oui.
     
    Leeds are missing my boy Bamford while Raphinha was also unavailable after starring for Brazil. There is a bad whiff of Sheffield United about them so far this year. I think they'll be ok when my boy is back but it's clearly going to be a relegation battle for them and they won't be scaling the dizzy heights they did last season.
     
    Unlike Brighton, who could have cemented their grip on fourth with a win over basement dwellers Norwich. They couldn’t find a cutting edge though and had to settle for a goalless draw. 
     
    Brighton wanted a pen when Maupay went around Krul and took a tumble. It looked like a dive on first view and Krul went mad and was trying to drag the forward up off the floor, presumably so he could put him back down again properly.
     
    The replay showed there was some contact on Maupay’s foot and then he stumbled over. He had an open goal if he’d stayed on his feet so I don’t think he dived, but it just didn’t look like enough contact to give a foul. It probably was though.
     
    Trossard hit the bar with a volley and Lallana had an effort saved as Brighton did all the pressing, but Norwich missed an open goal when Sergeant was too casual with his finish and allowed Duffy to get back and clear.
     
    Pukki somehow missed when he dinked over the keeper but into the side netting, and he was later denied by a great last ditch block by Dan Burn. That was probably the moment when Norwich knew it wasn’t their day. Will they win a game this season? Hopefully when they play Newcastle.
     
    Onto Sunday now and the Moyes Derby at Goodison. West Ham were by far the better side and should have won by more than the one goal really. Football throws up some mad shit at times doesn’t it? Imagine telling a Blue a few years ago that they’d be at Goodison cheering for a Benitez team to beat a Moyes team. That’s the life of an Evertonian though. Miserable as fuck.
     
    Everton were shite and West Ham were much, much better than them. Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison were both still missing, meaning Rondon was leading the line once more. My cousin Al said of Rondon “he looks like he should be wearing a Hawaiian shirt” and that’s the best description of him ever. When he quits playing, he'll become a big fat cunt and be harrassing women at poolside bars, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sipping drinks with an umbrella in them.
     
    The only goal of the game was scored by Ogbonna from a corner that Everton hotly disputed. Rafa was talking bollocks afterwards about a foul on Pickford. No chance. Antonio jumped early and although he’s obviously a few inches taller, Pickford can use his little arms so that almost negates the advantage the Hammers man had. There’s no foul, and Pickford got the last touch, despite his predictable tantrum when the decision went against him.
     
    He’s only been there five minutes but it’s already clear that Demarai Gray is too good for Everton. He could definitely play for a top half team. West Ham might even look at him as that’s a nice step up for him. Alex Iwobi on the other hand, he might genuinely be the worst player in the league. Useless.
     
    Moving on now, and I don’t think I’ve ever been wanting a Spurs win more than I did this weekend. Even when they played City in the CL semi a few years back I didn’t want them to win as much as I did this weekend. And they did, thankfully.
     
    Newcastle went ahead inside two minutes though. How sickening was it seeing that Staveley twat and the rest of that ownership crew all celebrating like they’ve been fans their whole lives. Honestly, I’m so fucking repulsed by this whole thing it’s hard to even get it across. 
     
    I know it’s obvious I’m full of contempt just from reading this, but however disgusted you think I am based on this, magnify it by a hundred and you still aren’t close. 
     
    Thankfully Spurs levelled quickly through Ndombele and then my boy (for one week only) Harry Kane bent his run perfectly to stay onside and then lobbed the keeper. Come on you Spurs!
     
    My other boy (again, for one week only), Son, made it 3-1 with a close range finish from a pinpoint Kane cross. Lovely move that, Moura and Ndombele were involved before Kane and Son took over.
     
    Is Ndombele the hardest player to get a handle on in the entire league? He’s either dogshit or fucking sensational. 
     
    Then the thickest player in the league came off the bench and picked up two quick yellows to leave Newcastle a man down. How did the home crowd react as Shelvey trudged off in shame? They chanted “We want Brucey out”. I mean, we know they want him out, but they chose THAT moment to give him pelters? Shelvey was thick as fuck before Bruce arrived and he’ll be thick as fuck long after he’s gone.
     
