We should have won that but in the end we didn’t deserve to. I’m still trying to process how I feel about it two days later. Well, I know how I feel. I’m disappointed and frustrated. I’m just not sure how disappointed I should be. Being massively frustrated is justified though, for a variety of reasons.
The draw was definitely a fair outcome as Chelsea were fairly comfortable in the second half all things considered. A minute or two before half time if you’d offered me a draw I may well have taken it as we were a goal down and not really looking too great.
Then everything was turned on its head with the pen and sending off and because of that it’s hard not to think this was a missed opportunity. It’s a better point for Chelsea than it is for us but it’s not that bad a point for us either. Not losing the big games is vital. If you can win them then all the better.
Chelsea are a good side and them going down to ten men didn’t really help us much on reflection. Don’t get me wrong, if you offer me that scenario again I’m taking it 100 times out of 100. I think it made it much easier for us to not lose the game but also made it more difficult to win.
Going down to ten greatly reduced any attacking threat Chelsea might pose but it made it a whole lot tougher for us to break them down because their focus became almost entirely about defending, and they’re very good at it. I don’t think any other team in the league would have coped as well as they did in that situation against us. When you have a load of high quality players who are well drilled and focusing solely on not conceding, it’s really fucking hard to break down.
When it was 11 v 11 it was a more even game but because of that it could have gone either way. We’re usually at our most dangerous when things gets a bit wild so we’ll never know how the second half had played out if Reece James had been allowed to stay on the pitch. We’d started brilliantly but went behind against the run of play with a goal that I’d say was pretty much impossible to stop.
A six foot three lad runs to the near post and flicks on a ball that is delivered right on the money, then that flick fortuitously loops right over everyone into the far top corner. How do you stop that? You can’t.
That was a kick in the nuts as we were well on top until then. Elliott had started superbly and was inches away from his fist goal with a rasping low drive that went just past the post with the keeper scrambling. Hendo missed a glorious chance when he was picked out by a phenomenal ball by Trent. He tried to side foot it on the run with his left foot and got it horribly wrong.
It was really interesting that Harvey was given the nod to start and that as a result of his inclusion Hendo was on the left of the three. It’s a massive vote of confidence in the kid because Klopp could easily have gone with Keita or Thiago and then kept Hendo in his more natural spot. The significance of this is huge I think. Elliott might actually be number four in the pecking order for midfield spots now. I say four rather than three because I expect Thiago to come in soon once he’s back up to full fitness, but Elliott being selected to start against as tough an opponent as we’ll face this season definitely tells us a lot about how Klopp views him.
The link up on the right between him, Mo and Trent looks really promising but it also needs some work because it was a little too predictable with all of them wanting to play inside. Trent did regularly go outside to get crosses in but generally there was too much play cutting back into the middle where Chelsea had packed the box.
I didn’t think Hendo looked comfortable on the other side either. He was ok, but it seemed to take something away from him as he’s not usually on that side of the pitch linking with Robbo and Sadio. Usually it would be Keita, Jones or Thiago. Maybe it’s worth having a look at Harvey on that side next game and get Hendo back in his best spot.
Anyway, our bright start kind of fizzled out a bit after Chelsea scored and it didn’t feel as though we were making much headway against them. And then they began to threaten on the counter, which gave the game a completely different feel to how it was in the opening 15 minutes. I didn’t like how it was going and when Mount missed a good chance to make it 2-0 there was a definite feeling of edginess around Anfield.
How Robbo managed to avoiding getting a touch on that as it flashed across goal I’ll never know, but when he retires from footy he should give ‘Dodgeball’ a go as that was impressive.
Harvey had a chance to level when a loose ball dropped to him in the box but he leant back and skied it into the Anny Road end with his right foot.
Klopp was forced into a substitution when Bobby felt something in his hamstring. He’d been recalled at the expense of Jota, something that was widely expected but was still probably unfair on Diogo as really what more could he have done to keep his place? I was on board with bringing Bobby back in but even if he hadn’t picked up an injury I’d have been thinking about making that change at half time anyway.
