Liverpool 3 Leicester 3 (5-4 on pens) (Dec 22 2021)

That was so much more enjoyable than I ever imagined it could be. This was a game that was almost an inconvenience given the current situation.

We could have done without it and I’d already come to terms with the probably loss and made my peace with it. Then it ended up being a fucking classic and one of the most satisfying wins in a long time.

Leicester were at full strength and that felt a bit off really. Not because I think they should be resting players, far from it. I’m always of the view that teams who aren’t chasing the bigger prizes should be going balls out to win the cups so Brendan has absolutely done the right thing in going as strong as he could. No problem with that from me, I think more managers should do it.

What didn’t feel right about it was they postponed a game six days ago because of a ‘worsening’ COVID outbreak’ but all of a sudden they have ALL of their players available? How many had COVID and how many were just not vaccinated and had to isolate? The lack of transparency on this causes a lot of resentment.

We’ll probably never know what’s gone on with all these postponements and we just have to hope it all evens out eventually. The teams who have had a break now will hopefully get a congested fixture list later down the line while the likes of us, Chelsea and Arsenal (who have all played on through this) will benefit from a lighter load down the line.

Seeing the two line ups before kick off though it’s fair to say I didn’t like our chances. I wasn’t especially bothered either, which is funny because by the end I was so desperate to win that this felt like the most important game we’ve had all season.

Our team was more or less what you’d expect considering who we had available. I didn’t think Neco would be in the front three and I assumed Konate would start (we’ll have Virgil back for the next game so he didn’t need protecting). So Billy Koumetio starting was a surprise as was Connor Bradley getting the nod over Kaide Gordon. 

It’s fair to say that it didn’t really work. Koumetio wasn’t to blame for how many chances Leicester got but if one of your defenders is going to be exposed against Vardy then you’d prefer it was Konate. We saw the difference in the second half.

And Neco in the front three…. urgh. Fish out of water. He actually did all that could be realistically expected of him but that dynamic on the right with him, Hendo and Bradley just didn’t function at all. Hardly surprising, you can’t expect them to give us Trent / Hendo / Mo levels, especially when Neco is in a position that doesn’t suit him at all. 

Again, the difference between first and second half showed that. The half time subs changed everything. Neco was fucking brilliant at right back and Vardy didn’t get a kick against Konate. That being said though, the main difference between the two halves was that we stopped passing the ball to Leicester and setting them up with chances.

Because that was the only way they hurt us all night. Every single chance Leicester had in the first half came from us losing the ball cheaply. They didn’t have any meaningful possession and they didn’t create a single chance on their own. Everything they did was a result of us losing the ball needlessly.

Aside from that we were playing well and dominating the game. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how we bossed the game. I know that sounds daft considering we conceded three and it should have been more, but prior to kick off when I saw the two line ups I thought we were in trouble. Of course we were in trouble at 3-1 down but it was not the trouble I expected. By that I mean I expected Leicester would outplay us and we’d look like the underdog. That wasn’t the case.

We started brightly and had all of the possession. I really liked the tempo we were playing at and Ox and Taki were looking really lively. Then we went 1-0 down. And then not long after we went 2-0 down. It was mad. Two goals conceded in 14 minutes despite us completely dominating.

I keep saying this but it’s proven every game. Most teams don’t really create chances against us except when we lose the ball and get caught with players upfield. When we’re set in our defensive shape very few teams have been able to hurt us. But if we lose the ball unexpectedly / cheaply then we’re in trouble. When you’ve got Van Dijk and Matip back there you can often get away with it, but when they aren’t there then protecting the ball is vitally important.

And in that first half we just didn’t do that. Their first goal came when Kostas was leading a break and gave the ball away. We never really got back into our shape and seconds later Vardy was running clear having pulled away off Koumetio onto a slide rule Maddison pass. He rarely misses from there and although Kelleher got a hand on it he couldn’t keep it out.

Would Alisson have saved it? Maybe, maybe not, but that’s not one where I’m looking at my keeper and thinking he should save it. If he does, it’s an incredible stop.

The second goal was self inflicted too. Bradley plays it down the line in the kind of situation we see with Trent and Mo probably a dozen times every game. Mo never loses the ball in that situation though whereas Neco did. That in itself shouldn’t have cost us a goal as it was deep in Leicester territory, but one ball down the line released Daka (I have no idea what Gomez was doing by the way) with Koumetio going with him to try and cover. In the middle Kostas is trying to keep pace with Vardy but couldn’t, and when Daka crossed Vardy was well clear of him for a tap in.

At that point I feared we were going to get completely embarrassed. The next goal was going to be huge and thankfully we got it. Lovely goal it was too. Kostas did superbly to get away from his man and play a cross to the back stick. Neco headed it back into Bobby who was unable to turn and get a shot away as he was crowded out, but he kept his composure and rolled it back to Ox who lashed it in from the edge of the box.

