Report by
Dave Usher
We didn't play well and scoreline looks close, but we weren't exactly hanging on and it was actually fairly routine in the end. That's the most encouraging thing about this and it's probably the biggest step forward we've made recently. We can grind out these wins when we've got no fluency to our play because, whisper it, we're actually pretty good defensively now.
Going forward I thought we were shite and I'd be surprised if we play worse than this with the ball all season. Without it we were pretty good, thankfully. That's what you've got to do. If you aren't at your best you need to be hard to beat. It's a trait we seem to finally be developing.
The first 25 minutes or so were really good but after that Leicester completely nullified us. As an attacking force we were useless. We created virtually nothing in the second half and Leicester just harried us out of possession time and again. They're a good team I think. They'll give all the top teams trouble this year, especially at home.
We’re obviously not at full throttle yet but we knew that anyway based on the previous few games. I think Leicester made us look worse because of how they played us. They didn’t create too much because we defended superbly and they didn’t have Vardy, but in terms of how they pressed us and shut down our counter attacks I thought they were terrific.
Not too many teams will deal with us as well as they did. Our midfield were never really able to take control of the game and that surprised me. I thought the decision to bring Henderson back in place of Keita was probably the right thing to do based on how sharp and hungry the skipper had looked when coming off the bench in previous games.
It didn’t work though. He was well below par and his inclusion proved doubly problematic because “away day disappearing Gini” was back. He’s been great in the number six role but was utterly ineffective after being moved further forward in this game. Milner had a good game and couldn't have done a great deal more than he did, but overall the midfield didn’t function as well as it usually would.
The real issue though was up front. When those three are on their game it’s easy for the midfield to shine. When they play like this the weaknesses of the midfield are far more obvious. The opening twenty minutes or so everything looked great because the forwards were threatening. We looked dynamite up there and Leicester were on the ropes early on.
Bobby went though but shot straight at the keeper and then Mo inexplicably put the rebound wide. Not sure why he went for that side when the rest of the goal was wide open. No matter, we were looking good and it wasn’t long before we had the lead.
Robbo bulldozed his way over a Leicester player and fired a low ball across to Mané. The ball broke off his shin and it looked like the chance was gone, but Sadio is as quick as anyone I’ve ever seen over a couple of yards (with the possible exception of Owen). He regularly gets to balls he has no right to be reaching, and he nipped in ahead of Chilwell to poke the ball in with his left foot.
Four goals in three games for him now. He only managed ten league goals last season so he’s on course to smash that everywhere. Bobby is off the mark now too, with a sharp header from a corner to double the lead just before half time. That came seconds after Van Dijk was pulled back by his collar right in front of the ref who was looking straight it. Thankfully James Maddison's punishment wasn't long in arriving, as he lost Bobby and paid the price.
That goal came somewhat against the run of play as Leicester had turned the tide after our rampant start. The lively Maddison was pulling the strings for them and Alisson needed to make a sharp save to deny the otherwise anonymous Demarai Gray.
The weird thing was, the whole turnaround in the balance of play originated from one lax moment when Wijnaldum gave the ball away in his own half and Leicester were able to get on the front foot. The Gray chance came at the end of that and the momentum shifted almost immediately. It was like that one moment woke Leicester up.
That second goal right on half time should have killed the game though because it set us up perfectly for a second half in which we could just keep it tight and wait for the chance that would come on the break. We got the first part right, but the counter attacking was woeful.
The second half was just terrible from an attacking point of view. It followed on from how the latter part of the first half had left off, only it got even worse. Firmino couldn’t keep hold of the ball so it kept coming back at us. The midfield weren’t winning any second balls and Mo just looked thoroughly pissed off with everything.
He looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. This shit with his national FA has to be bothering him as he wouldn’t be human if it wasn’t. Then there was that UEFA farce the other day when he had to sit through the Real Madrid Player of the Year awards, with that cunt Ramos literally breathing down his neck from a couple of feet away. The twat even mocked Mo by touching his shoulder after receiving his award.
It was a shitty week for Salah but hopefully it all sorts itself out quickly and we see his beautiful smiling face again soon. You know something is up when Klopp takes him off at 2-1 when we need his pace and skill on the break. That never happens. I didn’t like it but I understood it as he just wasn’t really giving us anything.
I don’t know why we were so bad in the second half but it’s been something of a pattern so far. We’ve done well in the first half of every game and then generally fallen off a cliff in the second. The only time we didn’t was West Ham but that’s because they’re fucking useless. Everyone is beating them, even Arsenal.
In years gone a performance like this would usually result in a loss. The team is made of much sterner stuff these days though. They don’t need to dazzle in attack to get results and when they come under pressure at the back they don’t collapse like a house of cards. Even when the goalkeeper is acting the clown and handing the opposition a goal out of nothing.
Thankfully Alisson’s showboating did not cost us anything (this time) and it’s to be hoped he will be suitably chastened to ensure it never happens again. Here’s the thing though, it shouldn’t have taken this for him to knock that shit off. Last week’s two close escapes against Glen Murray should have been warning enough.
Clearly it wasn’t. I keep seeing people dismissing this as nothing just because we won the game. It isn’t nothing, it’s definitely something. Klopp seemingly said nothing to him after last week, but he fucking better say something now. I don’t want to hear “he knows he made a mistake, I don’t need to tell him”. No, fuck that. He needs telling. What he did was fucking outrageous and I don’t think enough is being made of it. Nip this shit in the bud.
