A day may come when the courage and resilience of this team fails. But it was not this day. The unbeaten run is eventually going to come to an end. But not this day. This day they fought, and they won. Again.
The ‘mentality monsters’ just never give up. With three minutes remaining we trailed 1-0 and Man City had just come from a goal down to lead 2-1. The gap at the top was down to three points and we were a defeat next weekend away from losing top spot. Just like that, two quick goals, three more points and the six point gap is still intact. These boys are fucking incredible, the relentless bastards.
The narrative will be all about ‘lucky Liverpool’ leaving it late again and scraping a win without playing well. It’s bollocks though. We should have won this game 6-2 or something daft like that. It was one way traffic and contrary to a lot of things I’ve read, I thought we played pretty damn well. In the second half anyway.
The first half was shite but even then we could have scored two or three. We did score one, only for it to be disgracefully taken away by a jobsworth linesman and Martin fucking Atkinson. I’ll get to that later.
We started slowly and Villa had a shot on target in the first minute and Wesley then missed a free header after ten minutes. They were bang up for it and the way we played did little to dampen their enthusiasm. We did have some promising situations but the final pass was often terrible. Sadio in particular kept over-hitting everything to Mo. He’s quick, but he’s not that fucking quick.
Mané had our first chance of the game when he headed narrowly wide from Henderson’s fine cross and then Salah forced a save from Heaton after being picked out by Virgil’s raking long pass.
Sadio then gave away two free-kicks in the pace of a few seconds and Villa scored from the second. I thought it was offside and even after watching the VAR I couldn’t be sure either way as there were so many bodies in that line. If Trezeguet was onside then he was probably the only Villa player in the box that was. We held a good line and caught all the others, but it would appear that he just about stayed on the right side of our line and was able to score.
That being said, from what we now know then Atkinson could have altered that line to make him offside if he wanted to. He looks dead level with Henderson from what I can see, but I can’t tell where his armpit is so it’s difficult to know either way. Alisson could have done better with it too I thought?
We’ve conceded the first goal too many times for my liking lately, but it’s never cause for panic because we usually come back. I wasn’t worried but I was annoyed, because I fucking hate Villa. They’re really not important enough to justify the level of animosity I have for them, but it is what it is. I just can’t fucking stand them. I’m not alone either.
The idea of the unbeaten run being ended by these non-entities was something I just refused to contemplate. Besides, there was so much time left there was no cause for alarm.
It wasn’t clicking properly though. The midfield weren’t giving us enough and the front three were all off it and sloppy. Klopp complained afterwards that there were too many flicks and back-heels and we were trying to play pretty football instead of effective football.
The man who that description would normally apply to more than most is Lallana, but I thought he had a good game and was better than most. It’s not really fashionable to give him any praise these days, but I’d say he’s been doing well when called upon, and his selection over Fabinho (sensible move) was not the reason the game was a struggle.
I don’t necessarily agree with Klopp’s assessment about the fancy dan shit, but he’s right when he bemoans the lack of shooting from outside the box. It feels like Ox is the only one looking to do that and it is frustrating. Hendo needs to be more aggressive in that area but he’s not the only one.
The first half display wasn’t what we needed it to be, but it wasn’t as bad as has been made out. We had chances and it wasn’t like the game at Old Trafford. Both full backs were charging forward and Trent had a goal bound shot deflected over early on. From the corner, he hit Sadio at the near post but his flicked header was blocked. We’d tried that one a little earlier too, so Villa really ought to have see it coming later.
The second half was good. We had them pinned back and they couldn’t get out. We created loads of chances but the goal wouldn’t come. Often in those situations you get that “not gonna be our day” feeling, but the way this team pulls results out of the fire makes a mockery of that. There’s no such thing with these lads.
The moment when I knew we’d get something from the game was when Villa wasted a glorious chance to make it 2-0. If they’d scored then, we’d have lost I reckon. When they didn’t score though, I was like “that was your chance and you fucking blew it. You’ll regret that”. And they did.
