I’d be lying if I said I lost any sleep over this result but it is a little disappointing to go out, not least because it was to Arsenal. I think what bothers me most though is losing on penalties again. Hate that.
We seem to lose more shoot outs than we win these days and that’s annoying because we never used to lose any.
We should have won the game before that as we were better than Arsenal in both halves. The shot count reflects that, as does the fact that their man of the match was the keeper. We outplayed them but didn’t take our chances and that’s why we’re out.
But does it really matter that we’re out? For me, no not really.
I’ve said before that the main reason I like this cup is because we get to see the kids and fringe players. It’s just something a little different and these games are usually fun because of that. For some that’s not enough. Some fans want to see us going flat out to win every competition we play in, but I just don’t see it that way anymore. It’s not realistic in this era.
Of course I wanted to win it but I wanted to win it with the kind of line up we field in the early rounds. I wouldn’t be at all in favour of risking senior players in these games when the fixture load is so intense, but it’s not just that. I want the squad players to see some action because it allows them to feel a part of things and you never know when they’re going to be needed.
For example, if we picked up a few injuries in midfield we now know we could just plug big Marko in there and he’d be sound. So that’s a benefit. We also need to keep the likes of Minamino and Neco sharp in case they’re needed, while any chance for us to get Jones out there can only be a good thing.
But going all out to win this cup is counter productive. Like it or not, the League Cup is not that important to us anymore because we’re at a level where the bigger prizes are within reach. If we were an Everton or a Newcastle who haven’t won shit for decades, then I’d be wanting to see us go balls out to win either of the domestic cups, even if it meant resting players in league games.
But we’re not Everton or Newcastle and the league games we have before and after these cup ties are more important. That’s just a fact. If that means we can’t win those cups then so be it.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled to see Mo in the team for this one because I’d rather he had been at home with his feet up preparing for Villa. With Virg it’s a little different as he doesn’t have to put as much mileage in and is less likely to pick up an injury though being kicked.
I actually kind of like the idea of Van Dijk playing when we have an inexperienced centre back like Rhys Williams (the same would apply is Sepp Van den Berg had played) because it makes life much easier for the kid. He’ll learn a lot more from playing alongside Van Dijk than he would without him. Williams must be absolutely buzzing having now played two first team games alongside his hero.
So yeah, cool with Virg playing but not on board with Salah being out there. As for the rest of the team, I was surprised that Shaq wasn’t involved but happy that Harry Wilson finally got a chance to play for us. He’s almost certainly going to be leaving but it has bothered me for years that his only first team opportunity was those few minutes against Plymouth.
He’s a lifelong Red and I just wanted him to be able to have the experience of playing for the team he’s always supported. Circumstances just kept conspiring against him though. When opportunities were there he was either injured or on loan. Even last week he was on the bench but didn’t get on, so even though he’s probably off at least he’s had this night that he’ll always remember.
He might remember it for the wrong reasons now of course having missed the decisive penalty, but it wouldn’t have felt right if he’d left not having had a chance to play when dozens of kids who were not as talented as him had made appearances.
I thought he did ok but clearly midfield isn’t a position he’s used to. Had Tsimikas been available we’d probably have seen Milner in there, but instead he had to play left back and the door was opened for Wilson. So the team had a bit of a makeshift look to it while also containing some senior players.
Arsenal went stronger than we did. Most of those players are regular first teamers but they were still second best to our makeshift side. Our lads played relatively well but it was a far cry from Monday night’s game when we had the full team out. You have to expect that though. We played the same way and as Klopp likes to say, if you changed the kits you could still tell it was us, but it just wasn’t as good.
With and without the ball. Arsenal played out from the back again but this time they were able to do it quite regularly. Not that it really got them anywhere. It’s not like Adrian had much to do at all. I only remember him having to make one save and that was a header from a set-piece. Actually no there was another brilliant one when he dived at the feet of someone and nicked the ball away. That was it though, he had nothing else to do.
We had the best chances in both halves. The closest we went was when Neco crossed to the far post and Jota met it with a diving header. Leno could only push it away towards Minamino and his follow up struck the underside of the bar. I just thought that was really unlucky. The ball came at him quickly and he did well to get it as close as he did.
That was a rare highlight though. The first half was pretty dull overall but I expect there will have been a lot of things Klopp liked about it. Minamino was busy, Grujic controlled things in the middle and the two kids at the back were doing well.
The second half was better. We had more control and made it difficult for Arsenal to play out as much as they had before the break. We were better in attack too and but for Leno we’d have scored two or three.
Grujic went close with a header and had a low shot turned away by the full stretch Leno. He also won a nice little knock down header to give Virg a chance that once again Leno kept out. His best save was from Jota though. Such a shame we didn’t score there as it would have been a cracking goal. Either Jones or Minamino played a ball over the top of the last defender and Jota brought it down on his chest and lashed a shot goal wards, but Leno acrobatically turned it away.
I think that was probably the moment when I thought we weren’t going to win it. It just had that feel about it, but with us it’s hard to know as we have that habit of pulling results out of the fire. When Virg and Mo went off I thought it was going to be difficult, but we knew those two weren’t going to play the full game.
