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AC Milan 1 Liverpool 2 (Dec 7 2021)

     

     
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    Dave Usher

There’s a danger for us fans of taking this kind of thing for granted. It wasn’t an important game as we were already through, but sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. How many English teams have gone to the San Siro and beaten AC Milan? For us it’s not that big a deal because of all the other accomplishments we’ve had, but for 95% of other English clubs it would be their greatest night in their history.

 

The fact we did it with only three of our usual starting line up on the field is pretty remarkable. Ok, Milan didn’t look like any great shakes but they are top of Serie A and they needed to win this game. We didn’t need to win it yet our lads looked much more up for this than they did. That’s not because Milan weren’t motivated, it’s just that they couldn’t cope.

 

We were too strong, too fast, too intense, too relentless for them. They couldn’t play because they weren’t allowed to. Any time one of their players had the ball he was immediately swarmed by yellow shirts and they had no answer to it. The only time they even put us under pressure was in the final five minutes, by which time we had long since taken off Sadio, Mo and even Divock and we had a forward line of Neco, Ox and Taki.

 

It wasn’t a game I was particularly up for and if we’d have lost I wouldn’t have been particularly bothered, at least in relation to how I’d normally feel about a defeat. And yet within a few minutes of the game kicking off I was well into it because I loved what I was seeing. It was just like watching the first team, even though hardly any of them were even out there.

 

By the end I was absolutely buzzing. This was fucking great. We went to the San Siro with a side containing Tyler Morton, Neco Williams and Nat Phillips and we played AC Milan off the park. The scoreline makes the game seem closer than it was as it was actually really comfortable and Milan barely laid a glove on us.

 

I don’t think you can overstate how big an accomplishment this was. Imagine going to the best team in Italy with a team of mostly back ups and kids and comfortably dealing with the game and winning 2-1. Not enough will be made of it, understandably because we were already through and there was nothing riding on the game. In a way though that makes it even more impressive. I'm still buzzing about this performance now, the morning after. 

 

Milan had everything to play for here but we didn’t. And yet look which group of players showed the greater appetite and desire for the game. It was our lads, even though we’d qualified for the knock out stages ages ago. That speaks volumes for the professionalism and desire in the squad.

 

All that said, we did have Alisson, Sadio and Mo in the line up and that proved decisive. While everyone played their part in the result and performance, we wouldn’t have been able to do what we did without them. Ok, maybe Kelleher could have made the one v one save Alisson made late on, or maybe not.

 

The point I’m making really is that we can make a load of changes but the one area where that isn’t possible is in the front three, especially with Bobby currently sidelined. In an ideal world I’m sure Klopp would have preferred to leave Sadio and Mo at home but it wasn’t an option.

 

Elliott and Jones could have been options but they were unavailable, so we didn’t have anybody else who we could have played, unless you’re throwing in Max Woltman or one of the other kids, which wouldn’t be fair to them really as it’s too soon for them. 

 

So while there was an obvious element of risk in playing those two stars up top, especially given what happened to Jota last season, I understood it this time and don’t think Klopp had too much choice. If Kaide Gordon had been available maybe Mo or Sadio would have been rested, but I’m sure the plan was always for them to only play an hour or so.

 

Thankfully we had the lead which meant we could sub them and didn’t have to chase the game. Mo and Sadio played key roles in both of our goals too, which is what I’m saying about how it’s easier to rotate the team when you still have that threat at the top end of the pitch.

 

Mo’s goal looked easy but it wasn’t. More often than not a forward will put that over the bar. It came at him quickly and he didn’t have the biggest gap to aim for. The way he controlled the finish so effortless wasn’t even a surprise though. He’s just on another level currently.

 

Credit to Ox as well though as it was his purposeful, direct run and shot that led to the chance. He was lively all night. He had more of an impact in the first half than the second but there’s a sharpness about him now that he’s played a run of games and been involved. 

 

With all the games we have coming up there are going to be times when Hendo and Thiago will be rested and it’s great that we’ve got Ox back in good shape and making contributions. Same with Divock up top. Another goal for him. A winner in the San Siro no less. He’s got some collection of decisive goals hasn’t he?

 

Lovely finish it was too, which ought to surprise absolutely nobody as putting the ball in the net is what he does best. Sadio did well to rob the defender and force the save from the keeper, but Origi still had a bit to do there with the header.

 

We had other chances too. Not necessarily clear cut ones but we carried a threat all night. Milan didn’t. The goal they scored was a proper shit one from our perspective. It wasn’t a good corner but Taki failed to deal with it, a surprised Alisson was caught on his heels and Tomori poked in from close range.