We kept plugging away and Klopp’s changes helped. Ox was a threat and although Origi didn’t do a great deal, his presence freed up Bobby to get more involved and he became increasingly influential. We were all over them and the pressure was building but the goal just wasn’t coming. And then it did. from the unlikeliest of sources.
Great cross from Sadio but who expected to see Robbo charging in at the back post like Terry McDermott to plant a header past Heaton? Not me, but I loved it. It’s was glorious. So was his celebration. He didn’t even break stride, he headed the ball into the net and just continued running all the way back to his own half yelling at everyone to get the game restarted so we could go on and win it. And we did win it.
Trent had gone close with a free-kick that looked to be headed for the top corner before it glanced off the head of a player in the wall and out for a corner. He took the corner and picked out Sadio on the front post who bravely stooped to glance the ball into the far corner. They just keep doing it and it’s incredible.
When a team scores late goals as often as we do it can become a self fulfilling prophecy. You believe you’ll score, but just as importantly, the opposition believe you will too.
Some of the lads in the group chat had lost hope and believed this was going to be the day when we went to the well only to find it had run dry. I never thought that because although I’m aware there’s going to be a day when we won’t be able to find a late goal, that’s a funeral I’m going to be late to. There’s no point writing this team off as more often than not you’ll be wrong. So I’ll just assume we’ll score until we don’t. These players have earned that trust over and over.
It wasn’t just my faith in our boys that fuelled my confidence though. Villa have conceded late goals all season, which points to either a lack of fitness, concentration or both. And just like when you score late goals all the time you always believe you’ll do it, the reverse is true too. When you’ve lost points through conceding late, the fear is always going to be there, especially against us. Villa will never have felt comfortable because of their own demons and because they know we specialise in late goals.
Still, scoring twice after the clock had reached 87 minutes though was more than any of us had the right to expect. Villa were left broken, which was cruel on their players who had put everything into the game. I’ve got no beef with their manager or players and I’ll give them a lot of credit as they’re a decent side who will probably survive comfortably. Elghazi was good and I really like McGinn. It’s the fans I can’t stand, so this was extra sweet.
Sticking it to Villa was not really anything I gave much thought to until afterwards. At the time it was all about us, how massive this win was and how we were still six points ahead and had smacked Man City in the face once again. They were a goal down too, and when they finally turned it around to lead 2-1 we were still losing.
They must have thought it was going to be a great weekend for them, but once more they were left disappointed. This has to be taking a toll on them. There are only so many times you can shrug this off and keep going. Next week is a chance for us to close the coffin lid on them. It won’t be sealed shut as there’s a long way to go, but we can close the lid on the fuckers and really put the shits up them.
This feels like a huge win. I mean, they’re all big, but this feels different somehow. Kind of like that United game when Steve Bruce scored twice in stoppage time for them to beat Sheff Wed. When something like that happens you start to think you can’t be stopped. Just as importantly, when something like that happens, others start to think you can’t be stopped. Remember how we used to feel about United and “Fergie time”?? We don’t have the titles yet, but the aura of invincibility we’re building will go a long way towards getting us there and rivals will be resenting us in the way we resented United.
So Bobby’s disallowed goal then. Like everyone else, I’ve got a couple of huge issues with this. Firstly, why is the linesman flagging in that situation? They’ve been told not to, yet this prick sticks his flag up on what was the tightest of decisions. Shouldn’t happen. Keep it down you jobsworth tit.
Still, no matter, that’s why we have VAR, right? To ensure these decisions - which are objective and not subjective - are 100% right. In theory, it should work. All you have to do is freeze the shot at the moment of the pass and then let the technology do the work.
Except we now know that the technology is flawed, because that was 100% onside and yet the technology was manipulated to justify an incorrect decision. To me, that renders the technology in it’s current state as fucking worthless. This is supposed to be like hawkeye - black and white with no shades of grey. It clearly isn’t if it can be used to validate factually incorrect calls.
For whatever reason Atkinson decided he wasn’t allowing that goal and he then had to set about finding a way to make it look offside, when it clearly wasn’t. I’m yet to see ANYONE other than Atkinson say that goal should not have stood. Even people who hate us, people who actively root against us, are saying it’s onside. I’ve watched the full game back again and when that decision is given, Nakambe goes over to Bobby and says something that makes Bobby smile. Bet it was along the lines of “that was never offside”.