    What he did was a disgrace but instead of letting him know, they took the low hanging fruit and went after Bruce. They should make Shelvey manager actually as he’s the living embodiment of that fucking crowd. Thick cunts.
     
    I hope Newcastle don’t win a game all season, the pathetic, sad, embarrassing cunts. Absolute shower of bellends. They were every bit as bad as I said they’d be and then some. Just the absolute fucking worst. And this is only the start.
     
    Hopefully we won’t see them with tea towels on their heads anymore after their owners asked them not to. It’s “offensive” apparently. A lot of things seem to be offensive to them don’t they? Homosexuality and feminism to name but two. Freedom of the press being another. 
     
    They’ve sacked Bruce now. Hardly a shock. He’s despised up there despite having a virtually identical record to Benitez, who is idolised. No wonder the Saudis targeted them. The most impressionable, easily manipulated thick cunts in the country. God I hope they go down.
     
    Finally, Monday Night Football. Vieira back at Arsenal as his Palace side took on the Gunners and so nearly went home with the points.
     
    Aubameyang’s sharp finish broke the deadlock but the longer the game went the better Palace got and the more edgy Arsenal became. Benteke equalised with a really good finish and then Eduoard made it 2-1. 
     
    Arsenal pushed hard for an equaliser but it looked like Palace would hold out until they didn’t clear a corner and Lacazette blasted home a loose ball with the last kick of the game.
     
    Had a quick look at some Arsenal Fan TV vids after the game and you had the kind of ing and yang that I love about it. There was Ty’s one, entitled “Where was VAR? It was a disgrace” and then there was Troopz “How can we not beat Palace in four years blud!”. Tremendous.
     
    Ty’s complaint was that McArthur wasn’t sent off and he’s got a point. That was incredible. Funny as fuck, because he just booted Saka as hard as he could and somehow escaped a red card. Saka was injured and had to go off. Mike Dean was looking right at it and gave a yellow, and as Ty said, where was VAR? Unbelievable. 
     
    Palace were really good though. Energetic and clever in their pressing. They were just picking the pockets of Arsenal’s midfielders and I’ll hold my hands up here and say I was way off about Vieira. I had him down as the odds on favourite to win the sack race but you can already see he’s improved Palace.
     
    Whether he can just dog out the kind of results Hodgson did remains to be seen, but the way they play is much better and they seem to be improving each week. I actually quite enjoy watching them, which is not something I thought I’d be saying.
     
    Vieira will have had mixed emotions after this. Returning to his old club and almost getting a result only to be denied late on. He said afterwards “Yeah it was so close but we have to learn fr…..” zzzzzzzz.
  • It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t convincing, it won’t be particularly memorable. But it sure was satisfying. There’s no worse team in the world to play than these. They’re fucking horrible but they’re also really fucking good. We saw both sides of that here and this was such a tough game.
     
    It didn’t start that way. We couldn’t have wished for anything better than that start. We looked sharp but the big thing really was how unlike themselves they were. They weren’t difficult to play against in that opening 15, we had our way with them and Simeone was losing the plot on the touchline. Mind you, he’s like that regardless of the score, the annoying twat. 
     
    We went ahead early when Mo skipped away from three challenges and fired in a shot that deflected past the keeper. Initially it was given as his goal as it had come off the defender. Then they gave it Milner because it looked like he’d side footed the ball in. Then they changed their mind again and said it hit the defender so it was Mo’s goal.
     
    Milner won’t be arsed but Mo defo would have been, so this turned out for the best in the end. Mo deserved it for the way he skipped away from all those challenges. Atletico were rattled and it wasn’t long after they conceded another. What a strike too by Naby. Like his goal against Palace only this time with his other foot.
     
    That was as good as it got for him though. I was actually typing out a message ripping him for a really shit pass seconds before when Atletico pulled one back. It was such an easy ball he could have rolled through for Mo but he messed it up completely. Seconds later they’re down the other end winning a corner, and from that corner he got absolutely skinned by Lemar which led to the goal.
     
    It isn’t good defending from Keita but in mitigation he isn’t a full back and is never going to be comfortable in a situation where he’s left isolated against a tricky winger. Lemar beat him all ends up but maybe we need to be looking at how Naby was left in that one v one situation.
     
