PODCAST: Burnley 0 Liverpool 1 - Match Reaction

My take on the pen was sort of in the middle of both Dave's and Stu's.

I think Mo, knowing he's unlikely to get the decision anyway is still focused on trying to make the most of the opportunity and stay on his feet. It doesn't enter his head to go down, such is his desire to score. However, ultimately? He couldn't stay up. 

100% a penalty though. A fucking joke he doesn't get it.

Only Zaha gets ignored as often and he's an *actual* cheat. Kane, Sterling, Fernandes – other actual cheats – get them all the time because of their status. 

Agree with Chris.  Mo's first instinct is to score and will fall over as an afterthought. The real cheats have decided to dive before the contact is made.

 Mo looks bad because he's usually trying to do the right thing.  Cheats prosper because the refs have made up a rule that you need to fall over to get a pen.  

I disagreed with a couple things here;

The Bobby talk is hyperbole. I think everyone knows he's worse now but it's no big secret why he's in the team, and it won't be a surprise if he stays or even gets extended because he offers tactical versatility in the form of being a false 9. Whereas that was once the first option, it'll basically become the second string to Klopp's bow tactically, with Jota being the 1st choice, and that's valuable to still have. Logically, Mané is the one becoming redundant with the Diaz transfer and with Jota being able to play on the left as well. Those 3 are all pretty similar profiles, making Mané less needed. I might be wrong there, but that's how it seems to me. I'd be shocked if Firmino's play was seen by Klopp as some kind of disaster.

Also, I think in hindsight the team sheet was pretty self explanatory. Klopp just picked players that had all been here for years, no new boys, as he likely feels Burnley away in those conditions is a really particular game that he didn't want to throw anybody new into.

I think Firmino was picked for his set piece defending too, he's very important for opposition corners.

On 14/02/2022 at 17:49, Chris said:

My take on the pen was sort of in the middle of both Dave's and Stu's.

 

I think Mo, knowing he's unlikely to get the decision anyway is still focused on trying to make the most of the opportunity and stay on his feet. It doesn't enter his head to go down, such is his desire to score. However, ultimately? He couldn't stay up. 

 

100% a penalty though. A fucking joke he doesn't get it.

 

Only Zaha gets ignored as often and he's an *actual* cheat. Kane, Sterling, Fernandes – other actual cheats – get them all the time because of their status. 

He gets kicked inside the box and it impedes him. 
 

It’s 100% a pen. 

A bit late to the party here.

Find myself disagreeing more and more with your takes (especially Paul's) on our team and the performances, but still a good listen.

The bashing of Firmino is starting to become a bit ridiculous though, and as 3 Stacks says, it's pretty much hyperbole. He still does a hell of a lot of dirty work for us, and does it well. Everyone struggled with their passing on Sunday because of the conditions, and it shouldn't be a big surprise that the players furthest forward (where the play is most congested) make more mistakes with the ball. There's a reason why defenders top the passing stats in the PL (and every other league). Some of our supporters seem to have made their mind up that Firmino's not good enough for us anymore, and he's become the one that will be picked up for criticism no matter how he plays (see some of the recent match threads for evidence). I fully agree that Sunday's performance was a bit sloppy on the ball btw. It took Jota exactly 5 seconds to lose the ball 2 times in succession after he came on, but not a word is said. Goals mask a multitude of sins in football, and with Mo and Jota scoring frequently it seems most of our supporters aren't appreciating those giving them the foundation to put the ball in the net. 

In terms of our overall play, the bigger problem is pretty obviously Henderson's shocking form (or lack of ability, depending on your viewpoint). I don't think he connected once with the forward players (besides the sideways 5 yards pass the few times he was in line with Mo. As I said after Harvey's and Thiago's introduction to the team, the gulf in class in terms of moving the ball quickly forward is huge. It took Thiago 10 seconds to put Bobby on the ball between the lines. With Hendo (or Milner) and Curtis spending an absolute age on the ball, and the two former not being able to go past players, our forwards are starved of good passes to work with, leading to both Mo and Bobby dropping too deep to get involved. 

Klopp absolutely loves him and the work he does for his team. Jota will obviously play quite a bit given his goalscoring form, but ask Mo and Sadio who they want to work with, and they'll choose Bobby every time. Luckily, Klopp looks beyond the numbers, and unless it comes down to a straight-up choice from the owners on choosing between Mo and Bobby, I'm confident on Bobby getting a new deal. 

I asked Mo and Sadio and they said, “Jota”. 

Haha , good one.