Atkinson should be investigated and made to explain that. Either he just wanted to find a way to not over-rule the linesman or he just didn’t want us to score. There has to be accountability on this though, it can’t just be swept under the carpet like all the other bullshit calls we’ve seen this season. Officials on the field making mistakes is one thing, but when you have all the evidence to get it right and still find a way to come to the wrong decision that’s more sinister to me.
I hate VAR with a passion but I don’t blame VAR for anything that happened in this game. The technology should have ensured the correct decisions were made but the best technology in the world is useless when you’ve got a blundering (or corrupt) buffoon using it. It isn’t just the disallowed goal, even though that is by far the most egregious.
There were two penalty incidents that Atkinson got to review as well. The first when Mané went down and was booked by Fat Jon Moss for diving. The replay showed the defender stood on his foot. I’m not saying it’s a stonewaller, but it’s more of a pen than the one given against Everton for something similar last week. Unlike the Everton one, the defender was looking at the attacker’s feet when he stepped on him.
For Sadio to get a yellow card when his foot was clearly stepped on feeds this bullshit narrative of him being a diver. That bald weirdo at City has seized on it this weekend (how did he know in the immediate aftermath of their result that Sadio had been booked in our game?) but the whole thing is ridiculous. If people keep kicking him in the box then that’s on them. Did he go down theatrically to try and win a pen? No question, but last time I checked you can’t book someone for having their foot stood on.
I don’t feel aggrieved about not getting a pen for that though as I probably wouldn’t have given it either, it’s more the yellow card for Mané that annoyed me and that one is not Atkinson’s fault as he’s powerless to change that.
The other pen shout though is a different story. As a general rule, when the ball hits a defender’s hand from close range I’m not in favour of that being penalised unless the hand is in an unnatural position. The Villa defender’s hand was away from his body and it blocked a goal bound shot. You can’t let that go. It’s a pen, but we’ve seen similar not given this season (one at Arsenal a few weeks ago) and there’s no consistency to it at all.
Maybe Moss didn’t have a clear view of it as the defender’s body was probably obscuring his line of sight, but when you see the replay of that it’s clear. Martin Atkinson is making a habit of screwing us over. He cost us the league last year with his performance in the Leicester game and the only points we’ve dropped so far this year are because he ignored that clear foul on Origi at Old Trafford. He’s becoming as important to Man City as Sergio Aguero.
Fuck this twat, time for Klopp to kick up a stink and demand he’s kept well away from any of our games. He’s obviously biased against us and we’ve got a large enough body of evidence now to go for him. We won’t of course, but we fucking should.
Klopp said virtually nothing about Bobby’s disallowed goal. Presumably because we won he felt he didn’t need to get involved with it, but I’d say because we won that’s exactly why he should have. No-one can accuse him of sour grapes because we took the points, so we should be DEMANDING an explanation for what happened there. I won’t hold my breath.
When you look at all of the things that went against us on the day (especially VAR) we had a ready made excuse for not winning the game. These lads aren’t interested in excuses though, they just refuse to accept defeat and they push and push and push until they find a way through. They’re incredible and they compare with any team we’ve ever had.
Next week is going to be fucking huge. I’m excited already and I can’t wait for it. I don’t know what will happen and I won’t be making any predictions. I think we’ll win but there’s no doubt City are capable of beating us and if they do then everything is up for grabs again. Their record at Anfield is terrible though and that can be significant. You only have to look at us at Old Trafford to know that.
The game is a massive opportunity for us to put some real daylight between us and strike another huge psychological blow. We’re in City’s heads, we have been since we beat them in the Champions League two years ago and it’s now bordering on obsession with them. If we beat them next week they might not recover.
Star man is Sadio, just ahead of Trent who was outstanding other than one error that could easily have seen us go 2-0 down, and Robbo who’s just the fucking man, isn’t he?
Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Lallana (Keita), Henderson, Wijnaldum (Oxlade-Chamberlain); Salah (Origi), Firmino, Mané:
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