Not because he’d played badly. He was fine. His touch seemed good, he was working hard and trying to get involved, but it wasn’t really working. Not even through any fault of Bobby’s. It just seemed to me that the areas he was wanting to play in were being patrolled by Kante and Jorginho and Chelsea were letting them deal with him, meaning he wasn’t dragging any defenders out of position and creating space for Sadio and Mo. That’s not Bobby’s fault, it was just good tactics by Chelsea.
So yeah, I’d have wanted Jota on because he’ll be that bit more direct and play up against the defenders. His first involvement was to win the corner that would completely change the flow of the game. He drove into the box past two players and a third knocked it off his toe and behind.
After that, carnage happened. In real time all I can remember was Matip winning a header on the back post and it hitting the bar, and then there being a massive scramble that left me wondering just how we hadn’t scored. I didn’t even see all of our players appealing for something because I had my head in my hands.
Then I saw there was a VAR check so assumed it must have been handball. I certainly didn’t see it at the time, but then neither did Anthony Taylor and he was stood right there looking at at it. I’m down the other end of the stadium. So I have an excuse. What’s his?
VAR told him to go and take a look, which he did and then quickly came back on to award a penalty and show a red card to James. Having since looked at replays of it I’d say it’s the right call because it’s a handball that prevents a certain goal. I don’t think James deliberately handled, I just think his movements were instinctive. Either way, that has to be a red card and a penalty. There is no leeway for the ref there, it's not a judgement call whether to send him off or not.
I’m not in favour of that rule and I’d change it if I could. I’ve always said in that situation I’d just give a goal. That’s probably difficult to enforce when the handball isn’t on the line, but when it’s as clear as this and you can say with 100% certainty that if it isn’t handled it’s a definite goal, then just give the fucking goal and get on with the game.
I’ve felt that way since an incident in my playing days many moons ago. When I say playing days, I was working for Gulf and we had an office footy team and used to play ‘friendlies’ against other companies that we had dealings with. One of them was ‘Geest’ who sold bananas. They were our big rivals and I had a great record against them.
The other big rival was ‘Palmer & Harvey’ and my record against them was not so great. In fact, I hadn’t ever scored against them and it was starting to get in my head a bit. Then one night we’re playing them and the ball is played to me on the edge of the box. My first touch flicked it over the defender and with my second touch I lobbed the keeper. The ball is dropping just under the bar for a Bergkamp-esque goal when a defender runs back and punches it out from on the line.
The ref gave a penalty but I wasn’t the penalty taker so I was robbed of a goal and I lost my shit about it. “Just give the goal, it was going in anyway”. “I can’t do that, I have to give a penalty”. “Well why aren’t you sending the cheating cunt off?” I demanded. “Because it’s a friendly”. “Well if it’s a friendly you can give the fucking goal then and not a penalty”. I was up in that ref's face in a way that even Azpilacueta would have been uncomfortable with.
I don’t even know if we scored the penalty. I don’t think I even watched it as I was sulking about having a goal taken off me. Back then I was very much of the “it doesn’t matter who wins as long as I score” mentality. Like Harry Kane without the diving and drool.
But I digress. Back to the incident. Taylor had no choice really. It was clearly a penalty and if he gave the penalty he had to produce a red card. This wasn’t something that was at his discretion, it was a black and white issue and his hands were tied.
The way he handled everything else afterwards was fucking pathetic though. Starting with the immediate aftermath of the red card and then continuing throughout the entire second half.
There was so much going on that I couldn’t see half of it. I just saw lots of pushing and shoving in the box as Mo tried to put the ball on the spot, but I was mostly watching James who wouldn’t leave the field. He was just stood there, crestfallen and feeling hard done by. Then Robbo gently pushes him in the chest and I’m fairly certain will have said “off you go pal”.
James eventually trudged off but all hell was still breaking loose in the box. Taylor produced one yellow card, which I assumed must have been for the keeper because he wouldn’t go back on his line and was delaying the kick. Turns out it was one of the defenders. Really it should have been about six of them.
I’ve watched it back this morning and it’s even worse than I thought. Taylor should be embarrassed at how he was bullied by those Chelsea players. Weak as piss that. Rudiger and Azpilacueta (busy little cunt, the Spanish Gary Neville) were distracting him while Mendy went right up and stood in front of Mo, staring him down.