    What happened after that was a bit of a farce. Even allowing for the changes to offside I don’t think that goal should stand. Lemar is offside but because he doesn’t touch the ball he’s deemed to be playing no part in it, but he appears out of nowhere and jumps over the ball as Matip is in position to clear it. Joel probably could have prevented the goal but he hesitated due to Lemar being right on top of him.
     
    We’ve seen goals disallowed this season for less interference than that and they did take a long, long look at it. In the end they allowed it to stand and it caused a lot of discussion in the BT studio at half time and then even more so afterwards. 
     
    Peter Walton is a complete fucking waste of space. In fact, the worst words in British sorts broadcasting might well be “let’s go over to Peter Walton and get his thoughts on that decision”. That cunt is stealing a living. I despise him.
     
    You know who else does? Joleon Lescott. You could see the absolute fucking contempt he had for him when they were discussing that first Atleti goal afterwards. Walton is talking absolute fucking gash about why the decision was correct because that’s what the rule states, and Lescott is just completely disgusted with him. In the end he stops even arguing the point because he knows you can’t argue with stupid.
     
    Lescott’s point was that Matip would have cleared it but for an offside player getting in his way. Crouch agreed. Walton would have too if that had been the decision given by VAR. But because VAR allowed the goal that means Walton is going with that, because this is all he does, the absolute fucking roaster. What’s the point in having him there when all he ever does is back whatever decision is made? The worst is when he argues in favour of one outcome and when they change their mind he’ll do a u-turn and argue against his own initial point. I can’t fucking stand him. He’s annoyed me even more than Simeone.
     
    Anyway, I’ve completely lost track of where I am now, let me read it back…
     
    Ok, so we’re 2-1 up but the momentum has shifted completely. Atletico were playing really well now and we were not looking good. They were playing with a rigid five at the back but still looking really dangerous going forward and were finding space behind our midfield far too easily.
     
    Their equaliser was brilliant from their perspective but cheap as fuck from ours. Keita was beaten far too easily by Joao Felix and then one pass inside completely killed us. Griezemann collected it, blew past Virgil and then beat Alisson with a low shot.
     
    Keita should have stopped it at source with a tactical foul but even after that we could have dealt with it better. What the fuck was Virg doing? He was facing the wrong way and didn’t even see Griezemann. That’s right out of the “Defend like Harry Maguire” handbook that.
     
    We were all over the place from about 20 minutes onwards though. We didn’t keep the ball and we looked wide open. Alisson needed to make two brilliant saves just to keep us level and it was obvious Fabinho was going to have to come on at the break.
     
    It was equally obvious Keita would be the one to make way. It’s not that he was so much worse than Henderson or Milner, as none of them covered themselves in glory. But there’s a pattern here. So often when he plays we get exposed and the opponent seem to be able to play through us.
     
    Most of the damage was being done in the area of the pitch that Keita was responsible for, so while you could just as easily have subbed Milner, the bottom line here is who do you trust in a game like this? Milner has proved himself countless times, Keita hasn’t.
     
    So he was rightly brought off and now his fanboys are kicking off again on twitter, accusing James Pearce and other journos of being racist and generally trying to convince the world Keita gets a raw deal because he’s African and not English. It’s this kind of shit that makes it hard to root for Keita even though none of it is his fault. The Naby cultists might be the worst section of the “LFC Fam”.
     
    The change settled us down but we were also helped by Atletico being reduced to ten men. The ref didn’t have a choice there, it’s an obvious red even though it was entirely accidental. There’s no malice there and in fairness to Griezemann when he knew the decision wouldn’t be overturned, he didn’t just stomp off in a huff, he went to check Bobby was ok first.
     
    The decision helped us but probably not too much as they’re the type of team that are well equipped to play with a man less and given the way they play I expect they’re used to it. They still posed a threat even after the second off but it was mostly just Carrasco running the channels non stop. Some shift he put in.
     
    Defensively they were comfortable enough and the second half was pretty awful as a spectacle. The sit housing was cranked up several notches after Griezemann was sent off as they desperately looked to even the score.
     