Our tails were up now and we looked really lively, especially through Minamino and Kostas on that left side. The problem was we kept giving the ball away and Vardy looked like he was going to fill his boots. Leicester’s third comes when Bradley tried to play it down the line to Neco but it was cut out. Ox challenges Maddison but doesn’t get the break of the ball and Maddison lashes one in from 25 yards.

Kelleher shouldn’t be beaten like that though. It’s a great strike but it’s the middle of the goal and he should be saving that.

It should have been 4-1 when Vardy went clear again. And guess what, once more it wasn’t Leicester creating an opening, it was us gifting it to them. Morton played the ball back to Gomez, who as he was all night seemed half asleep. He allowed it to get away from him and Vardy through and hit the post. Huge let off and the biggest turning point of the night.

Have to say though another big turning point in the game was Andy Madeley not sending off Morton. He should have because that’s a red card challenge and we got very lucky with that. Had VAR been in play then Morton would have been gone because he isn’t the England captain. That’s a wild, dangerous challenge though and Ricardo would later go off injured after being unable to shake off the effects of it.

As I always say though, it’s difficult for refs in that situation because they get one look at it, from whatever angle they have, and it’s at full speed. Madeley obviously wasn’t 100% sure it was a red and in those circumstances refs should ALWAYS err on the side of caution because red cards change games and you have to be sure. When VAR is there, it should not be a problem as they have everything they need to get the decision right. Except maybe a functioning brain or an impartial outlook.

Anyway, young Tyler is lucky he didn’t get sent off but he was now on a yellow card which meant he was always going to be the one subbed when changes were made. He needs to address that because he’s clearly a really good player, but he’s got to stay out of foul trouble. He played pretty well other than that. His passing was good and he had one excellent bit of covering when he got himself between Vardy and the ball and won a free-kick when it looked like we were going to allow Vardy to claim a hat-trick. That too came from us losing the ball. I think that one was Koumetio but it’s hard to keep track.

Any feeling that Klopp wasn’t especially bothered about this game soon went away when I saw what he did at half time. The easy thing to do was accept the loss, take comfort in the fact we wouldn’t have to deal with a two-legged semi and just hope to keep the score down.

Instead he subbed the three kids and sent on Milner, Konate and Jota. And what a difference it made. All three areas of the pitch were strengthened and it showed as we absolutely bossed that second half.

Still, Leicester did have a good early chance to kill the game after the break when - yep, you guessed it - we gave the ball away cheaply (Ox this time) and Dewsbury-Hall got away, cut inside Milner and brought a fine save from Kelleher. Huge stop that one in the context of the game. That was an Alisson moment that.

Naby then came on for Hendo and immediately just took charge of the game. He was fucking brilliant. This might be the best he’s looked at any point since coming here. It’s certainly the most excited I’ve been about what I saw from him. He looked really confident and positive and was just gliding around the field popping little passes off and playing one twos. More of this please.

Our second goal was class. We gave it away high up the pitch but the counter press kicked in and the ball ended up at Bobby’s feet on the edge of the box. He played it in to Taki and he laid it off first time into the path of Jota. Nice football that but there was still a lot to do. Jota’s first touch was perfect and the finish was lethal with his left foot. Low and hard across Schmeichel. Terrific that. As I keep saying, it’s like watching Fowler at times. 

It was one way traffic and it felt inevitable that we’d score as we were camped in their half and they just couldn’t get out. Leicester were really poor and I think Brendan is in trouble there. They’ve not been good this season and it feels like it’s getting away from him. This didn’t look like a Rodgers team as they had no possession and didn’t seem to have any shape or pattern of play. All they had was the quick counter when we gave them the ball. I expected much better from them to be honest.

Anyway, part of it is definitely that we made them look bad and I don’t want to take credit away from our lads who were sensational. Neco smashed one into the side netting with Schmeichel beaten and then Jota was denied by ‘son of Rudolph’ when he got his head on a Naby shot to divert the ball goalwards.

Leicester were hanging on, they were time wasting and they were feigning injuries to disrupt the flow of the game. That backfired when six minutes of stoppage time were awarded and we scored four a half minutes into it. What a fucking finish that was by the way. Ndidi misjudged the flight of the ball but Taki kept his eyes on it the whole time and brought it down on his chest before rifling in the bottom corner. Such a composed finish at that stage of the game. I’m made up for him as he played so well that he deserved that moment. 

What was funny is that while Taki ran off celebrating with Owen Beck (who came on late for Kostas and looked confident and assured), Jota grabbed the ball out of the net and Bobby was gesturing everyone to get back for the restart so we could score again. Gotta love this team!

There was no time though and we were headed to penalties. We had the momentum but they had the experienced keeper and the recognised penalty takers. Tielemans, Maddison, Iheanacho, Vardy…. wait, where the fuck was Vardy? Why didn’t he take a pen? I’ve just checked to see if he was subbed late on and he wasn’t. Very strange that.

Anyway, my point was that going into it I’d have said they looked like favourites, especially as they got to go first and also choose ends. How does that work then? I thought it was one or the other? Leicester got both, which was a big advantage. 