By the time Taylor realised what was happening, instead of yellow carding the keeper he tries to get him to go back to his goal, which he does, incredibly slowly and with both of his arms raised up the air trying to distract Salah. It’s just a clear booking. That’s how you stop that shit. You get your card out and then start saying “who’s next?” until they get the message.
Taylor let Mendy get away with it which meant he was then able to boot Hendo as he tried to retrieve the ball after it went in. He got a yellow card for that, but it should have been his second. And of course Azpilacueta was then in the middle of all the handbags and started crying that Hendo wasn’t also booked. Booked for what? Being kicked and not smiling about it? Twat. He’s the one Chelsea player that’s a throwback to when the entire team were bad cunts.
Credit to Mo for keeping his cool despite being made to wait an age.
So after being behind suddenly we were level and playing the second half with a man advantage. At least that’s what we thought. We were actually a man down because Taylor and the short arse little fuck running the line on the Main Stand may as well have been wearing Chelsea shirts in that second half.
If the first half had lasted another five minutes we’d have scored. Chelsea’s heads had gone, our lads smelled blood and the crowd was as loud as I’ve heard in a long time. Maybe not being there for 18 months has made me forgotten how loud Anfield is, but this felt exceptional.
The half time whistle saved Chelsea as it allowed them to go in and regroup. They did that and despite losing Kante to injury they were solid as fuck in that second half. Of course we had some chances and we had a spell of pressure where it really felt like a goal was coming, but Chelsea weathered the storm and by the end they were comfortable.
Our left side was especially disappointing. Robbo didn’t really get forward much and I’m putting that down to him not being 100% yet. He eventually made way for Kostas but I’d have brought him off earlier. I’d have taken Sadio off as well if we’d had anyone on the bench that could have replaced him. We didn’t though, because Jota was already on and that’s it as far as forward options are concerned.
We can’t go out and bring in another big hitter because we already have four front line forwards. Surely we can find someone that’s going to give us more than Origi though? The problem is we’ll need to sell him first and that’s proving easier said than done.
Mané couldn’t do a thing right in that second half. He was trying to be positive and he was looking to run at Azpilacueta whenever possible, but Chelsea always had a second or third player over helping, and Sadio kept coming inside into trouble. On the other side Mo was doing likewise, and it just never felt like a goal was coming.
Mendy pulled off a few routine stops that he made look far more difficult than they were but we didn’t test him enough. Probably the best chance we had fell to Mo and he hit a weak shot with his right foot that barely even reached the keeper. My Dad may not sit next to me anymore but even from his couch miles away I could almost hear him scoff “I could have hit that harder with me cap”.
A set-piece felt like our most likely goal source but we couldn’t get Virgil a clear run at anything as he was being fouled on every corner kick. I hadn’t noticed it in the first half as our corners were down the Anny Road end and I didn’t have a great view of them, but at half time I saw in the group chat someone saying how Azpilacueta was just blocking Virgil on every corner and not even looking at the ball. So I was watching out for that in the second half and sure enough it happened every single time. He was just fouling him constantly.
Taylor did nothing about it until the last couple of minutes, and even then he may as well not have bothered. He spoke to them to say he was watching, the corner came in, Azpilacueta grabbed Virgil, then took a tumble and Taylor blew for a Chelsea free-kick. Great job, yer baldy manc ballbag.
His second half performance was a disgrace. Don’t mistake that for me blaming him for us not winning as that’s not my point at all. We had our own failings that we need to work on, but Taylor and his Main Stand Lino were blatantly favouring Chelsea that entire second half.
The difference between first half and second was night and day. Taylor began the game refereeing the way we’ve seen all season so far. Letting things go, not giving any soft fouls and generally telling players to get up and get on with it. There were a few he let that go that were blatant fouls but it felt like it was generally the same for both teams so that’s all good.
The second half though? Fucking hell, could he have made it any more obvious he was trying to make it up to Chelsea after the sending off? Just one soft free-kick after another. But only one way, interestingly. And that cunt linesman was complicit in it. Trent was tripped up right in front of him and he waved play on. The most blatant foul you’ll ever see and he gave nothing.
A few minutes later Harvey nutmegs Alonso, who falls over backwards and lands on the ball. Harvey is trying to dig the ball out from under him, Alonso is trying to stand up and is obstructing Elliott but he is completely off balance and falls down under minimal contact. Suddenly Jimmy Crankie has his fucking flag up. Just blatant favouritism.
Here’s a stat for you. We didn’t get one free-kick in the second half. NOT ONE!! Even though we had all of the ball, playing against a team who were defending for their lives. Not a single foul.
Here’s another stat. We attempted 20 tackles and Taylor awarded free-kicks for 13 of them. Chelsea attempted 30 tackles and only two of them were given as fouls. Bent. As. Fuck.
Klopp tried to change it up by bringing on Thiago for Hendo and then belatedly turning to Kostas, but it made no difference. Again though, Harvey being kept on while the captain got the hook felt significant to me. I know Klopp is saying it’s about minutes in pre-season and that he’s going with the fittest players, but even allowing for that it’s still a huge call rolling with the 18 year old kid over all these senior players. Harvey must be blowing the fucking doors off in training.
He was the pick of our midfield but he wasn’t the star man. That was Virgil. Fucking hell, talk about dominant. He treated Lukaku like he was a little kid, just manhandling him and throwing him around. Matip did too, other than one moment in the first half when he rashly tried to nip in front of him to nick the ball and got rolled. That almost led to a goal for Mount, but apart from that one moment Lukaku was completely kept in check by the two centre backs. They both made terrific blocks to prevent him getting shots on goal too.
Virgil looks all the way back now. Against Burnley I saw a couple of things that made me think his timing was still a little off, especially challenging for long balls, but this was just a supreme display of how to deal with a top class forward. Because Lukaku is top class. He’ll get criticised for not doing much in this game but there’s a reason for that. He couldn’t do anything because although he may be really good, borderline great even, he was up against two world class defenders, one of whom is a generational talent. And Virgil might be too for that matter.
Ok, all joking aside, Matip is a fucking brilliant defender but no-one outside of Liverpool seems to get that. In fact, many of our own fans don’t get it either. I absolutely guarantee you there’ll be some FIFA nonces out there who think Konate should be playing with Virgil. It’s criminal how under-rated Joel is. What a player he is.
We even had a customary Mad Matip Moment too, when a free-kick was given against him and he lost the plot because he knew it was a dive. Just look at him go!
— No Context Joël Matip (@NoContextJMatip) August 28, 2021
So in summary, I thought we played really well in most areas of the game but we didn’t do a great job in and around the box. I’ve been saying this for years, but it frustrates me how when we face opponents who are defending the width of their box and playing deep, we don’t just constantly try and get round the back and smash low crosses across the six yard box. Too much of it was aimless crossing or trying to go through the middle when it was all too tight.
We’ve got the players to do it but they all seem to want to cut inside all the time, which presumably is because that’s what is expected of them and what they work on in training. I’d just like to see us play where the space is a bit more, which is out wide. Work some overloads, get to the byline, cut it back. Man City have won four titles in five years doing that shit. Of course there are other reasons they have won those titles too, but the point stands.
Then again, they couldn’t get round the back against Chelsea either so maybe it’s not as simple as I’m making out. One thing I do know is that we’d have won this game easily if Frank Lampard was still in charge there. The fucking bum.
Tuchel knows what he’s doing and he’s got a squad rammed with top players. Chelsea’s bench for this game was fucking ridiculous and they didn’t even have Pulisic available. We’ve got a better best eleven and if we can avoid too many injuries I expect us to win the title. If it comes down to a war of attrition and who has the deepest squad though, Chelsea are going to be right up there.
Ultimately we won’t know for a few months whether this was two points lost or not. It feels that way now, but who knows, maybe not losing is the main thing at this stage. This international break can fuck off though. Just when we were getting back into the swing of footy being back we have as needless week off for this shit. Hate it.
Leeds away next. Potentially tricky but in reality it shouldn’t be. Play well and we’ll win easily. All depends on the forwards though doesn’t it? When they’re sharp we win. When they aren’t, that’s when it’s more up in the air. The question is whether we’ll have a new forward option to choose from by the time we play again? Time is running out but if we can shift Origi then who knows.
Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson (Tsimikas); Fabinho, Elliott, Henderson (Thiago); Salah, Firmino (Jota), Mané:
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