 

Really disappointing goal to give away that. Minamino has one job there. Don’t let the ball get past you. It’s really not difficult but he abandoned his post (literally) and then couldn’t adjust his body to cut out the cross. 

 

Up until the latter stages of the game Milan created nothing. Phillips and Konate were just completely dominant, while the full backs were dogged and tenacious too in stopping crosses coming in. And how good was that defensive line all night by the way? We kept catching them offside and when they showed the replays our back four were always in a perfectly straight line.

 

Amazing how well drilled they were considering they’ve never officially played together before. Looks like a lot of work has been done on the training pitch though. Konate was superb. He was the best player on the park but Phillips was pretty much flawless too. 

 

Zlatan did nothing but then that’s because I was watching. He’s never done anything of note any time I’ve watched the cunt. His record speaks for itself and he’s had a great career. Just never when I’ve been watching, because whenever I’ve watched him he’s done absolutely fuck all, hence the popular expression I’ll often use “a steaming pile of Zlatan”.

 

I’m so made up for Nat though because we wouldn’t even be here without what he did last season. It was only fitting that he got his reward with a start in a glamour fixture like this. Nobody has deserved it more and it’s great that he rose to the occasion and put in a performance like that. Capped of course by the turn in his own box that sent two Milan defenders for the Echo. Glorious.

 

The San Siro is synonymous with great centre backs. Baresi, Rijkaard, Costacurta, Maldini, Nesta, Desailly, Stam, Bonucci…. Now those lucky Milan fans will be able to add the name Nat Phillips to the list when they’re regaling their children and grandchildren about the greats they’ve seen.

 

We had good performances all over the park though. Tyler Morton. Fucking hell. He just makes it look so easy. He gets the ball, he gives the ball to a team-mate. That team-mate might be five yards to the side of him or forty yards downfield in a tight window along the touchline. Doesn’t matter, the ball is arriving where it needs to be. He was brilliant again.

 

Neco Williams too. He’s more experienced than Morton of course, but he’s still a kid and he’s looking to establish himself again after a dip in which he came in for unfair criticism from virgins on social media. He’s been very good this season whenever he’s been called upon and this was a top performance from him. Really good at both ends of the pitch.

 

Kostas played well too, albeit his crossing was nowhere near the usual level we’ve become accustomed to. Everything else was class though.

 

Klopp will also have been delighted to get Keita and Gomez back out on the pitch too. We need all the players we can get over the next month as the squad will be tested to the limit by all these games we have. 

 

It was also nice to see Woltman and Connor Bradley get on for a few seconds at the end. Whatever happens in their careers from this point on, they’ll always be able to say they played at the San Siro in the Champions League. It must have been surreal for Woltman and Morton, as they’re best mates who’ve been going the game together since they were little kids. Now they’re both on the San Siro pitch for a win against AC Milan. Crazy.

 

Six wins from six has never been done by an English club before. It’s not a huge deal, especially if you don’t go on to win the competition, but it’s yet another record that’s been set by this group of players. The records are tumbling every week it seems. Whether it’s individual records (Mo is breaking a couple every time he sets foot on the pitch recently) or collective ones, this team is doing things that haven’t been done before.

 

We’re in a great run of form now and the West Ham defeat seems to have made everyone refocus and raise their level. Thankfully we can put Europe to bed for a while now and focus on the league. We’ve got so many games coming up that any one of them could be a potential banana skin as fatigue plays a part.

 

It’s the same for everyone though and both City and Chelsea are just as likely to slip up as we are during this hectic period. Who knows how things will play out between now and when Sadio and Mo depart for AFCON, but when you’ve got squad players coming in and playing like this it does make you feel very confident about what will happen if and when Klopp does need to make changes.

 

Next up is Villa and Stevie Gerrard. I feel like that will be a tough game as Villa are a good side on their day and Gerrard will obviously have them right up for this one. I’m completely disregarding what happened last season when we got hammered at their place and needed a stoppage time winner from Trent to beat them at Anfield. 

 

Those games count for nothing as fans weren’t there. That has no bearing at all on what will happen this time, although there is definitely something to be said for football being played without Villa fans present. I just wish they weren’t going to be allowed in on Saturday as listening to those unfunny banter merchant cunts for 90 minutes is one of the lowlights of every season. Pricks.

 

Come on Reds, smash these fuckers.

 

 

Team: Alisson; Williams (Bradley), Phillips, Konate, Tsimikas; Morton, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino (Woltman); Salah (Gomez), Origi (Fabinho), Mané (Keita):

 

 

 

 

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"The San Siro is synonymous with great centre backs. Baresi, Rijkaard, Costacurta, Maldini, Nesta, Desailly, Stam, Bonucci…" 

 

Pedantic observation: Rijkaard was a great midfielder for Milan, not defender.