    Simeone was kicking off about any little foul and their players were milking any contact. Trippier got Milner booked by running into him and then hitting the floor holding his face. Milner was incredulous about it and Trippier just got up laughing, knowing full well he’d conned the ref. He did the same thing to Sadio in the first half. He didn’t learn that at Spurs.
     
    One thing about the best managers is that their teams tend to reflect their personality. Teams have an identity based on their manager. We’re a reflection of Klopp. You can look at Ferguson’s United, Wenger’s Arsenal, Mourinho’s Chelsea… and Atletico are a mirror image of Simeone. They might be the greatest example of it in history. A team full of horrible snide cunts who will do whatever it takes to win and they don’t give a shit what anyone thinks of their methods.
     
    Someone was wanting to make a triple change but the ball wouldn’t go out of play. The subs were stood there for a good five minutes and he was getting more and more agitated, trying to get his own players to put the ball out just to make the change. We got a corner, but everyone knows you don’t make changes when defending a corner so he had to delay it further.
     
    And then, one of the players he was wanting to sub had a moment of madness and conceded one of the most stupid penalties you’ll see. He wasn’t looking at the ball and he deliberately barged into Jota and took him down. It’s blatant. 100 times out of 100 that’s given as a penalty, but their lad was acting like he was the victim of the greatest injustice of the century. It’s ingrained in them you see. It all comes from the manager.
     
    They tried to put Mo off and Oblak was acting the twat, but Mo kept his nerve and sent him the wrong way to put us back in front. The triple change now became a quadruple one as Suarez was added to the mix.
     
    He wasted no time in leaving something on Virgil after he cleared the ball and he basically picked up where he left off the last time he faced us in Spain. He must have been straining at the leash to get on that pitch and when he got there he was in full on shithouse mode.
     
    They were desperate and cranked up the cheating even further. It looked like it paid off when one of them took a tumble after colliding with Jota and the ref pointed to the spot. One first view it looked to me like their player slowed down to ensure Jota ran into him, but having given something similar at the other end the ref was always going to be under pressure to give this one.
     
    The replay confirmed what I first thought but it also showed that even though their lad’s only intent was to initiate contact and hit the deck, the contact was actually minimal anyway. 
     
    It was never a penalty but refs like to even things out so I held out no hope this would be overturned. But as soon as he was told by VAR to check the video I thought it was 50/50. Usually when they are told to go and take another look they will overturn it, but you need a big set of balls to do that with a baying crowd, a team full of bad shithouses in your face all night, and most of all, that fucking loony Simeone a few yards away on the touchline.
     
    So fair play to the ref for having the stones to do it. It did deny us the possibility of Alisson saving a pen from Suarez though, which would have been pretty fucking epic.
     
    As much as I joke about how much I still love Suarez, it’s more the memory and the feeling I had for him back in the day that I miss. Seeing him on the pitch playing against us doesn’t really move me or stir anything in me. When he was booked and he kept on abusing the ref I was laughing and wanting him to keep going so he’d get sent off. 
     
    Honestly, nothing would have given me greater pleasure than him picking up a red card.  He probably deserved it for the dangerous, snidey challenge he made that led to the booking. He wasn’t trying to foul Virgil, he was trying to make it look as though he was the one being fouled. It’s the oldest trick in the book, a striker makes a back for a defender and then goes down trying to win a free kick.
     
    This one had the double of whammy of him holding his face and writhing around the floor as though he’d been poleaxed. What actually happened was Virgil went up for a header, Suarez tried to barge into him to draw a free-kick, but Virg saw him coming and put an arm out to protect himself. 
     
    Of course Suarez did that thing where he holds his face with one hand and waves his other arm up in the air like he’s in real distress. I must have seen that over a hundred times and it always made me laugh. It’s not so funny when he’s on the opposing team. Virgil landed really awkwardly too and that could have been disastrous.
     
    Thankfully he was ok and thankfully the ref wasn’t buying any of the shit Luis was selling. We held on fairly comfortably and I thought we saw out the closing stages really well. The introduction of Ox helped. He was busy and looked sharp. Don’t ask me why, but I can smell a big Ox moment coming up. It might be Sunday, but he’s going to do something, I can smell it.
     