Fuck me, I’ve even seen some people (such as Redknapp and H*sk*y on Sky) trying to implicate Van Dijk. Fucking hell, really? That David Preece fella on Twitter (I'd never heard of him until recently but apparently he was a pro keeper and has made himself the most outspoken member of the goalkeeper's union on social media) actually blamed Gomez for not moving into space for a pass.
Klopp tried to share the blame too, as did Alisson himself. No. That goal was 100% on him. Nobody else. Doesn’t matter if Henderson could have cleared it earlier or if Van Dijk’s back pass was astray. Don't care if Gomez could have made himself available either. None of that forced Alisson into doing what he did.
Van Dijk’s backpass wasn’t the best but Alisson collected it in plenty of time and had a clear path to smash the ball upfield down the right touchline. The back pass had NOTHING to do with him instead attempting a fucking Cruyff turn in his own box, not did Gomez not giving him a short option.
What makes his showboating doubly infuriating is that having initially fucked up the turn and put himself in trouble, he didn’t just knock it behind for a corner. He had the opportunity to do that but seemed to freeze and made a bad situation even worse.
There were plenty of us pissed off with what he did last week but there was a reaction in some quarters of “oh stop moaning, get with the programme. This is what modern keepers do”.
I don't think I'm stuck in the past and I'm generally tolerant of keepers playing out from the back. My Dad has spent years moaning about Mignolet taking too many chances with his feet and I’ve always railed against it. I mean come on, Mignolet is ultra conservative and the risks he takes are minimal. It’s still too much for my Dad though, so I knew he’d be in for a rude awakening with this new fella.
Thing is though, last week when he was moaning about Alisson taking the piss I couldn’t disagree with him or try to convince him it was necessary to how we play, because it wasn’t necessary. Neither was this. It was reckless.
He was trying to beat his man so he could pass the ball out to one of his defenders. The risk far outweighs the reward. If he’d completed that pass would it really have made such a difference? Next time just clear it up the field and don’t be a smart arse.
To his credit that’s what he did after that and he never looked like it had dented his confidence. That’s important. Mental strength is everything in keepers and this fella looks like he’s made of the right stuff. Just needs to stop showing off and he’ll be great because he's a big imposing bastard who fills the goal and looks the absolute business.
You know what's funny though? My Dad literally never said a fucking word about it. For years I've had to listen to him going on about about what might happen, and when it actually does he just sits there and says NOTHING. I was going mad, calling Alisson all the daft bastards under the sun, and my Dad never said a word. Bizarre.
It says a lot about the team and the place they are in right now that they didn't buckle after that mistake and I cant actually remember Leicester doing much after that. The chances I remember them having were all before the goal I think. There was a magnificent block by Gomez to deny Maddison, and then Morgan couldn't get his feet right and missed a sitter. Aside from that there wasn't much, even though they had a lot of the ball.
Maybe he's in shock and in the next day or two he'll just suddenly blurt out "SEE?? WHAT HAVE I ALWAYS SAID? DON'T PLAY ABOUT IN YOUR OWN BOX, JUST GET RID OF IT".
Klopp was right when he told Alisson that if he was going to get caught out then this was the best time to do it because ultimately there was no harm done other than to Alisson's pride. He has his defenders to thank for that. Van Dijk and especially Gomez were top drawer.
Big Virgil wasn't at his dominant best but in the last ten minutes when we needed him to stand strong he was a colossus again. When they had a stoppage time free-kick and sent everyone forward, including Schmeichel, it was Van Dijk who ensured it was his head that got on the end of it.
For once he was overshadowed by his young partner though. Gomez was flawless. Great on the ball, fantastic in one v one defending and that was block was as good as a goal. Great stuff. I still think there's a mistake in the post from him, but that's purely due to his age and nothing else.
I couldn't happier with him. It's just young centre backs always make errors from time to time, it's an occupational hazard. That's the reason why I would have had him fourth choice had everyone been available. He wouldn't be fourth choice now though.
He got his chance through others' misfortune and fuck me he's taken it hasn't he? I'm a bigger Lovren fan than most but he's going to have a job getting back in as long as Gomez avoids injury. There'll be enough games for everyone to stay involved but when it comes to the big ones when the best eleven needs to play. Gomez is going to take some shifting if he keeps this up.
Klopp's changes helped us see it through too. Taking off Mo was a gamble because it reduced our threat on the break, but the arrival of Shaqiri had a positive influence because of his ability to keep possession and the way he kept the ball in and around their penalty area in the closing stages.
Four wins from four has us in great shape going into the international break and it doesn't matter too much how we're playing at this point because it's early in the season and no-one is at their best level. To be able to win games while playing like this bodes well, particularly because the defence was for so long a weak point but is now emerging as a real strength.
Much bigger tests lie ahead obviously, not least our next game after this break when we take on Spurs at Wembley. It's going to be tough these next couple of months but we've given ourselves the perfect start. W
Not only that, but we've won at Palace and Leicester. I'm willing to bet that at least one of our rivals will drop points at either of those venues because they aren't easy places to go and win.
Star man is Gomez, by some distance. Honourable mentions to Robbo and Milner.
Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold (Matip), Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson (Keita), Wijnaldum, Milner; Salah (Shaqiri), Firmino, Mané:
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