 

Plus you omitted Gabriel Paletta from that list. 

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"Paletta [has] drawn some criticism at times for being inconsistent, error-prone, and excessively aggressive when tackling, which led to unnecessary bookings and expulsions on numerous occasions." 

 

One of the true greats. 

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2 hours ago, Josef Svejk said:

"The San Siro is synonymous with great centre backs. Baresi, Rijkaard, Costacurta, Maldini, Nesta, Desailly, Stam, Bonucci…" 

 

Pedantic observation: Rijkaard was a great midfielder for Milan, not defender.

 

Plus you omitted Gabriel Paletta from that list. 

 

Mostly midfield, but played at the back for them occasionally, that's why I included him.

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8 players rested and another 6 (Gomez, Milner, Keita, Jones, Elliot Firmino) out injured/returning from injury and still dominated the Serie A leaders in the San Siro. As Chris said in the podcast - Halcyon days. 

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It's mad when you think about the gulf between the two clubs and teams in Istanbul, which is what made it literally a miracle. The calibre of players and managers clubs like that could attract, whereas we had to play guerrilla football to try and compete with the top tier like them. Now we can brush them aside while resting some of our best players. It's an incredible turnaround under Klopp, we're not just pretenders now, since we won the World Club Championship - the kind of match we definitely would have lost years ago - you feel like we're truly at the top table again, and everyone knows it, and those with any class will freely admit it.  

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Love Nat Phillips. Very reminiscent of Carra in how his greatest strengths are mental and his technique is massively underrated. When we sell him there’d better be a buy back in there. As long as Klopp is managing him, he has clear Matip-replacement potential.
 

And yes, I know how good Joel is. I suspect Kloppo wants everyone to have pace in his back line, but that aside, I see no reason why Big Nat couldn’t rise from obscurity like Robbo has. His development is only a few months old really when you think about it, so why not? Klopp is the development king and Nat is still “young” in development terms.  

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It was brilliant. Their goal had me fuming because they deserved absolutely nothing from this game, nothing at all. At home, needing a win against a mostly 2nd team and they couldn't raise any threat other than a corner which should have been cleared easily. The two CBs were excellent, if Konate can add guile to his physical ability he is going to be some player.

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Amazing that virtually every report in the mainstream media starts off by detailing how poorly Liverpool’s opposition played. Never enters their head that Klopp and his back room team have probably done a number of them before a single player walks on the pitch, or that this current side is good enough to work out how to adapt during a game to get the job done.

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9 hours ago, Marcas said:

Amazing that virtually every report in the mainstream media starts off by detailing how poorly Liverpool’s opposition played

I look forward to beating a team that's good, it's never ever happened.

Barcelona-shite.

United-shite.

Porto-shite.

Everton-shite? OK, so my argument falls down there as they are shite. But we never seem to get credit as we're actually very good at this footy thing.

 

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I don’t think you can overstate how big an accomplishment this was. Imagine going to the best team in Italy with a team of mostly back ups and kids and comfortably dealing with the game and winning 2-1. Not enough will be made of it, understandably because we were already through and there was nothing riding on the game. In a way though that makes it even more impressive. I'm still buzzing about this performance now, the morning after.


 

this is the point isn’t it. United we’re already through so picked a similarly depleted team of reserves for their home game against young boys. That’s a home game, against a nothing team. And only drew.

 

winning 6 out of 6 is nice, but far from necessary, but as was said on the podcast, to do it with these players in the team and with key contributions from a number of them, gives confidence to them, to the staff and importantly to the fans that we can continue winning when these players come in during the heavy xmas fixtures and when the ACON is on.

 

I missed most of it as o was playing footie, so take what’s been said by people at face value, but great result and boss to build from.

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Nothing to add to that report Dave. Currently we are as good as any team in the world - and better than most....

 

As you said many times, lap it up while we can. The Wheel of Fortune will turn again some day...

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15 hours ago, RedKnight said:

At least the VIlla fans won't sing the Demba Ba song this time.

I wouldn't bet on it ? after seeing the muppets that dressed up in Stevie's first home match im not sure self awareness is high on the list of the Villa fans.

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On 08/12/2021 at 17:33, dave u said:

 

Mostly midfield, but played at the back for them occasionally, that's why I included him.

He was better as a central defender, they were just so good there they needed him more in midfield.

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That was probably the most satisfying game of the season for me, in that there were so many performances that were miles better than could have been expected, and the fact that the opposition had something to play for.  This is not like an unexpected league cup win with the kids.  Truly encouraging.

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