    Anyway, to wrap things up. We were nowhere near our best but we won. That gives us a big lead in the group and leaves us one win away from qualification. It gives us an element of payback for them knocking us out a couple of years ago but I feel like we need to beat them again to fully set the record straight. Ideally, if we do that, I’d throw the game against whichever of Porto or Milan had the best chance of pipping Simeone and his bunch of shithouses to second spot.
     
    Star man is Alisson. He was outstanding and made some big saves. Matip played well too, as did Fabinho when he came on. Nobody else really stood out but that probably makes the win even more impressive. Winning against those twats while not being anywhere near our best is great.
     
    We need to sharpen up ahead of the weekend though. Atletico are a more difficult opponent than the Mancs but Old Trafford is usually a terrible venue for us. I never look forward to these games and this is no exception. Just give me the three points and I don’t care how we get them.
     
     
    Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold (Gomez), Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Keita (Fabinho), Milner (Oxlade-Chamberlain); Salah (Williams), Firmino, Mané (Jota):
     
     
     
  • The Reds have one foot in the knock out stages following a typically eventful and controversial battle in Madrid.
     
    Mo Salah was once again the match winner but Alisson Becker was the star performer as Jurgen Klopp's side found a way to win despite not being at their best.
     
    Your host Chris Smith is joined by Julian Richards, John Gallagher and TLW Editor Dave Usher to unpack the events at the Wanda Metropolitano, as well as taking a look ahead to Sunday's game at Old Trafford.
     
     
  • To think that some of us thought this might be tricky. It couldn’t have been easier in the end. The front three were on fire, the defenders had the pipes and slippers out, our inexperienced keeper barely touched the ball until the last 15 minutes and the ‘makeshift’ midfield completely bossed it.
     
    Watford were brutally bad though weren’t they? It was almost like someone told them they were playing Man City so they just went into roll over mode. Five was the absolute minimum we deserved from this game. On another day we might have scored eight, but I’m glad we didn’t as usually when you run up a cricket score you end up drawing a blank the next game. So if we’ve ‘saved’ a few for the next couple of games then great. 
     
    Going into this one I would have taken three points regardless of how we got them. I didn’t care if we struggled or weren’t at our best. Given the circumstances I’d have been made up to just get the points and get out of there. I mentioned this on the pod, but in the build up to this I’d started to talk myself into how tricky this game was going to be. They seemed like legitimate concerns. Coming off an international break, playing at a ground where we’ve had some terrible defensive collapses under Klopp, players missing for various reasons….  
     
    It felt like it had the potential to be trouble but the second I saw the Watford line up it was like a slap to the face to bring me back to reality. There’s no way that team were going to be able to live with us. Not a fucking chance. I hadn’t heard of half of them and the ones I did know were either shite or had seen better days.
     
    The new manager bounce wasn’t a factor either. Watford didn’t bounce, they just went splat. But should that be surprising? The international break hurt them too. Ranieri hadn’t worked with his entire squad, which is a pretty big problem when you’re trying to implement a new set up. Watford looked like they didn’t have a clue what they were doing, because realistically they didn’t. 
     
    As it turned out, this was the perfect time to play them even though we had difficulties of our own that we had to deal with. Bottom line here, look at the team we were still able to put out despite having four midfielders missing, no Alisson and Jota only fit enough for the bench. Now compare it to Watford. 
     
    Of course there are no guarantees and inferior teams can often upset the odds. Look at Brentford the other week. The big difference is that Brentford are a settled team, well organised with a good manager who has been working with them for a while. Watford were a disjointed mess. Ranieri might improve that with time, but probably not. 
     
    We won’t have an easier game all season. Mo said afterwards that they spoke in the dressing room beforehand how important it was to start well because they didn’t want a repeat of how badly the first half went against City. That showed. 
     
    We started fast, aggressive, confident and Watford just looked shell shocked. They had no outlet, no way of getting a foothold in the game. They couldn't hurt us.
     
    Basically, keep Sarr in check and there was nothing to worry about. When the game started it was obvious inside the first couple of minutes we were winning this game comfortably. We were on the front foot, we looked really sharp and Mo was absolutely fucking having his way with Danny Rose.
     
    We went ahead after eight minutes but even before that you knew it was coming. The opening goal was so fucking good though. Just perfection really. Matip dealt with a high ball and nodded it forwards toward Mo. Rose got too tight, Mo just rolled him and was away.
     