Tielemans scored but I knew Milner would too. 1-1. Then Maddison predictably scored and we had Bobby up next. I didn’t fancy him, especially when he stuttered before taking it, but he put it just far enough wide of Schmeichel to make it 2-2. 

Schmeichel was being a right twat, doing all he could to put our lads off and getting in the refs face about nothing. That’s fine though, I’d want my keeper doing all he could to gain an advantage too. The only keeper we have who would do any of that shit though is Adrian. The rest are just nice lads, whereas Adrian doesn’t give a fuck who he upsets.

So I’m fine with Schmeichel’s antics but equally it’s fine for our lads to give it back to him. Albrighton made it 3-2 but Ox levelled. Then Kelleher saved from their young left back and we were on the brink. Naby stepped up and delivered the best pen of the night. Almost there.

We needed either an Iheanacho miss or a Minamino goal and it was all over. We got neither. I despise that Iheanacho twat after his deliberate miss against City in the game when Kompany scored that fluke that basically decided the title race. I’d have loved him to miss the pen but it was never happening as he doesn’t miss from that distance unless it’s to throw a game.

So up steps Taki for his moment of glory. It would have been fitting for him to deliver the winning pen but it wasn’t to be. He went for power and hit the bar. Everyone else had placed their pens and he was the only one who didn’t, which suggests he didn’t feel too confident about it.

My stream died as he missed that kick and I couldn’t get it back up in time so I had to reply on the group chat to find out what happened next. I’ve seen the pens since though. Kelleher’s save from Bertrand is a good one because those can easily squirm under your body when you’re committed to diving towards the corner and the kick isn’t very well placed. So he’s done well there. Why is Bertrand taking one ahead of Vardy though? Weird.

And then it’s all down to Jota. I’m surprised he wasn’t one of the original five takers, but the way he handled that was like a seasoned penalty taker. Schmeichel had left the ball on the edge of the six yard box and his intention was obvious. He wanted Jota to have to walk up and get it so he could go and stand right in his face. Jota just waited on the penalty spot and made the referee retrieve the ball. Then, Schmeichel is dancing around on his line and the ref blows the whistle. Usually the whistle goes and the player takes the kick. Jota didn’t. He hung back for around five seconds, refusing to be rushed and insisting on doing everything in his own time. Then he stepped up and put the kick in the bottom corner.

And then, for good measure, he celebrates in front of the Leicester fans and finished it off with a hearty “FUCK OFF!” for good measure. I fucking love Jota. He’s a great player, a top lad and he’s got just the right amount of snide in him. Not too much that he goes over the one, but just enough. He’s fucking boss.

I loved Nero’s knee slide in front of the Leicester fans too. I’m not sure exactly why our lads seemed to have an issue with the away end but I like to think it was because of the constant “feed the scousers” chants. I wasn’t surprised by it because I can remember the appalling way Leicester fans conducted themselves at Goodison a few years ago, chanting for Boris Johnson. Bad fucking “banter merchants” like Villa and Wolves and Newcastle. 

It was probably their antics that helped to get our crowd whipped up into a frenzy and made this feel like a European night. The atmosphere sounded absolutely electric on the stream I was watching, and even Maddison said afterwards it’s the stadium with the best atmosphere in English football. I felt a little bad when I saw that as I ripped him on the post match pod and put him number three on my list of Premier League cunts. On reflection that’s clearly way too high, but he rubs me up the wrong way.

There’ll be loads of Leicester fans embarrassed about the Tory behaviour but very few of them were inside Anfield. The cup games bring out the worst in away fans because there’s twice as many of them as usual and it means loads more whoppers. Leicester have been the biggest bunch of knobheads to come here this season, which is quite the feat seeing as how we recently hosted both Villa and Newcastle.

They even sang about the Gerrard slip. One of the darkest days in their own manager's career but hey, dont let that get in the way of the "bantz". We've recently been English, European and World Champions. That chant needs retiring as it's just embarrassing for whoever sings it now. City and Chelsea fans can sing that, but anyone else who does is a fucking bad divvy.

I’m still buzzing about this as I write this the following afternoon. It’s like the 4-4 with Arsenal a couple of years back when Curtis scored the winning pen. We won the league that season and yet very few games gave me as much joy as that one.

I’ve gone from not giving a shit about the League Cup to being all in on winning it now. I don’t want to do it with the first eleven though. I want Taki, Neco, Kostas, Konate, Milner, Ox, Naby, Divock etc to do it while being supported by some of the big guns. I think the time for playing the kids is over now that we’re at the business end of it, but maybe one or two of them will still be involved.

Star man is really tricky. Ox is up there as he was good all game. Neco was brilliant in the second half, Bobby had a good game, Jota was different class when he came on and so was Naby. I’m going with Taki though as he was lively all night and scored that fantastic equaliser. Shame about the pen but at least it didn’t cost us.

Now let’s go and fucking smash Arsenal and reach the final.

Team: Kelleher; Bradley (Jota), Gomez, Koumetio (Konate), Tsimikas (Beck); Morton (Milner), Henderson (Keita), Oxlade-Chamberlain; Williams, Firmino, Minamino: