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Liverpool 2 Atletico Madrid 3 (Mar 11 2020)

     

     
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    Report by
    Dave Usher

It’s hard to wrap my head around this one. To play as well as that and not only go out, but to actually somehow lose the game, it’s hard to believe. Ultimately it was a tale of two keepers. They had one of the best in the world and we didn’t.

 

The performance was everything we wanted and the only thing lacking was that we couldn’t get the second goal in normal time. It wasn’t for the want of trying. We had chances but we had to work really fucking hard for them. Atletico didn’t buckle or wilt under the intense pressure they were put under by our team and the crowd.

 

They stood firm and made us fight for everything. And fight we did. We threw everything at them and every outfield player was bang at it. We couldn’t have asked for more and this game had so many ingredients that you’d normally have in one of those legendary Anfield nights. 

 

For instance, if we’d come away with the result we deserved then we’d be talking about the performances of the likes of Wijnaldum and Oxlade-Chamberlain for a long time to come. We didn’t get the result we deserved though because shit happens, especially when you don’t have a reliable ‘keeper.

 

It’s one of those things. I just think we were unlucky as nine times out of ten we go through with that performance. This was the one in ten where we didn’t but we can’t complain too much after the run we’ve had in Europe under Klopp. 

 

In four years of playing in Europe under Klopp this was the first time we’d lost a two legged tie. It was always going to happen eventually, and unfortunately we came up against the most awkward bastards in Europe.

 

It was always going to be tough and we needed to play much better than we have done of late. We did that. The performance was fantastic. Atletico had a chance after just 20 seconds when Costa shot just wide but after that they offered virtually nothing until extra time.

 

It was one way traffic and it never let up. Constant pressure, probing, dominance. We needed to do something different to the first e.g. where they held us at arm’s length, and we did. Even to my untrained eye it was obvious that we were targeting their left flank and working overloads. Trent pushing forward, Mo hugging the touchline and Ox pushing wide to give us a third man out there.

 

On the other side it was the opposite. When Robbo got the ball he often had to go back to Van Dijk because Sadio was playing quite centrally and Gini was trying to get into the box. It was definitely a deliberate tactic, as was peppering them with crosses.

 

We sent cross after cross into the box and although they’re particularly good at defending them, if you keep putting dangerous balls into areas and getting players to attack them, eventually it will pay off and it did.

 

We’d gone close on a number of occasions and Wijnaldum had already had one headed effort saved by Oblak before he stole into the box to meet a brilliant cross by Ox and give us the breakthrough we needed.

 

Ox was great. So positive and aggressive with everything he did. Wijnaldum getting the goal from a cross by Ox was fitting given how the pair of them played. Gini is always immense in these big games though, he just seems to develop an extra yard of pace from somewhere. He was like a man possessed.

 

Scoring right before half time was just what we needed as it was beginning to feel like we were banging our head against a brick wall. The goal was huge because we knew if we’d done it once we could do it again. And so did they.

 

And 45 minutes attacking the Kop end to get it? No problem, surely? We laid siege to the Atletico goal but the fucking ball just wouldn’t go in. We pushed and pushed, and they barely got out of their own half. 

 

I can only remember Adrian having to save one shot. A routine stop that he made a meal of and then had to bravely dive at the forward’s feet to stop him seizing on the rebound.

 

Oblak on the other hand was working over time. Making saves and pushing away crosses, he probably touched the ball more than any other Atletico player.

 

Salah was brilliant all night but Firmino only really began to get into it after the break. He was abysmal in the first half but he stuck at it and played his way into the game. Sadio was more influential after the break too and I honestly can’t find fault with the performance at all. It just needed a goal and sadly we weren’t fated to get it.

 

Robbo heading against the bar at the Kop end. Imagine if that had gone in. Just imagine. Fucking hell. Robbo scoring the winner in front of the Kop? The roof would have come off. When I think about how close we came to such an iconic moment it’s just so incredibly frustrating.

 

They defended well though and it would be sour grapes to suggest otherwise. I don’t like how they play but they do it well. The shithousery is far more of an issue than the defensive style. They can play whatever style they want but the other shit is hard to stomach.

 

In fairness I expected it to be much worse than it was. The number ten was a bad cunt and a couple of the others made the most of nothing tackles (Costa was well behaved though, surprisingly), but by and large it wasn’t THAT bad.

 

Simeone though, he does my fucking head in. Jumping around all the time and waving his arms and just being a busy bastard. Most of it is just bollocks. There’s no way his players are paying attention to it and he’s just doing it for effect. It’s like Brendan and his little notepad. Just for show.

 

I nearly shit a lung when they had the ball in the net from that last gasp free-kick though. Simeone was on the pitch and it would have been heartbreaking if that had counted. Losing the way we did was bad enough but that would have been much worse.

 

Thankfully the linesman’s flag went up and VAR confirmed the decision. We lived to fight another day. Or another half an hour anyway.

 

And wouldn’t you know it, as so often happens, extra time starts and within a few minutes there’s a goal. Whenever that happens you can’t help but think “why couldn’t that have happened five minutes earlier”.

 

It should have been Bobby’s night. I said in the Bournemouth report that I expected him to get his first Anfield goal in this game and when he did it was all set up for him to be the hero of the hour. His initial header hit the post but the rebound came back to him and he tucked it away.

 

The run and cross from Gini was phenomenal. Like I say, he just seems to be supercharged in these games. Like when you’d make three baskets in a row on NBA Jam and you’d get that power up where you become faster and stronger than everyone else. That’s Gini on a big European night.

 

I thought we had them then. We’d done it. Another great Anfield comeback and a performance we could all be immensely proud of. And the it all went to shit in the blink of an eye.

 

Alisson’s injury ultimately proved to be our downfall. Many feared it would. I did not. Not because I’m under any illusions about Adrian’s ability, but because it was Anfield on a European night and these occasions often throw up the unlikeliest of heroes. David Fairclough, Mike Marsh, Neil Mellor, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Divock Origi etc

 

Why not Adrian, I mistakenly thought. As it turned out, we didn’t even need him to be the hero. We just needed him to not be Loris Karius. Sadly he couldn’t oblige. He gave away one goal and even the other two goals weren’t good. Neither were specifically his fault, but there’s no way Alisson lets them in.

 

What makes this so difficult to take is that the performance was close to perfect right up until the moment Adrian gifted them their goal. That changed everything. Having fought tooth and nail to finally get in front, we really needed to just hold onto it for a little while and force them to come out.

 

They don’t like chasing the game and forcing the play and if we could have made them do that it would have gotten a lot easier for us. I don’t think they would have been able to break us down on their own and if they’d tried then they’d have left gaps. The mood we were in we’d have exploited that.

 

Unfortunately they never needed to come out of their shell because Adrian gift wrapped them a goal and that gave took the wind out of our sails and gave them renewed determination to dig in. I’m sure we would have rallied and gone again as there was plenty of time, but we conceded again and that was a hammer blow.

 

Even then though, all shouldn’t have been lost. The ground went silent and the crowd never really got back into it. That disappointed me because the situation wasn’t THAT desperate. 15 minutes to score twice at the Kop end. We’ve done that before, no big deal. Yet it felt to me like the crowd just gave up.

 

It needed a goal to get them going again and if we’d score in the first ten minutes of that second half of extra time then the last few minutes would have been manic and I suspect we’d have done it. We didn’t score though and Atletico rubbed salt in our wounds by actually scoring a third and winning the game.

 

That really fucking stings. Going out would have been one thing, but to actually lose a game in which we’d played so brilliantly is really hard to take. I don’t begrudge Atletico going through but I’m proper gutted they won the game as they didn’t deserve that. It was daylight robbery.

 

The celebrations after their goals were the worst thing for me. The subs and coaches and everyone just piling onto the pitch and the ref allowing it. It felt like it took two minutes to restart the game each time. Yet from what I recall there was only one minute added. 

 

The ref was quite good on the whole I thought, but he was weak as fuck on that. I’ve never seen celebrations take that long. I’m not mad at Atletico for over-celebrating because it’s a compliment. We’re the biggest scalp in Europe and they went through absolute hell in that 90 minutes, hanging on and defending with everything they had.

 

I don’t begrudge them celebrating like that, but I’m irritated as fuck at the ref for allowing it. 

 

I’m not angry with Adrian either. As I said, he can’t help the fact that he’s just not that good. As far as back ups go, he’s alright. He’s not as good as I thought he was but he’s not shite. The drop off between him and Alisson though is understandably huge. That’s always going to be the case though as how can you have a second choice keeper that’s anywhere near as good as the world’s best?

 

I don’t like scapegoating Adrian for the loss but it’s hard to get away from the fact that it is pretty much on him. Everyone else performed heroically and he had fuck all to do. Yet he conceded three goals.

 

The all important first goal was an absolute horror show from him. The poor clearance was bad enough but I can overlook that as it happens to every keeper. What followed was just absolutely damning of his poor fundamentals though.

 

The kick was bad and it seemed like he panicked because he had time to take a touch. Clearing it first time is ok but you need to get underneath the ball. You can’t do what he did, but like I say, it happens. The best keeper in the world with his feet (Ederson) did it last weekend.

 

So the kick is not something I’d judge him too harshly on. The risible attempt at keeping out the shot though is something else entirely. Firstly, he’s actually jumping in the air when the lad takes the shot. He’s off the ground and not in position to plant his feet and dive. By the time he lands the ball is almost past him anyway, but just to top it off he slips as he tries to push off. It’s just piss poor goalkeeping.

 

I’m not even going to comment on his part in the other two goals as what’s the point? The first goal is enough. That was the turning point that we never recovered from. The performance up until that moment was as close to perfect as we could have hoped for and I just feel bad for the lads more than anything.

 

I don’t feel bad for me. I’m sad we lost but not as gutted about going out as I thought I’d be. All the shit that is going on at the moment has definitely had an impact on how I feel about the Champions League. What did we have to look forward to by staying in? Games behind closed doors. Big Anfield nights with no fans. A final that no-one would be allowed to go to.

 

I’m not glad we’re out but staying in would have been a massive pain in the arse so I can shrug this off quite easily.

 

I’m not going to say good luck to Atletico and that I hope they win it because I don’t. I won’t be wishing for them to lose either though. The truth is I’m not arsed either way. Their fans were chanting “Liverpool’ afterwards and some of their players (especially Oblak) were warmly applauding the Kop as soon as the final whistle went.

 

It doesn’t make me overlook some of their antics, but I’m just not that arsed about it, which is unlike me as generally I’m not one for letting grudges go. If we weren’t so far ahead in the league or hadn’t won number six last year I daresay I’d feel differently, but this doesn’t feel like the end of anything as we’ll be back.

 

I don’t know what happens next though as everything is up in the air. We’re supposed to be playing at Goodison next but who knows. We’re so close to clinching the title but there’s every chance we’ll have to wait a while.

 

But we’ve waited 30 years, so what’s a little while longer.

 

Star Man is Gini.

 

Team: Adrian: Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson (Fabinho), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Milner), Wijnaldum (Origi); Salah, Firmino, Mané:

 

 

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Well, I calmed down today as the day went on, but the way we lost was a fucking sickener. I was confident if we’d gotten through this one we could go all the way again. As usual Dave, you cover all the bases and I’m taking heart from your point of view at the end - yep, we’ll be back - and we owe these scummers as well as Napoli...

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You didn't mention the substitutions which I thought were strange. The Ox was brilliant and didn't deserve to come off although Milner was great when he came on. However, bringing on a totally off form defensive midfielder and Origi on the left totally killed us.

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Good point about conceding their first goal so soon after we'd gone in front in the tie.  It'a vulnerability that was obvious a couple of years ago, so it was disappointing to see it resurface just when we least needed it to. As for the tie overall, we put ourselves in great difficulty after the terrible performance in the first leg.

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1 hour ago, Trumo said:

Macca on comms does my head in when he calls Gini either 'Gino' or worse, 'Gigi'. He's the only one who does it.

And saying we should laugh at Costa throwing the ball away and being a shithouse. The Gigi thing is weird.

At least I could press mute though

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1 hour ago, Ben Sherman said:

You didn't mention the substitutions which I thought were strange. The Ox was brilliant and didn't deserve to come off although Milner was great when he came on. However, bringing on a totally off form defensive midfielder and Origi on the left totally killed us.

 

Sick of talking about Origi on the left. I'm even boring myself now. Fabinho for Hendo was fair enough as Hendo is only back from a hammy and had played 105 mins. I didn't think Ox should have been subbed but he doesn't often play 90 mins does he? 

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31 minutes ago, bigal said:

Trent giving away a stupid freekick at the end which led to their offside goal, needs to cut that out

I was actually calling for him to foul the lad because we were short handed and I was worried if he was beaten we were in deep shit.

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Atletico have a history of giving us a sucker punch at Anfield in extra time. I might be an arm chair fan but when extra time started I had bad memories of Diego Forlan from 2010.

 

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Someone has to account for the fact that while we have the best keeper in the world as our number 1 the number 2 is a guy who could not get into a shit WestHam team and was training with a Spanish non league outfit. How can that be right?

I don't want to go over the top on this because i have never seen this team play better. I am an older guy so i lived through the heydays of the 70's and 80's but i love this team better. I just do. Everything about them...except for the ludicrous drop off between the brilliance of our First choice and  the support act.

It would be like going to see the Rolling Stones and finding out that fucking Bon Jovi had replaced them.

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1 hour ago, index1000 said:

Someone has to account for the fact that while we have the best keeper in the world as our number 1 the number 2 is a guy who could not get into a shit WestHam team and was training with a Spanish non league outfit. How can that be right?

I don't want to go over the top on this because i have never seen this team play better. I am an older guy so i lived through the heydays of the 70's and 80's but i love this team better. I just do. Everything about them...except for the ludicrous drop off between the brilliance of our First choice and  the support act.

It would be like going to see the Rolling Stones and finding out that fucking Bon Jovi had replaced them.

Bon Jovi replacing the Stones was more us signing Alisson and jibbing Karius.

 

Negged, obviously.

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Great report Dave. Your views on our matches, and the general way of things, are basically the same as mine, but your brilliance is the way you put it all down in these reports. Your insight and way of explaining events, sorting all the jumble of emotions after a mental game like that, I dunno, just makes me feel better after reading them. Win, lose or draw, they are well worth the fee.

 

I was thinking watching the build up that pundits have been quite harsh on Adrian the last couple of games, I thought he'd done ok apart from the fuck up in the cup.

 

Doh.

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Top report Dave, totally agree.

 

It’s clear we did not handle well that winter break, maybe we would have peaked physically later but we fucked up. Even though we played well yesterday, we had a not so good month. 
 

This exit also stresses how great the run has been the past two years in Europe , like the defeat at Watford proved how outstanding the run was in the PL. 

 

I have always thought our   run was under rated, it was always about the next record or the treble or the invincible. 
 

Win the next two games when we actually play them, and we could then enjoy for a long long time. 

 

 

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52 minutes ago, index1000 said:

Negged by the Editor!!! Do i win a Prize?

Yes. A priZe for highest DensiTY of inappropriatE caPital letters you absoLUTe sPuNKfaceD bELLwhiFF. 

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7 hours ago, index1000 said:

It would be like going to see the Rolling Stones and finding out that fucking Bon Jovi had replaced them.

Absolutely nothing more sure than when I clicked to see who had negged this it was @dave u

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8 hours ago, rb14 said:

Yes. A priZe for highest DensiTY of inappropriatE caPital letters you absoLUTe sPuNKfaceD bELLwhiFF. 

 

Nice to see there's another angry Bon Jovi fan weighing in!

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