    He could have continued running forward into space himself but he quickly assessed his options and he ran toward the ball and he spotted Sadio on the far side. There was a small window to deliver that pass as it had to be far forward enough to cut out the defender, but not too far that it brought the keeper into play. Then of course you need to get the pace of it right.
     
    The ball from Mo was utterly filthy. Inch perfect right into Sadio’s stride. The finish was very good too, and it was just devastatingly fast and clinical. When you concede a goal like that you just wonder what hit you.
     
    We were just all over them after that and the only thing that could hold us back was that it was too easy, We’ve seen that sometimes with the lads. It’s easy, they know it’s easy and they get a bit sloppy. Taking extra touches, doing silly flicks and shit. Watford couldn’t get out of their own half on their own and the first time I remember them doing anything was when Sadio lost it on halfway doing a daft back heel.
     
    That was the only risk to us because Watford couldn’t do anything on their own. It was complete and utter dominate from us. Even Keita looked alright. He didn’t do anything exceptional but he played his part. He made some good tackles and hit the bar with a deflected effort.
     
    From the moment we went ahead the only question was how many we’d score. Frankly it was a little disappointing we only managed two in the first half. The second goal was nothing like the first but it was still brilliant in its own way. Lovely move, capped by Milner making an overlapping run past Sadio, collecting the pass and drilling it across the face for a Bobby tap in. The first goal was pure Liverpool, but that second was a Man City goal and I loved it. We need to do more of that.
     
    The third goal was a bit shit. Robbo was a bit late with the cross and Mo had ran well offside. This is where the new offside law is absolutely fucking shit though. The defender has to try to cut it out because even though he might suspect Mo is offside, in that split second you can’t know for sure. But the only reason he is even making a play at the ball is because Mo is behind him. And Mo is miles offside, so saying that is ok just makes a mockery of the rule.
     
    Bobby is on the spot for a tap in so credit to him for that, but I hate that this is a goal under the current laws of the game. Because it is a goal, the decision was correct and we’ve seen similar goals given too. I’m just saying, it’s fucking stupid and needs to change.
     
    It made no difference to the outcome of this game because we were battering Watford with or without that goal, but there will be other games when it’s tight and a goal with this will prove decisive. And that’s just wrong. It actually blows my mind that the people that make these laws can look at a goal like this and say “yeah thats fine, we want those to be given”. They’ll happily disallow goals because a toe nail is offside, but this is ok? 
     
    It’s like they just don’t understand the game at all, because you have to look at incidents like this from a defender’s point of view and ask what are they meant to do. You can’t have defenders just letting balls go through to forwards who are offside, because sometimes another defender will be deeper and playing the forward on. The other thing is that the flag doesn’t go up straight away so you end up having to chase back anyway. So if a defender thinks he can cut it out he’ll make a play at the ball, but he’s only doing it because he’s trying to keep the ball away from AN OFFSIDE PLAYER!! It’s a joke.
     
    There was nothing wrong with the fourth goal though. Wow. Fucking hell. Was it better than last week? I don’t know, it was incredibly similar. It was similar to others he’s scored from similar situations too. The point is it isn’t a one off.
     
    I think last week’s goal against City helped him score this one. Defenders expect him to cut back onto his left foot but last week he skinned Laporte and finished with his right. So Cathcart almost certainly has that in mind when Mo goes on the outside of him. Mo feigns the shot and Cathcart buys it hook line and sinker because he has to. After what happened last week he can’t risk it. He has to assume Mo is going to shoot.
     
    He didn’t shoot though, he cut back onto his left side, steadied himself and calmly bent it into the corner. It was fucking ridiculous but this is becoming standard now. He’s scoring and assisting every week. The goal and assist combo v City was special but this pair probably eclipsed that in terms of quality. The calibre of opposition wasn’t as high so that needs to be factored in, but what he’s doing this season is a level above anything he’s done before, even in the 44 goal season.
     
    The great thing is he isn’t doing it alone. Sadio is scoring regularly and Bobby has been pretty prolific on the quiet. He’s not played much but has six goals now. The numbers of the front three (and that’s not even including Jota) so far this season compare favourably with anything they’ve done before at this stage of the season. If they keep this up no-one is stopping us.
     