I don’t know why Jota was brought off though. The obvious call there was to take Wilson off. Gini was very good when he came on but I don’t think Wilson got a kick after he was moved into his natural right wing position. The other problem was Divock coming on and giving us fuck all again on the left.
He might be the worst ‘supersub’ ever. The Everton goal and then scoring in the Champions League Final have given him this reputation as an impact sub but most of the time he just makes us worse. He’s much more effective as a starter than a sub but it's generally perceived to be the opposite.
I expected that kind of performance from him. What I didn’t expect was him to miss in the shoot out. I was confident when it went to pens. Not sure why, just a feeling. I think it was based on seeing Adrian after the coin toss. He just looked like he was relishing it. He looked like he knew this was his time to shine.
And it almost was. He got nowhere near the first, went really close to the second and then saved the third. Milner, Taki and Gini had all scored, so we had them at that moment. That save was the momentum changer and if Origi had capitalised on it by scoring the next kick then we’d have gone through because Curtis was never going to miss.
I really thought he would score too. He’s not one to get nervous as he’s so laid back but that pen was dogshit. Everything about it was terrible. Shit run up, shit strike, shit direction and to top it all off he absolutely telegraphed where it was going. That was when I knew we were done for.
We had them and we let them off the hook. Curtis obviously scored, but Arsenal didn’t miss either of their next two and we went to sudden death. Then Wilson stepped up. You’d think he’d be boss at pens because he’s lethal from free-kicks, but he’s not great. I’ve seen him miss a few for our Academy sides and they were usually like this. Low and too close to the keeper.
Gutted for him but we still had Adrian. He could have still bailed us out. He should have bailed us out. But somehow he let the ball squirm under him and that was that. Disappointing, but *shrugs shoulders* meh. Let Arsenal enjoy another hollow victory they barely deserved and let them keep thinking they’re closing the gap. They’ll be at least 25 points behind us come May.
So even though we went out I think there are positives to take from this, not least the Williams kids and my boy Grujic, who was the best player on the park. As I said last week, he could easily play for us as he’s quality. But he’s got a shitload of players ahead of him who are even better.
He’s been in the shop window and anyone watching these games should be impressed. There are loads of Premier League teams who would be better with him in their midfield. And I don’t just mean the shite relegation fodder either. The likes Palace, Southampton, Sheffield United, Burnley or Newcastle would be much better with him in there.
Someone will surely come in for him before the window closes, but if no-one meets the valuation of Michael Edwards then sound, he can defo stay as he’s an asset who we might need at some point.
I didn’t expect to see Rhys Williams playing at centre back but it looks like maybe they didn’t want to cup tie Van den Berg in case he leaves on loan. Or it could just be that Williams is ahead of him. If he wasn’t before, he probably is now after the way we played. He was pretty much faultless wasn’t he?
He was up against Premier League players too in Nketia and Pepe and then later on Lacazette. He coped fine.
Neco had one or two awkward moments against Saka but that’s to be expected as he’s a dangerous player. It was a good battle between those two kids and I felt Neco won it. By the end Saka was going down with cramp because he’d spent so much time chasing back after the relentless Welsh kid.
Given the shite he’s had to deal with from ‘fans’ this was a nice big “fuck you” game from Neco. We don’t need to worry about his character, he's got balls.
I thought it was interesting how Ljinders described him as a “do’er” and pointed out that “do’ers” will make mistakes. I agree with that, but there’s being brave and there’s taking silly risks. I think Neco dribbles a little too much in dangerous areas.
It was great when he first broke into the side because it worked all the time. Now that opponents have film on him they’re catching him out more. It’s just about decision making now, and he’ll definitely improve that with experience.
Those three were the standouts I thought, but Grujic is the star man.
It’s a shame we won’t see much of these three for a while, not to mention Harvey Elliott who couldn’t even get on the field for this one, but even if we’d won this one there’s no game in this cup for three months anyway, so it’s even less of a big deal when you factor that in.
I just hope that 'Curtinho' is still involved when everyone is fit, because he’s the one we really need to keep in the squad and get as many minutes as we can. He’s so good that I was actually a little disappointed with him in this game even though there was nothing wrong with his performance. I just expect a lot of him now because he’s class.
By the way, I was a little bit naughty in the report last week when I first referenced the Curtinho nickname and took credit for it. It was a bit of an in joke with the lads as it wasn't me who came up with it, it was one of the long time TLW writers and I was just busting his chops by claiming it as my own.
So, allow me to set the record straight and apologise. It's a great nickname but I can't take the credit for it as it's the work of long time TLW forumite and fanzine contributor, Stu Monty.
But anyway, in closing, this isn’t a defeat that will stay with us for long. In fact, as soon as I switched the TV off after the decisive penalty my mind was already on to Villa this Sunday. Lets make it four from four Redmen!
Team: Adrian; N Williams, R Williams, Van Dijk (Gomez), Milner; Grujic, Jones, Wilson; Salah (Origi), Minamino, Jota (Wijnaldum):
Recommended Comments