    The first season they played together they managed 91 goals. We also had double figures from Coutinho who left halfway through the season. Since then it’s dropped off year on year but if they come close to what they did that year, with Jota chipping in double figures too, who is going to be able to live with that?
     
    Bobby getting three tap ins is fucking great. I love that. That’s what I want from him. Cheap goals that boost his tally, help his confidence and take the pressure off him. That season when the three of them got 91, Bobby got 26 I think. And quite a few of them were like this. Tap ins, often no look finishes. 
     
    Goals cover a multitude of sins for a number nine. When he isn’t scoring he needs to be spot on with everything else or he’ll rightly be questioned. That hasn’t been the case in the last couple of years and his form has been up and down. If he was scoring regularly that wouldn’t have mattered, but when you aren’t scoring then everything else is put under a microscope.
     
    The fact he’s getting in there looking for goals is great news and is probably a result of the competition for places. He’s fallen behind Jota in the pecking order this season but it wouldn’t take much for him to change that because he’s more of a natural fit for the position than Diogo, who for me is probably more at home in the wider positions. So if Bobby is scoring, it’s a no brainer to pick him.
     
    His hat-trick goal was a proper number nine’s goal. Nice ball by Ox, good play by Neco and Bobby is in the area you want him to be in to get a tap in. Quick point on that, just look at Danny Rose again as Neto blows by him like he isn’t even there. He was completely shot by that point and it’s probably the worst individual display since that time Jon Walters scored an own goal, missed two pens and smashed the ball into his own face while attempting an overhead kick. 
     
    Nice to see Ox and Neco making positive contributions off the bench though. Of course this was an easy game to come into and to look good, but we’re going to need all of these players throughout the season so anything that helps with their confidence is a big positive.
     
    This was just a  great all around performance in which everyone looked like they were on form. Sadio and Bobby had some erratic, sloppy moments but that’s the nature of their job I think. They’re always going to have moments when they give it away cheaply and it looks bad, but it’s because they have that freedom to try to make things happen and some of the things they do is more high risk. Mo is the same to some extent, it’s just that he’s in such incredible form that most of what he’s attempting is coming off.
     
    All over the pitch though we were great. Kelleher didn’t have much to do but made a fine save late on when he tipped the ball onto the post. Trent was fucking ridiculous with some of his passing. Virgil was completely dominant and that one moment when he back headed a difficult bouncing ball and then shrugged off the forward and casually rolled it Robbo was almost unfair. Imagine having to play against a defender who can dominate you and take the piss like that. It must be soul destroying.
     
    And he probably wasn’t even the best centre back on the pitch, because Big Bird was just about perfect once again. Every game he’s just flawless. Proper world class player him even if hardly anyone outside of LFC seems to know it. Robbo was good and Klopp had the luxury of giving him and Trent a rest by bringing them off early. Kostas was fucking class again when he came on, I love him.
     
    The midfield was good. I mentioned Keita already, while Hendo bossed it without really having to exert himself at all. The pick of the three was Milner though. Absolutely brilliant in midfield and then did a good job at right back before Neco took over. 
     
    Star man is Mo though, which considering Bobby bagged a hat-trick shows just how special a performance this was from Salah. I haven’t checked back, but this feels like it must be his fifth or sixth star man of the season as it seems like I’m giving it to him every week at the moment. Long may it continue.
     
    We’ve got Atletico next but my mind is already on next weekend if I’m honest. I expect Jurgen will go really strong in Spain because the early Saturday kick off means there is a reasonable time between games, while the Tuesday / Sunday thing means there’s no need to rest anyone ahead of Old Trafford. It might be prudent to let Joel sit this one out and give Gomez a run out, but aside from that I don’t envisage too many changes other than Alisson and Fabinho coming back in.
     
    I hope we go there and just fucking throttle the pricks as we owe them after last time. I badly want to beat them but in reality a draw would be fine in terms of qualification from the group. I just hope we come through unscathed with no injuries so we can go and wipe the floor with United next weekend.
     
     
    Team: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold (Oxlade-Chamberlain), Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson (Tsimikas); Henderson, Milner (Williams), Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mané:
     
     
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